Avon Prindle 15 User manual

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INTRODUCTION
This owner's manual is provided to ease assembly,
maintenance
and use of your Prindle Catamaran . We
believe these instructions portray the simplest methods.
Do
it our way the first time and learn from us. Then, if
you discover a bettermethod, feel free totell us about it
using the reader commentform enclosed. You may see
your idea appear in the next edition. We are sure you
will enjoy your Prindle Catamaran and hope that this
manual
will make your enjoyment easier to come by.
Make sure to join the PrindleCassAssociation-it's
fun and it's FREE to any ownerof a Prindle
Catamaran
residing in the United States. A $15.00 annual fee is
charged for all other areas. You will receive the Prindle-
letter,
our Class publication every other month. This
newsletter contains feature articles, news
and results of
regattas, photographs, timely tuning tips, special an-
nouncements
and contests. As a member ofthe Prindle
Class Association you
will also be entitled to enter and
participate in all of our Class sanctioned regattas.
One design racing begins at the local fleet level
leading to regional qualifying regattas
and culminates
with the Annual National Championship Regattas held
in a different region each year. Even if you are not a
racer, join the PrindleFleet
in yourarea. Our fleets have
held such fun events as watermelon hunts, hull flying
contests, group cruises, Prindle barge picnics
and
clinics. It's much more fun to share the joy of sailing a
Prindle Catamaran. Ifa fleet does not exist
in YQur area
-start one!
All you need is five enthusiastic owners!
Make sure your dealer
fills out and submits your
warranty card as this not only validates your warranty,
but
it will also automatically registeryouas a member of
the Prindle Class Association.
If you have purchased a
used Prindle
Catamaran please send us your sail and
hull numbers as well as your complete address. Make
sure to notify us when you move too,
the Prindleletter
does not get forwarded.
Keep
in touch. We love to hear from our owners!
Surfglas, Inc.
1810 E. Borchard Avenue
Santa Ana, California
92105
CAUTIONU CAUTION!! CAUTION!!
DANGER!I
EXTREME CAUTION MUST BE
OBSERVED WHEN LAUNCHING
AND
SAILING NEAR OVERHEAD WIRES.
A MAST NEAR A WIRE COULD
BE FATAL!
WARN YOUR FELLOW SAILORSI
CAUTION!! CAUTION!! CAUTION!!
CONTENTS
Page
SECTION I: ASSEMBLY 3
Preparation 3
Crossbars 3
Trampoline 4
Rudder system 7
Castings 7
Tiller Crossbar 7
Tiller extension 8
Rudder blades 8
Rudder lock bolt 8
Adjusting helm 8
Rudder Alignment 9
Operation of rudder system 9
Mast and Rigging 10
Masthead 10
Spreaders
11
Diamond wires
11
Mast rotator 12
Masthorn 12
Shrouds and trapeze wires 13
Forestay and jib halyard 13
Main halyard
14
Raising the Mast
14
Diamond wires 17
Salls and Battens 18
Hoisting the mainsail 19
Boom
21
Outhaul
21
Mast rotator
21
Downhaul
21
Malnsheet and traveler
22
Jib
sheet Jam preventor 25
Righting line
25
Tightening rig tension
25
SECTION II : SAILING 26
Sail Trim
To weather
26
Reaching
27
Downwind
27
Downhaul systems
27
Trapezing
Lacing the harness
27
Trapeze positioning
28
launching
Onshore
29
Offshore 29
Tacking
30
Jibing
31
Balance 32
Righting 32
Reefing
34
SECTION Ill: AFTER SAILING 35
loosening rig
35
lowering salls 35
Trallerlng
37
SECTION IV: MAINTENANCE 39
Dolphin Striker 39
Battens 40
Foam/fiberglass battens 40
General
Ma intenance Tips 40
Hulls 40
Rudders 40
Sails
41
SECTION
V: TUNING FOR PERFORMANCE
41
Mast Rake
41
Mast Rotation
41
Barberhauler
41
SECTION Vl :SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Major parts of a boat
42
Glossary of Terms
43
Knot Illustrations 44
READER'S COMMENT FORM
47

