Graham Cox wrote:
Hi Chris,
Unstayed rigs are usually keel-stepped, though some folk, including Pete Hill and Shirley Carter, have stepped their masts in tabernacles. Essentially the tabernacle is keel stepped and the mast securely braced within it. There is some info in the JRA archived magazines about building such a tabernacle. Otherwise, it should be a straight-forward conversion - and no old rig to dispose of!
Thanks, Graham! Yes, I plan to do something like Pete Hill did with Oryx:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/57772807695599482/
My motivation for deck-stepping the mast is to keep as much below decks space open as possible. I plan to reinforce the deck from below with substantive knees, similar in principal to the knees on the Speedwell of Hong Kong boat:
http://www.speedwelladventures.com/speedwell.html
(I realize it is also keel-stepped, I plan to make the knees in my boat more substantial, perhaps making a stainless steel cage to transfer the loads from the tabernacle to the keel.