Cat 36 Mast Rake

[Bill]

I have just purchased a 1987 Catalina 36 Tall rig with a wing keel. The mast appears to be raked well forward of the position I normally kept on my Cat 30. The Cat 36 rig is forward of vertical. I plan to move the head several inches toward the stern. I would appreciate anyone's views as to the correct amt of rake on this type boat. What works best? Thanks!

 

[Gary Jensen]

hydralic backstay

I just sold my 36 tall rig with a hydralic backstay...It worked well. Normally my mast was straight up and down as to the line of site from the deck. Going to weather I would rake it back. I don't know how far the mast would bend, (I think maybe 6 inches?). What I would measure was the amount of pull I'd place on it, which was 10,000lbs....One thing I know for sure is that my mast was not raked forward.

 

[Sharky]

Mat rake

I have a 1084 Catalina 36 with the same problem. It seems that the mast is raked forward. I've tried to tighten the backstay just with the turnbuckle and it didn't seem to make a difference. Let me know if you find a solution for your mast rake. Also my mast does not sit evenly in the mast partner on deck . How do you shim the mast evenly ?

 

[Keith]

mast rake

My mast on my 36 (# 1130) also seems to rake forward some, much more than my old 30. Boat still sails good so I decided to leave it at that rake. Kind of think it is the nature of the beast to be that way I feel. Mine is a tall rig if that has any effect.

 

[Bob Robeson]

Be carefull with mast rake

Small changes (3/4 of an inch) at the masthead can have great effects on the sailing nature of a sloop. If your moving a properly rigged mast you can open the boat up to ills such as rounding up, unable to balance, not able to use Autopilots, and other ills.If you want to handle the mast alignment yourself, I suggest starting with the owners manual as it shows the exact rack for your boat. The size and cut (power) of your sails will have an effect on the balance of the boat and the rack of the mast. Basically, the farther forward the mast, the later it will round to weather as you moved the center of pressure forward, but it wont point as well as it could. Everything is a trade off.All stay's and shrouds should be under the correct tension, so if you tighten one, you may need to loosen the other and you should use a tensioner so you know where it is at.If you don’t want a livelong experiment, or just setting for the way things are, you might want to have a rigger check it out.Good luckBob