Maybe someone can explain this...

[Scalfano]

I bought my Baba 40 PH last summer, and I have been confused by the design of the staysail sheet lead since I got the boat. I cannot believe that Bob Perry designed the boat this way, particularly as no one else I know that has this boat (Baba, Panda, or Tashiba) has a staysail rigged like this. The sheet runs through a couple blocks to the base of the mast, UP INTO THE MAST, back down to another block, and then to another block on the staysail traveler. Does anyone have any idea why this is so convoluted and complicated? It had to be intentional (at least on the part of the mast manufacturer.)

Frank

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by Scalfano

I bought my Baba 40 PH last summer, and I have been confused by the design of the staysail sheet lead since I got the boat. I cannot believe that Bob Perry designed the boat this way, particularly as no one else I know that has this boat (Baba, Panda, or Tashiba) has a staysail rigged like this. The sheet runs through a couple blocks to the base of the mast, UP INTO THE MAST, back down to another block, and then to another block on the staysail traveler. Does anyone have any idea why this is so convoluted and complicated? It had to be intentional (at least on the part of the mast manufacturer.)

Frank

Without a picture it seems to be a self-tacking system.

[barnakiel]

Maybe someone 'modified' an older simpler set-up?

It is pretty common for self tackers to run to the deck (onto their traveler) then to a point high up the mast, but the rest of the set up you described sounds odd.

A picture, perhaps?

b.

[Scalfano]

I'll try to take some pictures when I get back to the boat later this week. On my previous boat, which had a club boom, the sheet went to a single block from the cabintop cleat and then to the traveler block. Fairly simple. The thing I don't understand is why it has to go up into the mast and then back down, seems the only thing that accomplishes is helping to hold the mast down;-)

[barnakiel]

Where I see the sheet going up the mast is when the deck block is set on some sort of a track / rail / bar or another traveler style arrangement. By this, two things are achieved: 1) the deck attachment is free to roam from side to side as the boat tacks, and 2) the jib is trimmed down (very helpful with tall jibs that may lose most of the drive if allowed to blow out at the top). There may be a club boom to go with this, but nowadays a special cut of the clew and a curved clew fitting with multiple attachment point is used too to achieve good trim with club-less, furling jibs.

I may be wrong, but I think if the deck block is not on a traveler, the sheet going up the mast is pretty useless (???).

b.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Frank.

[ebsail]

Maybe some one just set this up wrong by mistake (previous owner?)

[buzzstar]

You may want to join and run the question through the Baba-Panda-Tashiba group on Yahoo. It is an active group with a lot of knowledge specific to these vessels. It is probably impossible to beat CF as far as knowledge breadth is concerned, but specialization may have advantages at times

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Scalfano

I bought my Baba 40 PH last summer, and I have been confused by the design of the staysail sheet lead since I got the boat. I cannot believe that Bob Perry designed the boat this way, particularly as no one else I know that has this boat (Baba, Panda, or Tashiba) has a staysail rigged like this. The sheet runs through a couple blocks to the base of the mast, UP INTO THE MAST, back down to another block, and then to another block on the staysail traveler. Does anyone have any idea why this is so convoluted and complicated? It had to be intentional (at least on the part of the mast manufacturer.)

Frank

Does it look like this? Double click the image.

Hard to figure without pictures. My Tornado jib sheet runs from the clew to a block on a car mounted on a curve track. The line in turn is tied to a block (1). Block (2) is belayed to the rig below the tack.
A secondary line belayed to block (2) pases through block (1) and around (2) to a block (3) where it is tied. A sheet originating on port at a cam cleat passes through a turning cheek block at the port base of the mast, through the wheel at block (3), back to an identical turning cheek block at the stbd base of the mast and to the stbd cam cleat.

This is a sort of inside-out; backwards 3-part system. It allows the clew to transit port-starboard on the track while sheeting is 3:1 at the port or starboard cleats. Its complicated but works nicely on small boats with working jibs, small travel. On a Tornado, the slack required in the continuous port to stbd sheet is only about 6 feet.

It took me weeks and a lot of downloads of Tornados to figure out this trick. The 3-part lies along the spar, out of the way. Only one is needed for the entire boat and nothing is flapping around on the deck. No winches required. One person can easily manage the jib tension, hold the jib tight to tack, slack from either port or stbd to let the jib fly over on the track.