B&R rigs from the '80's

Status
Not open for further replies.
G

Graeme Scott

Topic of B&R rigs came up the other day on the CW board.I got curious as to why the early hunters that used the B&R rig (31,34,40)had backstays.Doing away with the backstay and being able to use a BIG roached main seems to be one of the major advantages of the B&R that offsets the disadvantages ofdownwind sailing, increased windage aloft,complicated tuning in the spring etc.I was wondering if anyone here knows if there is something aboutthe rigs or the boats from the 80's that require a backstay or if Hunter just figured the idea was too radical to sell?What would happen if you took the backstay off of one of these boats?(Just curious,I don't plan on trying it!)
 
B

Bob E.

Not B and R -- just B

The 1980's Hunters (I own a 1989 H30) with backstays were not B R rigs. They were designed only by the "B" person who later teamed up with the "R" person (I don't recall their names) to design the B R rigs. If you look carefully at the B rigs, you will see that the spreaders are not swept back nearly as far as the later B R rigs. This makes the downwind sailing problem less of a problem, but prevents an extra large roach on the main. If you removed the backstay from the "B" rig, you might get a "gravity storm" in heavy weather. (The mast might come down.) For my money, I prefer the older rig. I like seeing a backstay, and it opens the possibility of adjusting backstay tension.
 
R

Roger

Not so dumb, after all!

Finally, someone asked the question that I have wondered about on my 1990 H35.5. What year did they finally go to full "B R"?
 
J

Justin Wolfe

35.5 is neither B or B&R

Roger, the 35.5 has neither rig. The 35.5 is a standard fractional rig just like every other fractional rig out there. Both the B's
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top Bottom