What would you do with this?!

[gamayun]

Actually, now that I'm looking at the galley in my 38-footer, that's about the amount of cockpit space in the Newport 20. It's just not feasible to have to stand stand over the person on the tiller and pump and push the boom to try to get it through a tack. Boomkin or not!

Anyway, we're still waiting to hear back. We're also kinda bummed as the spring racing season is going to start soon

[Spot]

Originally Posted by gamayun

Do you sail a Freedom, by chance?

I do not. The dinghy has a 16 foot unstayed wooden mast, the 21 foot has a 24 foot aluminum mast with fore and side stays but nothing out the back.

[gamayun]

Originally Posted by Spot

I do not. The dinghy has a 16 foot unstayed wooden mast, the 21 foot has a 24 foot aluminum mast with fore and side stays but nothing out the back.

Really? Is the 21-footer keel stepped? I've never heard of not having a back stay except for dinghies, but I'm still fairly new to sailing so maybe this more common than I realized. Is this something that can be done with a deck-stepped mast? My Newport's spreaders have no sweep. In fact, the hardware on the deck for the forward and aft lowers are almost touching each other they're so close together.

[Spot]

Originally Posted by gamayun

Really? Is the 21-footer keel stepped? I've never heard of not having a back stay except for dinghies, but I'm still fairly new to sailing so maybe this more common than I realized. Is this something that can be done with a deck-stepped mast? My Newport's spreaders have no sweep. In fact, the hardware on the deck for the forward and aft lowers are almost touching each other they're so close together.

The 21-footer is deck stepped. The upper and lowers attach behind the mast step. Someone added baby stays in line with the mast step to assist in the raise/lower process. I would not know enough to say whether the Newport could be rigged the same way. I got the ideas for the mast crutch and raising the mast with the mainsheet from $tingysailor.com .

[AndyEss]

I like the boomkin idea. My first boat (full keel 26 ft sloop, mahogany planks on oak ribs) had one.

I finished the wood boomkin beautifully.

I bet getting more spread on the shrouds would carry the mast loading if you just got rid of the backstay.

All that said, the sailmaker should fix his boo-boo.

[gamayun]

Hmmmm, lots of things to research now. We might be able to put some sweep in the spreaders because there's no jib track. We run the blocks on the toe rail aft of the winch on the cabintop. I might also not so quickly dismiss the Wikipedia description of a boomkin. Just sounds so "bumpkin" like.

We also got some good suggestions and potential fixes from the sailmaker. Will try them out on Sunday's beer can. Nothing like having a sporty challenge on the water in close quarters to feel the adrenaline burn, right?

[KP44]

Most sailmakers will be happy if they are given the opportunity to make the sail fit properly. Sailmakers want happy customers.

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by gamayun

Really? Is the 21-footer keel stepped? I've never heard of not having a back stay except for dinghies, but I'm still fairly new to sailing so maybe this more common than I realized. Is this something that can be done with a deck-stepped mast? My Newport's spreaders have no sweep. In fact, the hardware on the deck for the forward and aft lowers are almost touching each other they're so close together.

many boats don't have backstays...have a look at say the ID35...our 40' cat is another

just need sweepback spreaders

cheers,

[gamayun]

Originally Posted by chrisr

many boats don't have backstays...have a look at say the ID35...our 40' cat is another

just need sweepback spreaders

cheers,

Huh. Early on when learning to sail, I raced on a 1D35 with a skipper who was "all about safety" at the dock and then screamed and cursed like crazy to an all newb crew once the gun went off. All I could think about was, if anyone lost their grip on things, there was nothing to keep from getting swept off the back. Now I know why!

[smacksman]

Back to original post. Ease main AND kicker (vang) to allow the boom end to rise up and soften the leach to allow the battens past the backstay.
If you want more sail area then get a broad head board like modern classes. It adds far more area than added roach and much less hassle.

[Coltrek]

What Smacksman Said.
I added a foot to the boom on my C&C 39, and had Bierig make a large roach, as others in the fleet had done this and were kicking my ass. It cost me 6 seconds, but well worth it. When the wind was above 6 or 7, it would mostly blow past the back stay, but in light air it would try our patience. Have to push the boom all the way out, and then snap it to curve the battens the correct way. The problem, in light air there is not enough umph to pull the boom up to slack the leech up high. Just resign youself to the fact that you have to mess with the boom in light air, it was worth the trouble for us, anyways.
Edit, Just thought of another thing, I put a roller up on the backstay at the largest part of the roach. Not sure if it did a whole lot of good, but couldn't hurt.

Also, if you still have a CamberSpar on your 38, you can get parts at camberspar.com

[skenn_ie]

How far aft would the bottom of the backstay have to move to clear the sail ? I have seen "sternsprits" (as opposed to bowsprit).

[Scaramanga F25]

Add UHMW tape (lowe's home depot) to the top batten pockets Slippery. $3.oo.

[smacksman]

The original post was talking about a 20 footer mainsail. 20 ft dinghys don't even have backstays ie Flying Dutchmen etc.
Also, with the kicker off in light airs you just reach up and lift the boom. We are not talking 38 footers here. BIG difference.

[David Mathis]

The sail is too big for the boat? You’ve just been presented with a wonderful reason to buy a bigger boat.