PRINDLE CATAMARAN OWNER'S MANUAL
Section I:
ASSEMBLY
PREPARATION
Tools needed:
vi large screwdriver
vi pliers
vi needle-nose pliers
vi 1/2" offset wrench
vi combination 1/2" & 9/16" box-end wrench
vi adjustable wrench
vi masking or duct tape
vi silicone sealant
Your Prindle
Catamaran comes packaged in two
hull containers,
one large hardware box and one mast
box.
Place the two hull containers approximately 5 feet
apartwith stapled seams at the
top ofthe cartons facing
each other. This
will insure that both hulls will be facing
the same direction. .
Open the hull containers. Leave the hulls standing
on the cardboard supports.
Open the hardware box and familiarize yourself
with
the major parts of your boat. The contents of the
hardware box should include:
boom
battens
rear crossbar
front crossbar
sails
trampoline
rudder box
rigging box
tiller crossbar
tiller extension
Open the rigging box. The contents will be listed on
the sheet enclosed.
CROSSBARS
Remove rubber plugs from hulls. Lay both the front
and rear crossbars on the hulls with the outside edges
even with
the outside edges of hulls. The curf(groove)
on the front crossbarshould face aft
and the curf on the
back crossbar should face forward.
\
To attach inside bolts on the front crossbar, insert
5/16" hex head bolt with washer into inboard hole in
-3-

crossbar and through the bolt hole in the deck. Put
some silicone sealant
on your forefinger and reach
through the hatch to put
the sealant on the boltwhere it
enters the hull. Attach lock nut and flat washer to bolt
inside hull using
1/2" box-end wrench. If you cannot
reach the bolt, tape the nut to the wrench. Thread nut
snugly
to hull. Do not tighten until all bolts are snug.
To attach inside bolts
on the rear crossbar, insert
one ofthe 5/16" flat head screws through the inboard
hole of the rear crossbar
and bolt hole in deck pocket.
Put a
flat washer and lock nut onto the bolt. You may
find that taping the nut washer ontoa wrench
is easiest.
Tighten loosely using a screwdriver on top of screw.
To attach outside bolts
on both crossbars, insert
5/16" hex head bolt with washer through crossbar and
deck. Insert through 6" stainless steel bar which fits
under the deck. Hand tighten. Repeat procedure on all
outside bolts.
Before tightening down these 8 bolts, make sure
the front crossbar sits
in the groove without voids
between
it and the deck. Tighten all bolts down being
careful
not to overtighten the outside bolts on the rear
crossbar. Leverage provided
by a 6" long wrench is
sufficient for proper tightening.
Insert rubber plugs into holes
in hulls.
TRAMPOLINE
From the port hull, insert forward and rear edges of
trampoline
in curls on crossbars. The rear edge has two
rows of grommets.
Feed trampoline across boat
by alternately pulling
each edge.
-4-

Tie a figure eight knot in the end of side lacing line
(1/8" x 11') and begin lacing side of trampoline
beginning at the forward slot. Lace line up through
deck, through forward loop
and back down through
deck. Proceed aft
and tie off end. Follow same
procedure for
other side of trampoline.
Tighten each side by using a pair of pliers or vice
grips. Start tightening from the front
and move to the
rear. Be sure to get trampoline centered
on boat by
lining up the grommet nearest the front crossbar with
the center of the mast step. Trim
and burn excess line.
Save for use later.
Lace up the back of the trampoline with
1/4" lacing
lines
lOY.! feet long. Begin by tieing a double overhand
knot
in one end of each line and thread through rear
grommets, starting up through the rear outside corner
grommet
on each side.
-5-
Stand at the back of the boat and tighten lines by
bracingyourfoot against the rear crossbarfor leverage.
Pull as tight as possible. Tie off lines
under trampoline.
Do not trim excess line as this leaves somethingto hold
when retightening tramp.
Completed rear lacing
Cut each of the extra scrap lengths of
1/8" side lace
line into
8" pieces. You will need two pieces for single
trapeze
and 4 pieces for double trapeze. Fold line in
half and lace through block.

Tie the block onto the side trampoline tab using a
square knot. Use tab just forward of hatch for single
trapeze and tabs just forward and aft of hatch for
double trapeze.
Slip tails of line under tab to hide and keep knot
from loosening. Blocks should stand straight up.
Lead shock cord through block, down through
grommet
by hatch, and up through grommet and block
on opposite side of tramp. Secure end until needed
later.
Attach a
3/16" shackle ontoeach jib bridle wire. Be
sure pin handle
is facing up so that it does not scratch
trampoline.
Tie 3/16" x 6' line to one of the shackles and lead
the other
end through one set of double grommets at
center of tramp.
Using a truckers hitch, tie the line to the 3/16"
shackle on opposite jib bridle wire. Pull line as tight as
possible
and tie off using a row of half hitches.
-6-

