Dart 15 Forums

Can anyone explain how I attach the jib furling control chord to the furling mechanism. My Spark (198) has the furling mechanism but without the control chord attached and the manual doesn't seem to explain how to attach and load it.

Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks
Richard C

By that I guess you mean the furling line that goes to the front beam?
Basically, there should be 2 holes in the top of the plastic bit of the drum. You need around 3 metres of small diameter rope, which goes through the cleat on the front beam, then up to the drum, through the metal guide and then through the larger of the 2 holes on the plastic. Put a stopper knot in the end. The knot should be pointing upwards and on the outside of the drum and wind the rope onto the drum by rotating it. It also helps to have a bobble at the cleat end.

Hi Richard,
Your boat is very old (30 years) and was not originally supplied with a Jib - so the jib has been added later. You need to be sure that you have all the right parts - have you compared your boat to another?
Alternatively go to the following place on this web site.
Manuals
Parts list (click on page 1 and it will open up)
Go to section 9 - Dart 15 unique stuff and print it off.
It shows clearly the furling gear and the cleat on the forebeam where the reefing line is cleated in.
I hope it helps.
Cheers
Bob
PS the picture is wrong in one respect. The jib halyard should not be cleated off on the mast cleat or it will not furl. You shackle off the wire halyard on the forestay just above the reefing reel and take off the rope halyard. In fact modern boats do not have that mast cleat as it is unnecessary. In fact it is better to remove it as the jib sheets catch on it as you tack - make sure that you do not effect the sealing of the mast before you do this.

PS - How many classes offer this amount of information on their website?
e.g. parts list, rigging manual, class association rules, price guide, buying guide, tips by the experts, all the results for the last 7 years, chat page with search facility, fully details on our current everts, details on most clubs with Sprint 15s, maps of clubs including satelite pictures (I can see my boat at Grafham), directions how to get there, and tons more. You can almost always find something to answer most questions just by looking at this web site.
I know of no other - do you?
Congratulations go to Martin Searle our webmaster who has carried on and improved our excellent website.

You're dead right Bob - it's a fantastic website and us newbies are lucky to have guys like yoursself willing to offer advice.
I mentioned to Martin the other day how rubbish the Dart 16 site was when I checked it out. God knows what those poor buggers do when they have a problem...

Throw it away & buy a decent boat, or perhaps they never notice they have most of the gear the wrong way up, inside out or back to front ??

Thanks for help your everyone, jib furling now working perfectly.