Mast Top Lean

[Patrick]

I have a 1987 Hunter 31' with a Schaefer 2000 furler installed. There is an aft lean to the mast from the top spreader to the mast head. This is the way the mast was when I bought it this past August. After looking at other boats, all with straight mast, is my mast out of adjustment?

 

[Steve Dion]

Check the owners manuals

Patrick:Check out the owners manuals. They are somewhere on this website if you do not have one. They have bend built into the them by design. It is part of the B&R design.

 

[Dave Winiker]

Not to worry. Our '87 H31 has a similar mast curvature as has every Hunter of this vintage that I've seen.

 

[Doug Washburn]

You are fine.

That mast rake is partially formed into the mast at the factory and partially controlled by your back stay. It is just another way to control the shape of your mainsail and is not a problem for you.

 

[Terry]

Most mast builders make them straight, but...

Hunter rigs them with some bend, which is normal and as mentioned earlier, is used to control main sail shape. Riggers use the backstay and/or shrouds to adjust bend. Racers will install adjustable backstays to control the amount of bend depending on point of sail, wind strength, etc.TerryP.S. I could be wrong on this, but I think most all masts are made straight with the bend set by the rigger.

 

[Jim]

B & R Rig

I have the same boat, we have what is called the B&R rig. The mast is actually curved from the base to the mast head. This curve is suposed to be set while the mast is de-stepped. A common misconception is to call this rake. The rake is seperate and is a measure of how far your mast head is fore or aft of the mast step. You can measure both with your main halyard. Stretch the halyard tight to the base of your mast. The halyard should be about 4" from the mast somewhere near the mid-height of the mast. Then hang a heavy weight on the halyard and see where she hangs in relation to your boom measure from the mast to where your halyard crosses the boom this is the rake. If you don't have your owners manual i can send a copy of the B&R rig tuning procedure to you, or you can find it online. I have also included a link to the dealer for our mast and boom incase you ever need parts etc.