hi wind and screecher unfurl

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by kps0927

Thanks for the response. the white and blue fleck line in the pic is on a clutch to port and goes through the standup block shown before heading to starboard and tying to the crossbeam (just to hold the line). The Amsteel green line is just to hold tension on the sprit when there is no sail on it. I have a conventional furling drum not a continuous line furler. There is a nylon/braided line in the luff not a non torsional line. Head of sail attaches to swivel on halyard.

From responses, I am assuming the blue fleck line can be used as a tack line through the block and under the attach point of the drum, but this would leave the bottom of the drum not hard attached to the sprit but to the line. then when I want to bring it to the tramps I would drop halyard a bit and open clutch so I can pull the furler towards the tramps.

Correct, that sounds like a good solution and you have all the bits in place. But do make sure that the existing block, clutch and blue fleck line are all strong enough for the expected loads of the sail. Check with a rigger. You can also 2:1 the tack line (and halve the loads) by having it go from the clutch forward through the block, thread it through a shackle on the underside of the furler, then bring it back to the end of the sprit and tie it off.

With the green line holding the sprit up when there's no halyard, if it's tied off to the seagull striker tripod, make sure that the tripod can take whatever loads are put on it. Remember, the tripod is very strong to support the vertical loads, but is likely not very strong to withstand a forward pull if you put a big downward load onto the sprit. Here's what happens if the forward pull is too much:



We buried our sprit (a tripod shown in earlier photos) and the water pressure on the sprit bars and netting pulled the sprit down and tripod forward until the seagull striker tripod snapped right off. No more support for the front beam for forestay pressure! The remaining 650 miles of the passage were spent with the jib 70% furled and the spinnaker and gennaker halyards led to either bow and winches very tight. Got there without losing our rig.

[kps0927]

Wow that is quite an ordeal. I think my sprit would break at the attach point. It is connected at the crossbeam to a big plate. See pic. Thanks for the input.

[barnakiel]

Except for some very short and very stout struts, asymmetric sprits are built with spectra or otherwise stays. They basically never snap unless one of the stays goes.

A freestanding strut is normally laminated into the bow. Even so many still have some form of waterstay below them. These are mostly racing or custom jobs, not found on many cruising boats.

Otherwise the three stays stabilise the sprit which is built out of any regular alloy or carbon pipe.

b.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Except for some very short and very stout struts, asymmetric sprits are built with spectra or otherwise stays. They basically never snap unless one of the stays goes.

A freestanding strut is normally laminated into the bow. Even so many still have some form of waterstay below them. These are mostly racing or custom jobs, not found on many cruising boats.

Otherwise the three stays stabilise the sprit which is built out of any regular alloy or carbon pipe.

b.

There are thousands of J-boats/sport boats that sporting sprits/prods without bobstays. Sprits with 3 supporting wires are most commonly found on traditional cruising boats, like Westsail 32's for example. Unless we're talking about articulating sprits, generally on custom mono's. Though plenty of multi's have sprits which articulate as well. The design's not exactly complex.