by rob1416 » Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:43 pm
The only significant impediment to retrofitting an RMG to an existing boat is access to the bow under the deck so as to install a turning block sufficiently far forward to allow for the minimum sheet travel. Most EC 12's that have an RMG use a bow block and open loop system as described on the building sites.
One might cut a hatch in the deck up front to gain access to install a block; however, I have seen others mount a turning block on a shaft which they then slide forward under the deck. If the shaft is long enough, one can position it so that it is held in place at the point of the bow and fastened in some way back near the RMG, perhaps attached to the lead ballast or radio board. To position the shaft in the bow, you might shape a small block to mimic the inside shape of the bow.
With a bow block in place, rigging the necessary loop, elastic and sheet lines can be done according to plans.
One benfit to this arrangement is that servicing the bow block is simply a matter of pulling the shaft. Alternately, one could leave the shaft in place. In that case, the turning block needs to be run forward on a messenger line that runs through an eye bolt at the forward end of the shaft. Be sure to run a spare messenger line in case the first line breaks or, at minimum, check the messenger line for chafe.
The messenger line should be hefty because it absorbs all of the tension created by the winch and sails and it has a tendency to chafe through.
Rob Hill