Flybridge Cats & Main Sail

[UFO]

Just wondering how you Guys and Gals out there deal with the main on Flybridge Cats.



Having only seen pictures of them, the boom looks monstrously High and looks like a real nightmare if you needed to get to the main - even to zip up the stack pack - So how do you all cope with this?

[boatman61]

With difficulty.. and in a sea a bit of risk.

[belizesailor]

Yup, thats one of the downsides to flybridge...the boom is indeed way up there. On a Lagoon 50 I run sometimes there are mast steps up to the boom which at least makes it more convenient to get up and down when needed. Its a BIG stack pack, so when dealing with a main sail issue, you can walk inside the stack pack and have some additional sense of security.

IIRC (been a while since I ran this boat), it has a set of small lines led forward to the mast that can be used to zip/unzip the stack pack.

Normally this is not an issue as the sail just drops into the stack pack, but when something fouls its inconvenient and maybe a bit risky depending on conditions.

[danielamartindm]

Personally, when underway I will not go up on the coach roof to address mainsail issues without a harness and short safety tether to a midline jack line. It's just too dangerous.

[boom23]

On my ex Lagoon 450, the only time I would go, 3 steps, up the mast would be to secure the halyard after I dropped the mainsail.
My lazybag had flaps with straps. I would tie the straps to a line with a monkey fist on one end, throw it over the other side and pull the flap over. No need to climb for that.
It wasn't that bad.

[sailingforfun]

Originally Posted by UFO

Just wondering how you Guys and Gals out there deal with the main on Flybridge Cats.



Having only seen pictures of them, the boom looks monstrously High and looks like a real nightmare if you needed to get to the main - even to zip up the stack pack - So how do you all cope with this?

The benefits (pleasures) of having a flybridge far out weighed any 'access' issues to the main.

[Red Herring]

I once asked Brent on Cat Impi, a Lagoon 440, and he told me that it's a non issue really. He does the mast climb to access the front, and drops the topping lift for mid and rear access. I still think it's more of a PITA, but each to their own, and Brent LOVES the full fly. So maybe it's worth it?

[Factor]

If its a flybridge cat its likely the boat isn't designed for sailing anyway. So I suspect the main gets used less.

[woc]

Originally Posted by UFO

Just wondering how you Guys and Gals out there deal with the main on Flybridge Cats.



Having only seen pictures of them, the boom looks monstrously High and looks like a real nightmare if you needed to get to the main - even to zip up the stack pack - So how do you all cope with this?

The best solution is to install a hard top to replace the mickymouse Bimini Lagoon supplies. I did on my Lagoon450 and can stand on top to access the stack pack without any problems. Contrary to one of the posts on the subject I can confirm after sailing 20,000 miles that it is possible to have a flybridge “ and” sail.

[billknny]

It's more than "a little" dangerous up there working on the boom, and it does not need to be in a serious seaway either. An incident happened on a boat I was teaching on and 8 years later, I still have nightmares about it.

I was teaching a couple on a FP Mahe. I had warned them of the dangers of the boom, even when it was strapped down with the mainsheet. On that boat the distance from the traveler to the boom was like 8 feet. Even with the mainsheet snugged tight, the boom still had a lot of "wiggle room."

Coming into an anchorage, we dropped the main, and I was working with him, and wasn't watching her. She was up taking care of the main. Nothing really to do, but I guess she felt that it needed to be tucked in neater. She was half way back along the boom when a ferry wake came by, the boat rocked, the boom flopped, and she was knocked off the hard top.

Thanks to all the powers in the universe, she fell and landed flat on her back on the helm seat. Her husband and I stared in horror, until she started to laugh...

Four inches in any direction, and she would have been seriously injured or killed.

In all my years teaching people sailing that was the closest I ever came to killing someone on my boat.

[Bean Counter]

Originally Posted by Factor

If its a flybridge cat its likely the boat isn't designed for sailing anyway. So I suspect the main gets used less.

Suspect away.

[AndyinAbudhabi]

My Lagoon 500 was based in Hong Kong for the last 8 years and subject to a few typhoons. The previous owner and myself always lowered the bimini and then the boom and was then able to lash the sail and secure the boom to the deck.
Had one trip where one of the lazy jack lines failed at night in 30kts. Fortunately I was used to dropping the bimini and the boom and was able to secure the sail.
Very difficult to manage the main with a high boom...

[Bean Counter]

Now that is what I call a high boom(s), skipper must also be so worried about not being able to see all 9 crew at once.

[cuffy]

Originally Posted by billknny

It's more than "a little" dangerous up there working on the boom, and it does not need to be in a serious seaway either. An incident happened on a boat I was teaching on and 8 years later, I still have nightmares about it.

I was teaching a couple on a FP Mahe. I had warned them of the dangers of the boom, even when it was strapped down with the mainsheet. On that boat the distance from the traveler to the boom was like 8 feet. Even with the mainsheet snugged tight, the boom still had a lot of "wiggle room."

Coming into an anchorage, we dropped the main, and I was working with him, and wasn't watching her. She was up taking care of the main. Nothing really to do, but I guess she felt that it needed to be tucked in neater. She was half way back along the boom when a ferry wake came by, the boat rocked, the boom flopped, and she was knocked off the hard top.

Thanks to all the powers in the universe, she fell and landed flat on her back on the helm seat. Her husband and I stared in horror, until she started to laugh...

Four inches in any direction, and she would have been seriously injured or killed.

In all my years teaching people sailing that was the closest I ever came to killing someone on my boat.

Different issue really, Mahe does not have a fly bridge. What you are describing is someone standing on a bimini being hit by the boom. Possible on many, many boats

Fortunately the Evolution model addresses this issue by having the mainsheet traveller mounted at bimini height so the tight mainsheet is now only inches long. The boom now only moves a couple of inches with the mainsheet snugged down tight

[woc]

Valid point. I don’t go up there unless and until I am safely anchored or moored. In emergency I would use my safety harness. The same applies to climbing the mast.
I had more trouble and higher risk of injury handling the stack pack without the hard top.