Solution to Under-Canvassed Sailboat

[kasully]

I am looking at a sailboat (to buy) that has had the mast length cut down several feet in order to fit under the bridges in Florida. Because of the shortened mast it is under canvassed. Is there some way, say perhaps a cruising spinaker, that will help power the boat in light airs enough to make up for the smaller main sail and jib sail? I welcome any ideas other than replacing the mast and sails.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, kasully.

Small diesel axillary?

[hugosalt]

Welcome to cf, and since we are welcoming you with a wink and a smile
I will suggest you would do well with a gaff rig main!

[MarkJ]

Welcome to CF.

I would advise you to look for another boat. There are lots out there in every price bracket.

You are in Tennesee and thats where the boat would be, so those Florida bridges wont now be a problem for you if you bought the boat?

I used to race on a boat where the (rich) owner played with the rig both in mast position fore and aft and mast hight.

The first time it was touched it totally screwed the boat up and no matter what he did it just screwed it up more and more... Damn thing went from being a great boat to the greatest dog...

These boat designer fellows may have rocks in the head and all have ooooozing puss dripping from the skin, but they can design great sailing machines. Their calculations didn't include chopping 6 feet (or whatever) off the mast top.

I would sugest you will never be able to make it perform well. I would look for another boat.

But many folks here have much more boat building experience than me and should be able to balance my point of view.





Mark

[slomotion]

I agree with Mark. The boat was designed for a specific sail plan. The only way to restore its designed performance is to replace/lengthen the mast and return to original specification rigging and sails. A spinaker can improve downwind performance, but that would be true of the original design as well.

[CarlF]

A couple of questions.

Do you sail a lot in light air? Racers need great light air performance but not all cruisers. If you are like many and start the engine when boat speed drops under 4 knots then you might be better with sails that are well suited for 10+ knots. Remember, that most modern designs like to be sailed with relatively little heal. Many people carry far too much sail for best performance. You current situation is like having a reef tied in. Something more people should do.

How does she steer now? As others have suggested, balance can be more important than square feet. Weather helm that requires 20 degrees of rudder is like dragging a huge bucket astern.

Do you need new sails anyways? Upwind, new small sails with great shape will beat blown out bigger sails. Also - after considering balance - you could:

1. Build a lot of roach into the main. Besides helping downwind, the roach provides a lot more upwind power from the upper part of the sail. John Dashew used so much roach in his cruising boat series that the leach overlapped the backstay by feet (he found there was surprisingly little chafe). He writes about it in his Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia.

2. Have a new genoa made with the foot closer to the deck. This hurts visibility but greatly improves power upwind by creating an "end plate" between the bottom of the sail and the deck. Much better than a few more feet of hoist.

3. As you suggest, get a nice big off the wind sail. You might consider something flatter than a typical spinnaker that can be carried somewhat closer to the wind (look at the Doyle MPS sail)

All of this costs money, but I assume you are saving some money in the purchase price due to the modified rig.

Carl

[FSMike]

Kasully -
I'm curious. What make/model/size boat is it, and exactly how many feet were cut off the mast? It might not be too underpowered.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

These boat designer fellows may have rocks in the head and all have ooooozing puss dripping from the skin,

Mark

been adding some extra malt to that home brew lately , nice wording

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

been adding some extra malt to that home brew lately , nice wording

My malt tries its best Thanks

[DaveOnCudjoe]

If you want to keep the main, add sail area to the head sail. Certainly a screecher, spinaker or huge genoa would do the trick. Adding roach to the main is also an option if funds permit. Dave

[kasully]

I had trouble getting back into the forum (password issues)
The boat is an Endeavor 38. It has roller furling jib and mainsail. I have not sailed it so I do not know how it steers (weatherhelm?). The mast has been shorten to under 59 feet for the bridges in Florida. Not sure how much taken off the mast. I plan on cruising the bahamas after I retire and then see where that takes me after a couple of years.
I believe I will pass on this boat because there are many to choose from.

[skipmac]

59' mast for a 38' boat sounds like a pretty tall rig for a cruiser. According to online specs the I dimension for the 38 is only 51' stock. Including freeboard and antenna that should be 59' or less mast height above water.

[barnakiel]

Bowsprit and a sail on the outer stay. Unless you already have one.

A light chute will only power you downwind.

b.