Attach jib blocks to thimble at end of jib bridle wire
(not shackle) using
3/16" shackle. Be sure the jaws of
cleat face inboard.
Thread 5/16" x 33' jib sheet line by
tieing off one end to jib block with a bowline. Thread
through small jib clew blocks, through cleat on jib
block, across tramp
and through opposite jib block in
opposite direction. Jib sheet should be one continuous
line.
Hiking straps
on trampoline are adjustable for
personal comfort. People with long legs use the
inboard loop. Tie off
onto a grommet at rear of tramp.
-7-
RUDDER SYSTEM
Open rudder box, it should contain: left & right
rudder castings with tiller arms and complete workings
installed
and 2 rudder blades with lock pins attached.
Castings
To install rudder casting onto transom, make sure
Prindle insignia is on outboard side. Remove cotter key
and pintel from casting. Line up casting with gudgeons
on transom and reinsert pintel through gudgeons and
casting.
Tiller crossbar
To attach tiller crossbar to tiller arms, remove 1/4"
bolt, washer, and lock nut from end of tiller arm. Place
tiller crossbar over tillers with large hole at
end facing
up and end cap pop rivet facing af t. Drop 1/4 " bolt
down through crossbar, putting washer between tiller

crossbar and tiller arm. Insert 1/4" bolt through hole in
tiller arm and put lock nut on end. Make sure lines
inside tiller go
on eitherside of bolt, do not cross them.
Do not put
the nut on the bolt at adjuster end of
crossbar until the rudders have been aligned
(in-
structions later).
Tiller extension
Remove locknut from end oftiller extension. Attach
extension to tiller crossbar
and reattach locknut. Tiller
extension should be able to touch trampoline easily. If
it does not, the tiller crossbar has been installed
backwards.
Rudder blades
To instaJi rudder blades into rudder castings, untie
ends of downhaul
and uphaullines in castings but DO
NOT UNLACE. Remove
1/4" bolt with locknut. Place
rudder blade between casting with lock pin forward.
-8-
Reinsert 1/4" bolt through casting and 1/4" hole in
rudder blade. Replace locknut and tighten until rudder
will just fall by itself. Do not overtighten as this will
restrict rudder movement, too loose and rudder will be
sloppy in casting. Thread downhaul and uphaullines
into rudder blade and tie off ends with a figure eight
knot. Make sure the ends
do not extend beyond the
edge of blade. Follow
same procedure on both blades.
Rudder lock bolt
The rudder lock bolt is on the forward edge of each
rudder blade. It is necessary to adjust this bolt to obtain
proper helm. Making the bolt longer produces more
weather helm (heavy steering)
and shortening the bolt
decreases
weather helm (easier steering).
Adjusting helm
We recommend the following method for adjusting
the rudders before the boat
is sailed.
Place boat so there is clearance to lower rudders

and lock down. Take a short batten or yardstick and lay
the straight edge flush against the transom. Adjust
the
lock bolt so that the forward bottom edge of the rudder
is about1/2" aft of the forward edge ofthe batten. (Pull
rudder back lightly to pull
out any slop.) 1/2" aft is a
good starting point, further adjustment may be necessary
for personal preference.
Note: As the mast
is raked aft, the rudders must be
raked forward to balance helm.
Rudder alignment
Lock both rudders down. Measure 22" up the
leading edge of rudders
and mark this measurement.
Do the same on the trailing edges.
Tum the rudders so they are pointing down the hull
as
if sailing straight ahead.
Measure from the centerline of the front edge of
one rudder blade(22" up) to the centerline of the front
edge of the
other blade. Do the same with the trailing
edges.
-9-
If the distance between the trailing edges is greater
than that of the front edges; lengthen the tiller adjuster
by unscrewing
it .
If the distance between the front edges is greater
than that of the trailing edges; shorten the tiller adjuster
by screwing
it in.
One complete tum is 1/16 of an inch.
Attach adjuster
end of tiller crossbar to tiller.
Example: If
the distance between the front edges is 75"
and the distance between the trailing edges is 75W';
unscrew the tiller adjuster 4 or 5 complete turns and
measure again. Keep adjusting until the measurements
are the
same . You can achieve accuracy up to1/32" of
an inch but 1/8" is good.
Operation of rudder system
The Prindle rudder system is designed to be used
underway
and functions best under that condition. The
aft force of the water facilitates raising the rudder and
when the rudder is released the water slows its fall.
To raise the rudder , grab handle at end of tiller and
pull until desired height of rudder is achieved.

• Lock line
in jam cleat at end of tiller by pulling line
up.
To lower rudder, release uphaulline from jam cleat
and pull ball at
end of downhaul line until lock bolt
engages spring loaded pin
in rudder casting.
In operation if the rudder is pulled up too far, the
head of the rudder blade will hit the washers at the top
of
the casting. This could chip your rudder blade. To
prevent this, tie a knot
in pull down line about 3" from
ball. Adjust position of knot
so that the raised rudder
stops just short of hitting the washers.
MAST AND RIGGING
Masthead
15 & 18: Masthead is assembled before shipping.
16: To assemble your masthead, take the main
halyard wire
and thread eye end through aft side of
masthead casting (side with curf). Align sheaves with
holes
in masthead casting and insert clevis pins (1 ")
through. Insert cotter ring through pin.
Attach main halyard line tail to eye of main halyard
wire with bowline. Tie off main halyard line
and wire to
the base of
the mast.
-10 -