Hi all ..new to outhaul systems .
got a stupid little diagram with it ..that shows bugger all .
picture is my biggest sail ,a 8.5 cheetah ,so I'm about to cut the excess rope on the rear pulley .
have I left enough ? as I probably won't use a bigger sail .and is the pulley ok sitting there ..?
and am I right having the cleat on the down side of the boom.,some picture have it on top .or is a personal choice also have I placed it too far forward .it seems about right ..
i think I will be getting a few more of the screw in sail double roller pulleys .for quick sail changes ..I feel dumb .

Try a loop in the rope, makes it sooo much easier to grab hold of!!
And yes, way less rope. Above or below the boom for the cleat is personal. Ive always run mine above the boom.
Formula line makes it heaps easier to use as well.
Get an apple core for each sail, makes rigging so quick and easy!!

Hey Tardy, heres a few pics of my RSX boom at 250cm.
Size 11 hoof.




This can adjust from 7.5-9.5 sails

I use cleats on outside of boom. This pulls pulley over boom n away from sail. Less marks on sail when tuned 'fat'. Rope may want to fall out of cleat if under boom? Dunno.. Tie line from cleat to rear harness line.
If using boom for multiple sails- set up rear line length thru pulleys to suit smallest sail size so pulleys almost touch cleats. Thats what determines cleat position. Then lines thru cleats to rear harness line to suit largest sail rigging size. You need a bit extra to loop over applecores.
When using smallest sail you will end up with a big loop between cleat n harness line. Simply rig the sail,pull slack forward to harness line n half hitch near rear harness line until slack is taken up. Go sail n adjust on the fly if needed. Happy days
Oh yeah formuline is WAY better thru pulleys.

Appreciate the photos ,yeah the cleat lines are for towing a truck ..that come with the kit ,and not long enough to tie off onto the harness line ..
this being the max setting on mine ,I just assumed the pulley would be almost at its end ..
the picture on the instruction diagram are some what messed up

i had the impression a single line running back to the clew end would be less weight as they have given me like 2-3 metres of line for the clew end
thats what confused me ..

but yes i can see it now ,shorter the clew end line ,the more adjustment for different sails i will get ..

i will have to buy some more line to be able to tie it off on the harness line ..

Outhaul systems are so expensive for what u get .
Not really relevent, just sayin .

Yo Oldie ,
so you tie up the loose end to your harness strap ?
That would make for easy adjustment .
Caus I'm a outhaul newby I sometimes forget to reset before sail flip
Does it allow enough adjustment when this happens ?

Imax1, yep tie loose end to rear HL. Set length to just make it over applecore when rigged on biggest sail.
Whatchu mean reset before sail flip????

Well , if I pull tight to go upwind and , ( don't touch anything when changing tack or jybe ) , then slack off downwind next tack , then want to go tight upwind again , do u run out of adjustable scope ? It can't go on like this forever before having to reset ?
Ive noticed this in 10 gusty knots , when I squeeze upwind so I can get a planing downwind run .

^ Ahhh, bag it just before you tack n bear off to reaching. That way youll end up in same spot on ropes.

Every sail bigger than about 6 m benefits from adjustable outhaul (AO). I won't go out without one. It doubles the wind range of any sail.

That said, it is not the change in draft that is the main benefit of AO. Instead, it is the change in leading edge angle to make the sail slippery in apparent wind at upwind and downwind angles.

Upwind the sail slices straight into the wind. For this you need the leading edge to be lean and clean. Pull the AO tight.

Downwind the apparent wind comes at you from the side. You need the leading edge to face more to that side to avoid turbulence on the front of the sail. Bag the AO out.

Thanks segler , I'm sick of getting off the board and changing the outhaul , especially out to sea, looking to get more out of my sails performance

I use a small piece of elastic shockcord tied between the 2 ends of the outhaul lines. It can be adjusted to hold the excess up out of the way but still be easy to grab . If the knot you've tied it with isn't too tight it slides along to allow you to let out the sail.
You have to tighten it up if it gets too much slack.
Here are some still shots from a video showing it in use.


See the black shockcord. With different size sails you can put some knots in the outhaul line ends to restrict the travel.
In use it holds the tail ends ( that you grab) above out of the way.



You can see it better from this angle. The shockcord is on the other side holding the line ends taunt and out of the way.

^. + 1 for the shock cord.

One thing I think is useful - put the cleat closer to the clew. Having a bent-elbow is *really* hard to tighten the outhaul, vs having a straight-arm and using your whole shoulder to pull on the outhaul.

As mentioned, a loop helps - use a bit of hose-pipe to make the loop a little thicker so that it doesn't hurt your hands.

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mathew said..
One thing I think is useful - put the cleat closer to the clew. Having a bent-elbow is *really* hard to tighten the outhaul, vs having a straight-arm and using your whole shoulder to pull on the outhaul.

As mentioned, a loop helps - use a bit of hose-pipe to make the loop a little thicker so that it doesn't hurt your hands.

+ you don't want it in the way when you move your hand back to gybe.

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Imax1 said..
Outhaul systems are so expensive for what u get .
Not really relevent, just sayin .

Hey Imax1. Believe it or not, you might pick them up for nothing at the local tip. The old windsurfer booms had two screw-on cleats on solid round black heavy duty plastic with countersunk bolt : one on each boom arm... easily removed with a screwdriver. Should fit on wider grip booms, but maybe not the narrow ones. Wayler ones were oval so not useful.

IMAX there is a clearance on them at windsurfing.com .au 72&76$.2 different boom diameter sizes ..

i use to use one way back but took it off because I was bumping and jumping ..
i'm pretty much a slalom guy now ..that I'm a old git .and just remembered how good they where for running down wind and up wind ..

i will have to learn how to use it all over again now ..I have 2 more apples coming .and some more line .