Aquarius 21 masthead

[jeffwestriver]

I'm a newby to sailing. Just bought a "project" boat (1974, Coastal Recreation, 21' Aquarius) in Wyoming. Am working on getting the mast up by adding shrouds (All four shrouds are missing. Masthead, though, seems to be mounted backwords as headstay cable mount faces the same direction as mainsail track in mast.

I'm looking for drawings or pictures of same or similar make/model showing proper masthead setup. Any advice would help. If I haven't given enough info. please let me know.

Thanks for any help.

 

[tkanzler]

I used to have an Aquarius 7.0, which is what they called the 23 for something like one single model year before they rolled it into the Balboa line. Mine was a masthead rig, while the previous 23's were fractional, if memory serves.

Anyway, below is a line drawing of the 21 and 23, though it doesn't show the mast or rigging. Also, a closeup of the chickenhead on my 7.0. The mainsail slot is at the bottom, and you can just see the forestay at the top, drooping over the side.

HTH

 

[Barnacle Bill]

The Aquarius 21 was definitely a fractional rig and had no spreaders. This means the forestay did not go up to the top (masthead). The backstay hooks up to the eye in the back of the masthead casting. Down the mast farter is a hound or strap where the forestay and two upper side stays attached. Then further down the mast there is another location where the two lower shrouds (side stays) attach. I have product information on other Coastal Rec products, but not much on the A-21.

 

[tkanzler]

Well, there you have it. Being fractional, the chickenhead casting would hang over the sail slot for the backstay. Sounds like the mast is on the cradle backwards.


http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=31

 

[jeffwestriver]

I'm catching on. I thought with the shrouds being just aft of the mast there wasn't a backstay, like I've seen on small daysailers. This makes it very clear. More work but always rewarding. Thanks so much for your advice!

 

[SailorBobA21]

Barnacle Bill described the rigging perfectly. More information can be obtained at the Aquarius Owners Yahoo groups:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Aquarius-owners (main Aquarius owners forum)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Aquarius-owners-A21 (additional file space for Aquarius-owners)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Aquarius-owners-A23 (additional file space for Aquarius-owners)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Coastal-Recreation-Inc (for Aquarius, Balboa, Ensanada and LaPaz owners) The A21, A23 and CRI groups require granted access to keep the spammers out.