Bull 7000 Rigging Guide
Welcome to the Bull 7000 class!
Upon taking delivery of your new Bull 7000, pleas follow these instructions to help you rig your Bull 7000.
1. Unpacking the Bull 7000
The boat comes with mast and boom packaged and lashed to the deck. Untie all lashings and remove the mast and boom from the deck. Inside the boat you will find 2 bags, one for the running rigging and blocks, the other for standing rigging. Remove from boat.
2. Rigging the mast
Remove the package and attach the spreaders. Note that they angled aft and upwards. Make sure you insert the plastic protectors between S/S mast collar and the spreader. All the rigging is labeled. Unwind all the rigging and lay them down alongside the rig. The forstay attaches at a tang at the forstay/mast juncture. Make sure you tape up the pin. Starting at the top, attach the topmast wires. Insert The V3 (main shroud) into the mast at the forstay juncture. Next assemble the top spreader assembly. Into this goes V2, V3 and S/S plate with a loop welded to it. Insert the bolt and do up onto the spreader end. Next assemble the bottom spreader assembly. Into this goes V1, V2 and D2. The D2 is attached to a S/S plate with 2 holes in it. Put the D2 onto the smaller of the 2 holes. Bolt this assembly together. Repeat on the other side of the mast. Attach the D1 to the mast just under the bottom spreaders.
Once the rigging is assembled, adjust the D2 and lock off with a measurement of 25mm between the top of the locking nut and the bottom line of the recessed spanner location point. Tie the top mast wires to the top spreader onto the S/S loop. Lash it so it measures 150mm from the center of the bolt head to the center of the bearing surface on the shackle. After this is completed tape up all the spreader ends and carefully check that the tape is smooth and there are no snags where the spinnaker may get caught. If you are fitting a Windex, fit it at this point, plus attach the Nav light unit if any. The mast is now ready for stepping.
3. Stepping the mast
Now the mast is rigged, take it up onto the boat and insert the heel into the S/S tabernacle. Once inserted the mast will quite happily sit on the deck/Jammer area, so long as you set it down gently and do not move the boat around etc. Attach the V1’s to the chainplates (inside the lifelines. Make sure that the rigging screws are at least 50 % loosened off. Untie the spinnaker halyard and tie a large knot in the end that enters the mast at the base. Take the halyard forward over the Bull horn ready for lifting. You should always try and rig the Bull with the Stern facing directly towards the wind direction. Now you are ready to lift the mast.
Using the tallest, strongest person holding the mast on his shoulder at the rear of the cockpit, a second person takes up the slack in the halyard. The person in the cockpit walks forward, lifting the mast up. When he gets to the cabin, you get ready to very quickly pull the mast up. This is the critical part. The person on the ground should pull very hard at this point as the person on the boat steps onto the step (rope bin) and up onto the cabin until the mast is up. It is important that the person on the ground is far ahead of the bow as possible to gain more leverage and is central as when they pull the mast will veer in that direction should they be pulling off center. Once the mast is standing, the person on the forstay holds the mast in position while the other person retrieves the forstay and attaches it to the bow fitting.
4. Tuning the mast
Once the mast is up, do up the rigging screws these measurements (All from the top of the locking not to the bottom crease on the spanner recess). Forstay 50mm, V1’s 10mm, D1’s 30mm. Lookup the mast, it should be fairly straight, with a slight bend aft if anything. There should be no sideways bend. Tape up all rigging pins and any other parts that may snag sails etc. Lock off all rigging screws. The mast should be about right. However this is just the starting point from here and when you go sailing, you have to look at the bend and other characteristics witch we will discuss in the sailing.
5. Rigging the boom, halyards and running rigging
Now the mast is tensioned, you can run the halyards. The spinnaker halyard goes through the starboard Lewmar 60mm block and leads aft to the outside jammer. The rope should have loop sewn into it. Use this loop to pull the halyard through the jammer, use a piece of wire with a hook in the end. Next run the jib halyard to the middle jammer. The main halyard is lead to the port jammer, attach the jib plus spinnaker halyard to the pulpit and make sure you tie a figure eight knot on the halyard tails.
Next fit the boom, by bolting the pin through the end, do up tight. Attach the main halyard to the outhaul and lop the boom up. Fit two Lewmar single blocks to the boom and run the mainsheet. Make sure you check the correct direction for the ratchet block lead. Tie a knot in the end of the sheet. The outhaul and reef lines exit the boom. As the reef line is rarely used, just wrap it around the boom out of the way.
Net attach the boom vang. Shackle the wire block to the boom hanger and then shackle the three blocks to the large hole at the mast base. The boom vang line leads from the two single blocks to the inboard cabin deadeyes and to the aft cam cleats. Tie a knot in the ends.
