Double rigging outriggers

[rchanner]

Just thought I'd share this evening's project.

I never liked the way a double pulley worked for double rigging an outrigger, tensioning the second line with a barrel swivel, so I decided to do it my way.....

I started with this:

Cut the hooks off of the single pulley rigs, slid a short length of heat shrink over the bungee and inserted them through the upper pulley of the double rig. Then hog-ringed them like a standard bungee, slid the heat shrink over the hog rings:

And ended up with this:

Here it is rigged and in fishing position:

And stowed:

[OReely]

I don't have any pictures available but the method I use is similar and automatically adjusts for differences it line stretch. I'll try to describe it for you.

Use three single pulleys, two for the lines and one for the adjuster. Run a 24" length of 3/16 or 1/4" cord (regular double braid, not shock cord) thru the adjuster pulley. Attach each end of the cord to the becket of the line pulleys. I attach the cord with a 2" peice of adhesive heat shrink (kind of like crimping mono). Cord diameter is dependent on the hardware you chose.

Attach a suitable length of cord (each boat is different) to the becket of the adjuster pulley. This cord is the one you tie off to the boat. You can use a small cleat or for a slicker set up a fairlead/camcleat combo. The fairlead/camcleat is a peice of blowboat equipment that You can find at West Marine or other stores that have a good selection of hardware.

In operation the line pulleys are free to move up and down relative to one another. This is how it automatically adjusts to line stretch. I set the outrigger lines up so that the line pulleys are offset from one another. That makes for easier line handling.

[rchanner]

Oreely- I'm not sure I'm completely understanding what you're describing. If you get a chance to take a pic, I'd love to see it.....I'm always looking for a better idea.

[OReely]

I guess this is a case of a picture being worth a thousand words. I was afaid it wasn't too clear. I've got some prints somewhere. I'll see if I can dig them up, then I can scan them and post.

[OReely]

I couldn't find any of my old photos but I did have some parts in the shop so I cobbed together a setup and took a couple of pictures. I hope this makes more sense than my description.

The first photo is the various parts. 3/16" double braid, 2" lengths of adhesive heat shrink, small pulleys

This picture is the assembled setup. As you can see the white and black outrigger lines can stretch at different rates and the line pulleys will change position slightly relative to one another to compensate. For instance, if the black line were to stretch some, it's pulley would move closer to the adjuster pulley (the pulley to the left) and the white line pulley would move away from the adjuster pulley. The line leading off to the left is the adjuster line, the one you would cleat off on the boat.

With this setup the outrigger lines always have equal tension on them.

[rchanner]

Ok- Now it makes sense- I like that setup!

[eliteftlaud]

Brilliant!

[OReely]

I take cash, checks, and money orders!

One other thing I forgot to mention, by using double braid instead of bungee, you don't have to worry about the bungee stretching out.

[rchanner]

I didn't catch that the first time I looked, but you used double braid for both pieces. It makes sense to me for the upper piece (the one that connects to the 2 pulleys & rolls through the center one) But for the lower piece, wouldn't you need a bungee to keep the outrigger lines taut? How does it compensate for bounce?

[OReely]

I didn't catch that the first time I looked, but you used double braid for both pieces. It makes sense to me for the upper piece (the one that connects to the 2 pulleys & rolls through the center one) But for the lower piece, wouldn't you need a bungee to keep the outrigger lines taut? How does it compensate for bounce?

Never really saw much bounce. I guess with this setup the lines are taut and kind of triangulated so the result is a pretty stiff outrigger. I've never put this on a boat less than 31 feet so I don't know what would happen on a small boat. My guess is that it would work pretty much the same.

You could still put a bungee on the adjuster portion, you'd just have to be conscientious of the running line length.