Pole out cleat

[brian partridge]

Hi all, had my first sail on viper on weekend. We seem to having problems with the pole out cleat not releasing. Looks like its due to being too close to exit box. The cleat has an extreme guide on it... anyone else had these  issues??

[Craig Wilusz]

One thing we learned over a few years is that the "softer" the line is, the harder it is to yank out of that cleat under load.  Try a "stiffer" or "harder" line for that application.

Yeah, the above sounds like an April Fools, joke, yet is a serious answer.

[Carson Downing]

We haven't had any problems with releasing the pole out line. Looks like my through deck block is 7/16" away from the base of the camcleat. This is a MkIII Viper for reference. Also looks like it is 1/4" dyneema core line, probably endura braid or warpspeed II. I agree that softer line compresses more, possibly making it more difficult to release.

[Peter Beardsley]

Remove the fairlead on the cleat. It serves almost no purpose and without it you will be able to uncleat the sprit much faster.

[brian partridge]

thanks everyone, im going to try a thinner harder line, with maybe a different fairlead. cheers!

[brian partridge]

update : replaced 10mm liros line with 5mm dyneema core. works way better!! had no problems releasing pole line sailing solo ( social distancing )