Tabernacle system training

[GILow]

Hi all,

The new boat is a Kelly Peterson 44.

It will be another bare hull refit job for me, but hey, second time is a charm, right?

One thing the boat has is a beautifully engineered mast tabernacle system. Not original, it was fitted at some time prior to the early 90s in the USA.

The system appears to be designed to allow the mast to tilt forwards using the boom as the gin pole, a big padeye on the aft cabin roof and a powered Lewmar 55 primary as the winch. But some details escape me. For instance, how is the boom stabilised as the mast tilts forward?

Has anyone here used such a system? Can anyone point me to some.instructions or videos.that might help?

Current thinking is to sail to Perth in.Western.Australia.and look.for a crew there to show me, but I'd like to start looking for ideas.

Matt

[El Pinguino]

Interesting concept - the tilting forward bit - that will strike fear into the heart of any you approach on a steady bearing and cause serious bowsprit envy in any old gaffers you meet.

My Vertue had a tabernacle as she was a Fremantle boat originally. Lowered aft with a galvanise wishbone arrangement.

The important bit re stabilisation of the mast involved the termination of the uppers at a little A-frame arrangement involving the chain plates. The pivot point at the chain plate was in line with the bolt/pivot point at the tabernacle.
The 'working leg' of the little a-frame was in line with the uppers ie vertical. The second leg led frd at about 45 degrees and stabilised the whole arrangement.

Dunno about the boom. Maybe a pair of 'steam guys' led - port and starboard - from the end of the boom to the toe rail in the vicinity of the chain plates.

Sounds a very fussy arrangement though.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Interesting concept - the tilting forward bit - that will strike fear into the heart of any you approach on a steady bearing and cause serious bowsprit envy in any old gaffers you meet.

My Vertue had a tabernacle as she was a Fremantle boat originally. Lowered aft with a galvanise wishbone arrangement.

The important bit re stabilisation of the mast involved the termination of the uppers at a little A-frame arrangement involving the chain plates. The pivot point at the chain plate was in line with the bolt/pivot point at the tabernacle.
The 'working leg' of the little a-frame was in line with the uppers ie vertical. The second leg led frd at about 45 degrees and stabilised the whole arrangement.

Dunno about the boom. Maybe a pair of 'steam guys' led - port and starboard - from the end of the boom to the toe rail in the vicinity of the chain plates.

Sounds a very fussy arrangement though.

I admit, it's not something you'd do without a good reason, but for the sake, say, of a few weeks on the Hawksbury River, I reckon it would be worth the work.

Perth seems to be the place to go, but I wonder if tabernacle systems are in regular use anywhere else in Oz?

[Wotname]

Hmm...OK I have never seen a mast tilting forward before but I have had two Swan river (Perth) boats and the mast could be lowered quickly (to the aft). It was easy once you learnt the drill. All the boats on the Swan and most Fremantle boats had tabernacles i.e. hundreds and hundreds.

El Ping has described it pretty well. Many used two spinnaker poles making an A frame as the gin pole.

Using the boom seems sort of possible (?).

Is the hinge point of the mast above the boom gooseneck?

[El Pinguino]

Paging Mr Kodak - Paging Mr Kodak!!

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Hmm...OK I have never seen a mast tilting forward before but I have had two Swan river (Perth) boats and the mast could be lowered quickly (to the aft). It was easy once you learnt the drill. All the boats on the Swan and most Fremantle boats had tabernacles i.e. hundreds and hundreds.

El Ping has described it pretty well. Many used two spinnaker poles making an A frame as the gin pole.

Using the boom seems sort of possible (?).

Is the hinge point of the mast above the boom gooseneck?

I've seen a video of the dual pole system used in Perth, clever stuff.

I'm hoping someone from the USA recognises this approach.

I'll post a photo of the system at the base soon, but it doesn't tell us much.