Is this even possible?

[TheSolarSailor]

If I began at the beginning...

Hello Cruisers!

I have been considering taking the mast and rigging from an islander 32 and moving it to a wayfarer 33, flush deck.

The mast is 44' aluminum with a custom pin joint at the base (tabernackle?), allowing it to be lowered and raised to pass under bridges. This pin is set in a three foot aluminum hinge/bar that is bolted to the deck.There is a roller furling main and jib, and several other sails for this rig, which is why I am even considering this as economically pheasable.

Im thinking 8k in the sails and a few in the rigging, should be easy to swap the rigs, as they are basically the same boat.... well we'll see.

There are two problems that will require some engineering consideration...

1. Will the geometry of the chainplate installation be the same?
There should be a small difference in the length of the standing rigging due to a difference in deck design (flush vs standard). I have not been able to find much information on the 33 flush deck design, but bulkhead design seems very similar to the 32.

2. The flush deck design on the 33 is not completely flush, there is a three or four inch drop in the deck above the v-birth. One inch behind this drop is where the mast rests. This step would prevent easy installation of the aluminum hinge, or maybe make installation of this rig impossible?
Is it possible to build a compression post the same hight of the drop?
I am worried the deck wasnt designed to withstand that much force.

I will update with photos soon, thanks for taking the time to read/reply!

- The Solar Sailor

[S/V_Surya]

I am not sure if you will get much information from this group. You are breaking new ground. I would say have it looked at by someone local. If standing rigging to short replacing it should be easy. Thje compression post is another story.
Good luck.

[Cheechako]

I'm having trouble visualizing it all, but if both have similar spreaders (not one swept back and one not etc) and the other things like length are similar. I dont see why not. Many of the factors are not too critical. I once paid for an analysis of a rig I designed for a boat I built. Heck, the well known designer was moving things all over the place. "we could move the spreaders up a few feet, but that starts looking a little funny"... etc etc The deck hardware.. well... need pics or layouts to tell anything...

[Delancey]

"Self Steering For Sailing Craft" by John Letcher describes relatively simple methods for determining both the center of effort of a sail plan and the center of lateral resistance of the underwater portion of your hull. Important considerations if you want your boat to have a balanced helm. You can find the book on Amazon.

[FSMike]

If all you really want is the furler and the sails, why not swap the rigging and leave the masts where they are. I think that would actually be simpler.