Next attach the Cunningham. This shackles to the mast base on the port side and leads aft under the pole out cam cleat to the small cam cleat next to the port hatch.
6. Launching the boat
Generally the Bull is very easy to launch on a normal ramp angle. Back the boat to the top of the ramp and stop. Apply the hand break and chock the wheels. Attach a launching line that is aprox 10m (Length will vary with ramp angle). Next wind the jockey wheel up so that the trailer is free of the tow bar. Drive forward taking the slack out of the rope. Remove the wheel chocks and hand break. Reverse down ramp with someone guiding the trailer, until the front of the boat is at the waters edge.
Stop and undo the trailer winch line. Climb onboard the boat. Do not go aft of the mast until the boat is almost floating as it will tip up with your weight aft. Revers the boat until it is almost floating. The stern will now be immersed. Go aft and set up and start the outboard motor. Once the motor has started, quickly reverse the boat until it floats free of the trailer. Wait until the boat is clear and pull the trailer clear of the water and attach it to the car. Make sure you thoroughly hose down the wheels, bearings etc. with fresh water.
Putting the boat back on the trailer is the same except in reverse order. The hardest part is aiming it onto the trailer. If there is no current or wind you should be able to motor straight on the trailer. If there is a cross current etc. try and position the trailer so the boat is coming upstream onto the trailer. Launch the trailer so that 100mm of the front cradles is showing. Too much and the boat will not get on and too little and the boat will overshoot and crash into the trailer post. It pays to come in crabbing sideways and at the last moment straighten to fit the right spot. It is not easy, except to say practice makes perfect. If all else fails, a volunteer can wade out and stand on the aft cradle to guide the boat up the trailer.
7. Motoring the Bull 7000
Due to the lack of lateral resistance with the keel and the rudder up, it is a bit like driving a car on ice. So as soon as it is deep enough drop the keel and you will find the boat much easier to steer. Depending on the size engine you use the best way to motor the Bull at sea is with motor locked ahead and using the rudder. However in close quarters maneuvering, remove the rudder and use the motor to position the boat etc.
8. Rigging the boat ready to sail
First attach the spinnaker blocks to the aft stanchion bases, then run the continuous spinnaker sheet. Generally as most mark roundings are made while on starboard tack, we bring the tack and spinnaker lines to the port cap shrouds. Attach the spinnaker making sure that the sheets, halyard and the tack line come between the V1 and D1. As we gybe the spinnaker inside rather than outside the end of the pole, it is important to make sure that the tack line is outside of the spinnaker sheet when you attach it to the spinnaker (this is a common mistake).
The jib shackles to the forstay base and uses twist hanks onto the forstay. The jib sheets are continuous and lead from the aft cabin cam cleats forward through the outside deadeyes to the jib track block. From here they pass through the jib clew blocks and come back to the jib car and pass through the block loop and tie off with a figure eight knot.
The main shackles to the gooseneck and to the outhaul shackle. The slugs are fitted to the mast and locked into place once loaded. Tie the mainsail onto the boom until you are ready to hoist.
Drop the keel by firstly checking that there is a knot in the end of the keel rope. Leave two or three turns on the winch and gently lower it until it rests on the two large plates which locate it and keep it in the boat should you drop it. Should you drop the line, your instinct should be to close the jammer. If you drop it, it should not go out the boat, but I may cause damage to the locating points for the keel. Warranty does not cover accidental dropping of the keel. Once the keel is down it should line up with the hole in the Centre case. Insert the 12mm bolt and do up very tightly. Make sure that keel rope has no tension on it, coil it and put it into the centerboard slot. The one piece rudder is now fitted and the boat is now ready to go sailing.
9. Sailing the Bull 7000
Motor head to wind and hoist the mainsail first. Hoist it to the top of the hoist and cleat of. Coil the halyard and drop into the centerboard case (this keeps the bin clear for essential ropes and other items. Tension the outhaul and boom vang. Bear of on port tack on to a reach. Keep the boat level and turn the outboard off and open the outboard locker (helmsman steer from leeward). Pivot the motor into the locker, after removing the pin make sure you pause before you put the motor away allowing water to drain from the engine. Lay the motor into the locker and close the lid. Now you can hoist the headsail and start sailing properly. If it is very windy hoist the headsail running downwind to minimize loadings on it in the hoist. Coil the halyard and again put it into the centerboard slot.
Now you are sailing for the first time, get familiar with all the sail controls and positions so you know how everything works and what they do. Sail upwind look up the mast. In around 12 knots of wind there should be a fair bend fore and aft increasing past the forstay to the top of the mast. Sideway the mast should be straight up to the second spreaders with a slight bend developing from here to the top of the mast. Check to make sure that the topmast wires not too tight and the mast is able to bend off at the top. The leeward stays should be firm and not flapping in the breeze except for the topmast wire.