Raising the boom

[CaptKimble]

Has anyone got any experience raising the boom on a Catalina 380 Mk 1? The Admiral insisted on a high arched dodger and now I can't flatten out the leech so I either have to raise the boom or cut a wedge out of the mainsail. Thanks in advance

 

[jssailem]

You raise the boom your still going to need to cut the mainsail. Share a picture of your boom and goose neck. Will be able to share ideas.

 

[David in Sandusky]

How many inches of clearance do you need? Modifying the dodger may be far better than raising the boom. (Including very careful negotiation with the Admiral, of course.) talking to a sailmaker about recutting your sail is the second choice. The luff (at the mast) gives far more power than the leach.

Raising the boom is a key design change, and will probably lower the resale value of your boat.
Curiosity: How high is your dodger above the cockpit floor? How tall is the Admiral? I would think that clearance under the boom would not be much of a problem on the 38?

This picture makes the point:
https://catalina.sailboatowners.com/album/album.php?pid=9835&task=sshow&mid=90

 

[Scotty C-M]

My brother did this modification on his Catalina 380. It worked out very well. One of the benefits of having the boom higher is that it allows the dodger to be higher. Getting in and out of the cabin can be uncomfortable if the dodger is low - so he really likes this modification. The boat looks great, not at all "top heavy", in my opinion. This is, of course, a very individual and subjective opinion. So, how did he do it?

The goose neck was taken off. A new "collar" - with gooseneck - was fabricated that wrapped part-way around the mast at the desired location. It was attached and the boom then attached to it. The sail was recut with a bit of a "rounded" head section. When you look at the sail it just looks regular. The boat sails great, and there might be some loss of downwind speed because of the (slightly) less sail area, but I can't tell.

The spar work was done at Svenson's yard in Alameda. The sail was recut at Doyle sails, also in Alameda. Anyone familiar with the SF Bay Area knows that these are two of the most respected shops around. So you can be sure the job is "ship-shape and Bristol fashion". It was a great modification. Hope this helps.

 

[CaptKimble]

Thank you Scotty - it's on my list to talk to a local rigger about all of the above

 

[CaptKimble]

Update: I meet with my sailmaker Saturday morning to discuss the cutting of the leech or perhaps removing something at the top. He has some ideas he wants to look at. I'll update when I know more.

 

[cb32863]

Well there is the thought that the boat's rig is where it is for a reason...... You will be sacrificing performance, maybe balance, and making your boat unique in regards to resale so you can have a bigger dodger. Yeah I know, admiral speaks, skipper jumps..... but still.

 

[CaptKimble]

I'm not moving the boom but I will certainly have to do something with the luff edge of the sail to keep it from brushing the top of the admirals new dodger everytime I tack.

 

[CaptKimble]

Update: I will be getting a new boom car to hold the clew down and out. This will tighten up the leech and foot. We also removed the stitching in the bolt rope on the luff allowing the sail to be fully raised by the halyard. This served to get the sail fully functional. Many thanks to Harry at H2O sails in Wilmington CA for getting us shipshape and squared away. Sometimes its so simple but as the repairman says " yes, you too could have applied one blow from the hammer, but the trick is knowing where and how hard to hit it" Harry says that the sail makers no longer stitch the bolt rope at the luff when making a sail. The three strand rope shrinks making it impossible to raise the sail all the way. I was getting scallops in the sail at the mast. I had to put incredible pressure on the halyard but eventually it stretched out all the way.

The boom is now unable to hit the top of the new dodger and I can now apply tension to the boom vang to flatten out the sail properly. During all of this we also figured out our reefing system and fixed a problem we were having with the Uphaul/Dutchman reefing system. I found a broken block at the clew end of the boom and had to replace it. That was making the system a PITA to use. The photo shows the block before repair. I actually bought a new roller and replaced it after making a couple of new bushings. I had to drill out the rivet.