possible new mast

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  • 24 Jul 2011 03:50
    Reply # 661698 on 661640
    Deleted user
    Neil Tanner wrote:Sorry I brought the subject up Jeff.... ;)


    Not to be sorry, Neil.  It's useful to think of these things.  The good people here all jumped in and applied first aid, I think I'm going to make it.

    Paul, thanks to you as well.  I'm not worried about the mast, I was just wondering if it was worth trying to change it to buy some extra space in the cabin.  No.  That is the least of my real worries.  I think the mast is very strong.  It's a birdsmouth construction, and they rounded off the portion above the partners but through the partners and down to the step still shows the hexagonal original shape.  It's not likely to get changed real soon.

    I think that I can get a couple or three degrees of forward rake simply by putting the mast at the forward edge of the partner hole and concentrating the wedges at the back.  There is considerable empty space around the mast at the partners.

    David, thank you for the information regarding the forgiving nature of long keeled boats.  It does seem, now that I think of it, that there was some mention in PJR of the differing requirements for CE relocation depending on hull characteristics.

    I put a photo of her under sail, mainsail only, on the Meeting Seablossom album on my profile.  She looks pretty good, actually.  This is the photo that I think is on or in some JRA Newsletter.

    I've been a little slow getting the deck hardware on in order to go sailing.  I had the boat parked in the sun, and local daytime temps have been in the 38 - 40deg C. range.  The day before yesterday I got smart, and we trimmed several lower branches off a big shade tree so she would fit under the tree.  Now perhaps I can make some actual progress.

    Jeff
    Last modified: 24 Jul 2011 03:52 | Deleted user
  • 24 Jul 2011 01:25
    Reply # 661640 on 650160
    Deleted user
    Sorry I brought the subject up Jeff.... ;)

  • 24 Jul 2011 00:07
    Reply # 661633 on 650160
    Jeff,
    Have you got a photo from side on with the mast in place? The ones I've seen haven't triggered any alarms in my head as to the mast being too far aft, because they haven't shown the whole picture of boat plus rig. 
    With this type of long keeled boat, the centre of lateral resistance moves about quite a lot in different conditions, unlike a boat with a deep narrow fin keel. Thus, the placement of the rig is not an exact science. The only way you're going to know how she sails is to go and sail her. As Paul says, everything is fixable, and you're no worse off than starting with a boat with a bermudan rig to convert. You're actually better off, because you have the right rig, it's just a matter of checking and maybe correcting the balance. I like Paul's suggestion of some forward rake - but go sailing first, to see if it's necessary.
  • 23 Jul 2011 08:42
    Reply # 661330 on 650160
    Jeff,

    Don't panic mate, if there are rig problems, they are all fixable and can be done at a reasonable cost. You are going about things the right way, so just keep on what you are doing and all will be sorted in the end.

    Neil's points are valid but he was only making a few observations and that is what they are, observations. Fix the obvious things just as you are doing and then put the boat in the water and go sailing. Once you have done that you will know if anything else needs sorting and what it is that needs to be sorted. Your boat, as a Nor'sea 27 has an enviable reputation and is a good boat so your base is sound.

    Your mast looks very substantial for the boat and the size of sail that it carries. Sure you do not know what the wall thickness is or whether it is well built or not but I really would not worry about that right now. You not going to cross the Atlantic just yet. So if the very worse happens and the mast falls down, you'll be able to start your engine (once you've made sure that no lines are in the water, please) and motor back to your base. However that's not likely to happen, so just forget about for now as it is not really a current issue.

    Should the centre of effort be to far aft, it can be sorted. David Tyler, Slieve McGalliard and myself will all be more than willing to assist and advise you in sorting things out.

    To move the CE forward there are a number of possibilities depending on how far forward it may need to move. It could be as simple as raking to mast forward, something that is common in China (my main is raked forward 4deg and my foremast is raked forward 8deg Annie's mast is raked forward 5deg) there are a lot of advantages to a forward raked mast. You could also consider Slieve's split rig which needs a balance of 30% (i.e. 30% of the sail is ahead of the mast) and if you really do need to move the mast, going through the deck where your hatch is will be not be a big deal. You'll easily be able to make the necessary modifications so do not frighten yourself at this stage of the game. Many have already done it, so you certainly can.

