Joe,
Im a bit confused by your post. Exit blocks are normally positioned near the base of a mast where the line bends 90° as it is being routed out from the mast to a to a deck organizer and then back to line organizers and a winch. That is typically a factory installation requiring welded bosses to mount the blocks and not a do it yourself kind of install. Our C270 (as an example of Catalinas most recent thinking) does not use any exit blocks. The halyards exit, as you suggest, several feet up the mast and run external to blocks shackled to a mast base plate which turns them from vertical to horizontal and also allows them to sweep aft at a 45° to the deck organizers. I see Judy pointed you in the right direction by suggesting what you need is an exit plate not an exit block. The factory solution on my C270 mast is a series of long slots (one for each halyard) with no exit plates. The slots are just carefully de-burred and rounded to leave a nice smooth edge. If you like I can get you the slot dimensions and there heights off the deck later today. I believe theres a stagger pattern to their position as to not weaken the spare. Phil Agur <http://www.catalina27.org/public_pages/profile270.htm> s/v Wing Tip C270 LE #184 MMSI 366901790 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Joe Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2010 6:18 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [IC27A] Exit Blocks and in the mast halyards Halyards I replaced my standing rigging on my 1984 C27 and decided while the mast was down to update and change the halyards to interior and cut in two exit blocks. The block for the mainsail is placed about 6 1/2 feet off the deck, so I could expose the halyard for for deck to be able to help to raise and lower the main sail. The problem/question is do I cut out more of the mast below the block so the line exiting the block is not rubbing/cutting as it heads from the block to the base of the mast. Is there a piece of hardware that smooths the transistion or do you just file a smooth path down the mast? Thanks for your help. Joe Linquist Frayed Knot 5 Hull #5457
