Rigging Question Nicholson 32

[alitaptap]

A friend of mine has just purchased a pre-owned Nicholson 32 and he asked me to give him some sailing lessons. As I checked over the yacht before lessons began I found that an extra forestay had been configured from the masthead to a point on the deck about 18 inches aft of the jib-furler tack hardpoint (red line in the image attached).

I have reviewed all Nicholson 32 images found on the Internet and cannot find any showing a similar rig modification.

With the extra forestay it is a pain in the butt to tack the yacht as you must first fully furl the jib to get it around the extra forestay. We only did one tack during the first sailing lesson, to determine the level of difficulty - it was difficult.

I cannot think of any reason for this extra forestay except if the jib-furler (and original forestay) had been recently removed for repair/maintenance, and then reattached but the extra forestay was not immediately removed.

Unfortunately, the previous owner (who sailed the yacht mostly-single handed around the Pacific) passed away, so we cannot ask him.

The extra forestay is apparently stainless steel multi-strand rigging wire from the masthead until about three feet above the deck where a second piece of similar wire is attached with shackles, down to a stainless steel turnbuckle for tensioning.


The question is: is there any logical reason why we should not remove this extra forestay from the yacht? Or, is there anything that should be safety-checked before removing the extra forestay?

Suggestions please . . .

[Pete7]

Perhaps used for hank on twin head sails if he was doing a lot of offshore downwind sailing.

The question is what to do about it. I think I would remove it, but at least take it back to the mast base or clip to a shroud for now.

Pete

[slug]

Solent stay to fly a piston hank heavy weather sail

Bring it back to the mast when not used

[Yellowtulip]

As slug says, it sounds like it's a detachable extra forestay. It's becoming a more common set-up. I disagree with slug that that's a Solent rig. I would call a Solent rig one with two permanently attached forestays with different weight furling sails on each one. They are not used together. As you've discovered they're a pain to tack, but they are quite common around the Solent(!)

[Benz]

Since it's not needed to keep the rig up, I'd say remove it and keep it somewhere in case you find sails for it and want to cruise the Pacific singlehanded.

[alitaptap]

Thank you all for the suggested purposes. I will take the stay back to the mast on the next outing (it is not a simple task) and see if anything changes in the rig, if not then I will keep it at the mast until I get into advanced training sessions with my friend.


The next outing may be a while away as we (and the yacht) are in Davao, Philippines, and we are not allowed out of the house until 30 April except for food, medical and emergencies.


Stay safe everyone, keep your distances and flatten the curves.


++++


I wish we were sailing instead . . . .

[Alan Troll 33]

I have owned a Nicholson 32 for the past 10 years. Although I don't have that arrangement on mine, many do. It is correct to say that the second, removable forestay should normally be kept at the mast. It is usually used for setting a storm jib which is more efficient set on its own stay. Those of us who use hank on headsails rather than a furler don't require this arrangement.

Your friend would benefit greatly from joining the active owners association and/or Facebook group.

Nicholson 32 Association

Search for "Nicholson32 Owners" on Facebook


What is your friend's name and the name of the yacht so that I can welcome him/her?

Cheers,
Alan
Fals Cappa, UK