    So mate, you are on the right track, you've got a good boat, you have friends here who can and will help you. Just carry on, get the boat into the water. Start sailing and then we can take things from there. I can't wait to hear about you first sail.
  • 23 Jul 2011 04:36
    Reply # 661308 on 661043
    Deleted user
    Neil Tanner wrote:Hey Jeff....I hope you don't mind me asking a few questions about your new boat or making comments from an outsiders view point.  You have had some concerns about the mast.  Looking at the photos you've posted and profiles from the Norsea 27 site, it appears to me that the mast for the junk conversion is in the same spot as the original mast.  How is the junk rigged?  From your pictures, it looks like there is a bowsprit.  Was she rigged after the conversion to include a headsail?  And reading your other post about Seablossoms delay, it sounds like you are finding a few issues with the rig.  I guess what I am wondering and leading up to is maybe the former owner didn't spend time working out a good layout for a junk conversion and opted for the easiest and not so right instead. Your present mast for example...how did the former owner come up with the size?  It sounds like you are making corrections to things you are discovering that don't seems right.  I know you are anxious to sail, but I believe you are doing the right thing by taking the time now and looking at everything thing and seeing if its right or if you can make it better.  Wishing you all the best.
    Eek!
    No, Neil, I don't mind you asking these questions, but I sure hate thinking about the implications.  I hadn't thought what I was looking at through very well.
    Yes, I believe that the mast is in its original location.  It would be very hard to move it; there is a hatch right in front of it, and it (the hatch) is so much a part of the design that its footprint is molded into the deck.
    Yes, the rigging included a headsail, running backstays, and a forestay.  There was no mast lift, no luff hauling parrell, and the topping lifts didn't render freely under the boom / bottom batten (on this sail it is definitely a heavy spar, one would surely think "boom" when one looks at it) but rather made fast to cleats on either side of the spar.
    The halyard fall didn't go down the "chimney" (per PJR) but angled out to the side deck where there had been an existing block and then fed back to a winch and on to a cleat.  The yard hauling parrell angled out from the port side of the sail and did approximately the same thing the halyard did.
    I would have clearly been impossible to let the sail out to 90 degrees for a run.  Between the backstays, the yard hauling parrell, and the halyard... well, you can see.
    I've been putting blocks on the deck and blocks on the masthead to enable a conventional, as I understand it, junk rig on here, but...
    What do I do about the mast?  It ain't moving.  I have no clue how the original owner calculated its size, maybe figured what would constitute "hell for stout" and multiplied by two.  I could move the mast slightly forward by getting about a 5" aluminum flagpole and mounting it at the forward edge of this dinner-plate-sized hole in my deck, but that's about it.
    This is really scary.  I've blown the whole of my money on this project, and if it doesn't work out I have no way to recover.  It was an inheritance, I'm retired on a veteran's disability and Social Security disability (from the same wounds) and between the two of them don't make enough to recover from all I've spent on this project.
    Of course, I've never sailed it.  Born sucker.
    On the other hand, (he said with his fingers crossed) I do have a photo of her sailing without a foresail, and she appears to look fine.  This photo is from some issue of JRA Newsletter, although I've never gone and found it.  And I do have a document that says she showed up on her own bottom at Fiji back in the '80's some time.  Maybe it will work out all right after I get the various blocks and line bags where I want them.
    I hope.
    Jeff

  • 22 Jul 2011 19:19
    Reply # 661043 on 650160
    Deleted user
    Hey Jeff....I hope you don't mind me asking a few questions about your new boat or making comments from an outsiders view point.  You have had some concerns about the mast.  Looking at the photos you've posted and profiles from the Norsea 27 site, it appears to me that the mast for the junk conversion is in the same spot as the original mast.  How is the junk rigged?  From your pictures, it looks like there is a bowsprit.  Was she rigged after the conversion to include a headsail?  And reading your other post about Seablossoms delay, it sounds like you are finding a few issues with the rig.  I guess what I am wondering and leading up to is maybe the former owner didn't spend time working out a good layout for a junk conversion and opted for the easiest and not so right instead. Your present mast for example...how did the former owner come up with the size?  It sounds like you are making corrections to things you are discovering that don't seems right.  I know you are anxious to sail, but I believe you are doing the right thing by taking the time now and looking at everything thing and seeing if its right or if you can make it better.  Wishing you all the best.
  • 21 Jul 2011 01:03
    Reply # 659769 on 659381
    Deleted user
    Jeff McFadden wrote:I'm pretty confident this wood mast will otherwise outlive me, and that seems like a better and better idea.
    Hey, no problem--we all love thinking about these sort of things--especially when there is no real risk we'll personally have to do any work :)

    But ultimately, the more projects you can put off for "someday" and get sailing without them, the better off you are!  (Of course, all mine are on hold until I return to the boat this fall.  Then I need to make sure I put the right ones on hold for later!)

    Barry
  • 20 Jul 2011 14:45
    Reply # 659381 on 650160
    Deleted user
    After a bunch of needless chatter, I'll be keeping the wood mast. All I was really hoping to do was free up a couple of square feet of floor space - or a few cubic feet of cabin space, more to the point. I'm pretty confident this wood mast will otherwise outlive me, and that seems like a better and better idea.
    thanks, Jeff
  • 20 Jul 2011 14:09
    Reply # 659365 on 650160
    Have you thought of fiber glass sheeting your origanal mast  or trying a steel lamp post  . at the moment im using a 33ft by 4inch square builders galvinised tube  by1/8 wall jointed threequarter way up .[ e700s]  Using 2 foot of the same tube slit length ways giving me 4 angle pieces welded along the lenght of the tube at the joint . Reason ,I could not find anything else on the island , shes wearing 307 square ft as junket rig .eg, square mast . I had 4 old stays off my old second hand mast so ive used them as belt and bracers , stops vibration plus I rest the sail on the stay when im runing  .  Me and the boat  8/75 mtrs are only geting used to this rig , 4/5 knts in 10nts wind so far ,but the mast seems o/ k, but i am keeping an eye on it .   Your boat lookes sweat all the best bob.  
  • 13 Jul 2011 22:20
    Reply # 653778 on 653664
    Deleted user
    Kurt Jon Ulmer wrote:It's no good handing a conservative view to someone caught by an idea. So a comment about the worth of a mast that exists and fits, versus one that is imagined but is a little thinner, would drift away with the breeze like a curl of wood from my plane. Sailing is only one reason for boats. Creation is another one.
    KJU

    A great response.
    And the poignant truth is that she'll probably have this wooden mast when I turn 80, so it's all to no point.
    Thanks for playing along, though.
    Jeff
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