Cornish Coble sail hardware

[Proutquest]

Hi all,

We are living in the Netherlands and we have recently bought a Cornish Coble sailboat, unfortuneatly without the sails, mast, bowsprit or any other of the equipment needed to go sailing.

I already aquired a rudder but I am now on the market for a set of sails and all the hardware required to set the sails.

Ofcourse the budget is limited, so hopefully I can buy this secondhand from someone? Perhaps in the UK? Or perhaps somebody has the correct dimensions/technical drawings, so I can build the hardware/sails myself?

Looking forward for any response, perhaps any other Cornish Coble owners out there? The Coble seems a nice sailboat!

Best regards,

Y

[BenBowSirocco]

You may want to look into the Duck Works website about "Birdsmouth Mast Building". The 8 sided process is in my opinion the simplest as the angles are 45 degrees and simply centered on your planed and finished stock.
If you know anything about fiberglass/epoxy you can also do your top yard this way. If not, this is a solid spar- probably made in Douglas Fir, or Spruce.

The bowsprit appears to be a solid spar- probably Fir or Spruce as well.

For sails, if you have to go new, use a quality sailmaker and expect to spend more than the value of the boat- small sails are nearly as labor intensive as large ones- seriously. But in the meantime, you can find a LOT of information about cheap tarpaulin sails that you simply spray glue/stitch together on a cheap machine. These sails are not very durable and require some care when handling, but work very well for what they are.

You may try the Woodenboat Forum for more information on small boat spar building and used equipment. eBay is my go-to for small boat stuff in bronze. Small Craft Advisor Magazine and Small Boats Monthly are both very good publications for "How-To" articles as well as sellers of small boat equipment and supplies.

The boat you found seems fairly popular and that will make everything easier. Find a facebook or yahoo group and ask for drawings and information. If you can find a boat to go look at, some careful measuring will get you everything you need as well, so check the "For Sale" ads for one with sail kit.

Good luck.

[Proutquest]

Thanks a lot for this advise!

[Spot]

Hello, have you contacted these people?
https://www.cornishcrabbers.co.uk/

It doesn't seem like the Coble is a current model, maybe make sure you tell them the dimensions of the hull so they can coach you on a good sized sail plan and then work with them or take the dimensions online to look for options or DIY articles.

I also agree with Ben's resources, places that understand old boats, wooden masts, and gaff rigs are good resources. Sailing old timers are a good resource too if you have time for some stories...

It looks like a fun boat. I have built solid laminated wooden spars with epoxy, it was not too difficult.

[Proutquest]

I have asked https://www.cornishcrabbers.co.uk/ for a quote, but no reply, yet. Also would prefer a more low budget second hand option.... Perhaps an old set of sails and build the gaff and bowsprit myself (the mast I already have).

Thanks for replies!

[Spot]

Originally Posted by Proutquest

I have asked https://www.cornishcrabbers.co.uk/ for a quote, but no reply, yet. Also would prefer a more low budget second hand option.... Perhaps an old set of sails and build the gaff and bowsprit myself (the mast I already have).

Thanks for replies!

What is the size of the boat?

[Proutquest]

http://freijsen.com/wp-content/uploa...Folder-b-w.pdf

[Spot]

Originally Posted by Proutquest

http://freijsen.com/wp-content/uploa...Folder-b-w.pdf

I really enjoy the old brochures, thanks.

Here are some approximate lengths of spars and sail edges. You might be able to take the dims and look on sites for used sails for a similar sized boat or at Sailrite's sail kit pages or use them to start a converstaion about the gaff rig and jib. I started with LWL and grid/rounding to 0'-1". What I cannot get from this picture is how deep the mast is stepped in the boat. One picture is feet-inches, other is meters.

[Apollo366]

Very good looking boat, it's actually a sprit rig, not gaff, but look around for user groups & clubs of similar boats.
You should be able to find some used sails & other rig for her.

Also the rigging to make it all work is needed, but fellow enthusiasts should be able to advise how to rig it all up. I love the jaunty bowsprit on her.

BTW, where do you sail? I'm assuming England & Whales.

Capt Wayne

[Billb7845]

I believe it is a lug rig, more specifically a standing lug which means the yard(top spar) and the boom always set on the same side of the mast. This is a favorite traditional working rig. Phil Bolger’s book on sailing rigs is a good source of information comparing the characteristics and utility of different rigs. I mention this because it may be easier to find a gaff rig used and it would help knowing the difference. Good hunting. It’s a good traditional design and will be a pleasure to bring her back to life.

[Apollo366]

Thank you Billb for the correction, I didn't see the difference till now.

And I now see ProutQuest is in the Netherlands not GB, sorry for not catching that.

All in all an open boat with sails is a real good sail out in the wind & sea as intended.

[Proutquest]

Thanks again for all the great replies, and spot for making the drawings. In the meanwhile I have also contacted some sailing clubs in the uk with cornish coble fleets. Would be great to buy some second hand sails and fabricate the gaff/boom and bowsprit myself... There is also a facebook page for Coble owners, but I am not soo much a fan of Mark Zuckerberg, so for now trying to stay clear of that.

Sailing will be done in the Amsterdam region.

[BenBowSirocco]

I had a beautifully done balanced lug sail made by James Lawerence sails in Clipper Cloth. It is a non-impregnated (no resin infusion- typical of modern Dacron sails) Dacron cloth available in tanbark.

Mark was a great guy to work with, our faering project was anything but typical as we were taking a couple thousand mile cross country expedition in the boat and required all sorts of specification changes to the original sail plan like: no battens, extra reef points, heavy chafe gear and maybe most importantly, determining optimum spar flex VS sail shape.
With a balanced lug you apply more downhaul than is common, as this is how to gain the flatness required to attain good windward sail shape. Your yard and boom must be very stiff to handle these loads, but you want some flex in the yard to "luff off" heavy gusts. (Eric Sponberg makes a great description of this in his free standing masts write up). In the balanced lug with its offset rigging, you do not want the flex coming from the mast.
The sail does end up looking a bit funny when reefed down tight, but reefing is very simple and the performance is very good.

In my opinion balanced lug is wonderful small craft sail and are more and more common all the time. Check out Cheseapeak Light Craft and see if they have any rigs/sails that match the size you need.

[moriston]

I also own a coble and if it helps I can give you measurements and details of the rig and parts of my boat.

Both the yard and the bowsprit are solid timber and look fairly simple to make up, if you can obtain suitable timber. (I think it is probably spruce) There is also a small wooden block that adjusts the position the mast is stepped depending on whether the boat is sailed with main and jib or just the main.

If you haven't found it yet there is a cornish crabbers owners club http://cornishcrabbersclub.co.uk/ although there is not much on the coble.

I share your reluctance to use FB but that group seems the most active online community.