Upgrading to a taller than spec mast?

[islander20]

Hello,


I was out in a solid gale today and broke the mast on my little Cal 20. F*ck, quite an experience. Im looking for a spare and am hoping to spend as little as possible. One of the guys at the marina said I should try and get a mast from a San Juan 24 or something similar to "turbo charge" my little Cal. What do you guys think of this? I realize the boat will become more tender and I will have to be a bit more cautious...

[atoll]

a 2-3 ft taller mast of the same size extrusion is not going to make a great difference to the boats stability,if you use the old sails.
bigger sails will,but that is why you have reefing points

[roverhi]

Check the lower shroud angles so as not to go below 12 degree shroud angle. Doubt if it would be a problem but a little trigonometry should give you the answer. Don't ask me how to figure it out as I'm a math numby. Other than that it shouldn't be a problem. You'll just have to be prepared to make sail changes and reef earlier than with a stock rig.

[SkiprJohn]

If you don't intend to race in any class races then it would probably be alright but it will be very tender. You'll have to sail with a reef in most the time. If you will have to change all the wire you'll probably have quite a bit of expense.
If it were me I'd stick with the same length stick.
kind regards,

[islander20]

Id prefer to stay with the same length, though I don't participate in any class races. I found a mast and boom with all rigging and sails for quite a low price locally, had high hopes it would fit. Alas the boom is to long, back to the hunt!

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by islander20

Id prefer to stay with the same length, though I don't participate in any class races. I found a mast and boom with all rigging and sails for quite a low price locally, had high hopes it would fit. Alas the boom is to long, back to the hunt!

If the length of the boom is the only problem, well, a few minutes with a hacksaw will cure that forever! Will likely have to drill a couple of holes for screws to retain the end cap, but really, it is a dirt simple modification.

Cheers,

Jim

[Bash]

Originally Posted by islander20

One of the guys at the marina said I should try and get a mast from a San Juan 24 or something similar to "turbo charge" my little Cal.

First thing you need to do is stop listening to "one of the guys at the marina." Seriously. You broke a normal-sized mast in today's gale, and now you want a bigger mast? One that will be easier to break while making your boat more tender in a gale?

A Cal 20 is a nice little boat. Turboing the mast would be like dropping a turbo-charged hemi into a Ford Pinto. At the end of the day, you're still only going to have a Pinto.

[Benz]

I would not go bigger in length, but a stronger cross-section and possibly slightly bigger shrouds might do, especially if you habitually sail in gales. You can easily cut down a taller mast and boom to fit, and moving the spreader attachments around shouldn't be too difficult.

[islander20]

Originally Posted by Bash

First thing you need to do is stop listening to "one of the guys at the marina." Seriously. You broke a normal-sized mast in today's gale, and now you want a bigger mast? One that will be easier to break while making your boat more tender in a gale?

A Cal 20 is a nice little boat. Turboing the mast would be like dropping a turbo-charged hemi into a Ford Pinto. At the end of the day, you're still only going to have a Pinto.

Your right, didn't think it was very realistic. I do like the idea of cutting a stronger one down to size, so long as there isn't much of a weight difference. Storm sailing is my favourite part of sailing, though perhaps this might change that...

[Maxs]

Some boat models comes with standard or tall rig configurations, but the prevailing winds on your area will dictate which rig you should use... If you sail most of the time in light winds, I might consider installing a slightly larger rig, even more if a boat feel a little underpowered, but I think this is not the case, since you broke it on a gale and the boat is a Cal, which usually performs ok..

[islandplanet]

Islander,

What you want is something as close to original as you can get. Believe it or not Lapworth knew what he was doing when he designed that boat. There is no need for a stronger mast. That will just add weight aloft and make the boat less stable. None of the people here are naval architects. Get with Steve Seal or someone who actually knows of what they speak and don't waste time getting bad advice from the internet. Here's a link to Steve's website. I have no connection with him other than having asked him for advice several years ago - Seal's Spars and Rigging

[knot smart]

Originally Posted by Benz

I would not go bigger in length, but a stronger cross-section and possibly slightly bigger shrouds might do, especially if you habitually sail in gales. You can easily cut down a taller mast and boom to fit, and moving the spreader attachments around shouldn't be too difficult.

I agree, cut the mast to the proper size , either cut the bottom off ,or the top off and re- weld on the masthead ..depending on the boom you could be able to drill out the rivets take the end off, cut the extrusion and then rivet the end back on .. that's what I am doing ,I purchased a damaged boat from the insurance company after sandy

[islandplanet]

Look guys, you're scaring me. If you increase the weight of the mast and the weight of the rigging by increasing wire size, then you are changing the stability characteristics of the vessel. That means the chance of knockdown or capsize increases.

Increasing the size/strength of rigging is not always a good idea. Under extreme loading, would you prefer a shroud to break or is it better to rip the chainplate out of the boat?

Like I said earlier, talk to the one guy that knows your boats and the rig better than anyone and that's Steve Seal.

[knot smart]

I do not know the details of your alternative rig , for mine according to the specs my new rig ways about 40 pounds heavier then the stock setup , in my opinion the boat will not notice 40 pounds .. your other alternative is to save up and spend about 15 K on a stock setup

[islandplanet]

Originally Posted by knot smart

in my opinion the boat will not notice 40 pounds .. your other alternative is to save up and spend about 15 K on a stock setup

Noted that it's simply your opinion and not necessarily fact. A 5 minute call to a naval architect would actually answer the question.

The guy has a Cal 20. Would not run him anywhere close to $15K for a rig.