The headsail on SeeBeeZee furls around an foil on the stay, and this is controlled with a line (rope) which runs around a drum at the base of the foil, and then through blocks (pulley wheels) back to the deck winch on the port side. While we try to furl the sail by hand, just pulling on the rope, at times the force of the wind is so great that it is better to use the strength of the deck winch to pull on the furler line to reduce sail area or to douse the sail altogether. Where the line comes along the deck, and turns to the winch, it runs through a cheek block. This cheek block needs to be a wedge in order to ensure that the line leads on to the winch at the best angle. The wedge is angled front-back and side-side.


It was originally made in PLA some eight years ago, but recently, the UV radiation has caused that chock to fracture. I have just remade it again to the same design, but this time using the ASA plastic that is much more durable. While ASA usually requires an enclosed printer to successfully print. I have found that if I sit a cardboard box over the printer in the corner of the bench where it operates, that it can print ASA successfully too. The design is a wedge shaped at the right angle, with holes that align with the mounting holes of the block and has a curved recess that matches the block and helps locate it correctly.


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