The ropes and controls
All the measurement details are in the Rules except the rope lengths, these are as follows:-
Kicker (red) 3.4m of 4mm rope
Clew outhaul (yellow) 3.3m of 4mm rope
Cunningham (blue) 3.7m of 4mm rope
Mainsheet (3:1 ratio) 6m of 8 or 9mm rope
Outhaul in boom 3.6m of 4mm pre-stretched rope
Kicker multi-block purchase 3.6m of 4mm pre-stretched rope
Halyard (minimum) 10.2m of 4mm pre-stretched rope (or combination wire/rope halyard)
Rudder uphaul 1.5m of 4mm rope
Rudder downhaul 1.5m of 4mm rope
The class rules allow great freedom in how the sheet and control lines are arranged. However nearly all boats are center sheeted and have three control lines ( kicker, downhaul and outhaul ) led out to the deck on both sides. This can be seen in the photo along with the main sheet, traveler and halyard (tucked behind some shock cord tied round the mast).
As supplied from the factory the boats usually have a 3-1 center mainsheet with either a ratchet block or a jammer as specified by the owner. However it is common for helms to convert to a 4-1 center mainsheet as it makes the sail easier to control in heavier winds. The down side of this arrangement is that there is a large amount of rope left in the bottom of the boat, some people then tie the free end of the mainsheet to the toestrap, so that any knots are just loops and are therefore easier to untie.
It is important to have a good length of mainsheet as in light winds it is advantageous to run by the lee, letting the boom out so that it is slightly in front of the mast and healing the boat to windward. However when there is more wind many helms tie a knot in the mainsheet to prevent the boom going out to far and risking a death roll.
The standard kicking strap on the lightning is 7-1 leading out to both decks giving a total purchase of 14-1. Most helms find this adequate and we have yet to see a boat with more purchases.
The downhaul and outhaul are also led out to both decks. The downhaul goes over the top of the boom and hooks into the eyelet on the tack of the sail, and the outhaul uses another hook to attach to the eyelet at the clew of the sail. This is what makes it so quick to rig.
In fact with a little practice the boat can be so quick to rig that the builder once arrived at an open meeting with only a few minutes before the ten minute gun. He took his boat from the roof of his car and was on the water in about five minutes. An on looker was heard to remark 'Now I know why it's called a Lightning!'