Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever attempted to reposition the forestay such that a M26C becomes a full sloop instead of a fractional? Again - purely out of curiosity.
Forestay Mod
- Thread starter gwduffield
- Start date
Rather than convert a fractional rig to a masthead rig and all the unknowns that may result... it would make more sense to invest in a free flying reaching sail attached to masthead and a small sprit.. such as a code zero. That would cover most everything between close reach and broad reach.... But allow keeping the blade(#1jib) attached to the forestay for close hauling and maintaining the backstay dynamics of the fractional rig... bending the mast for mainsail trim, as an example.
Freedom is mast head rigged. Ordered from factory. Heavier mast extrusion. also spreaders halfway up mast. Some others who went mast head with stock rig got dismasted due to lighter mast and spreader location. Spreader got fatigued at bolt hole due to mast "pumping". Solution was jack stay. Freedom carries 525 sq ft chute.
I raised my forestay up enough that I could use J24 headsails on my V25. It wound up being a 15/16 fractional rig, so not quite a full masthead sloop. The spreaders were raised also, to keep the geometry the same. My boat also has a 5/32 forestay and a custom stem head fitting and an adjustable split backstay. The factory rig on the 25 is the same as the 26s and d.
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Perfect! Thank y'all so much! I'm toying with retro-fitting the forestay to be able to utilize other forward sails. Sounds like its doable.I raised my forestay up enough that I could use J24 headsails on my V25. It wound up being a 15/16 fractional rig, so not quite a full masthead sloop. The spreaders were raised also, to keep the geometry the same. My boat also has a 5/32 forestay and a custom stem head fitting and an adjustable split backstay. The factory rig on the 25 is the same as the 26s and d.
Before
After
Very doable. Raised mine to use the larger 26M headsail on a furler. Improved the overall balance and reduced the tendency to round up when healed over.