Raising the boom on a C25 tall rig

[Stan Linado]

I finally installed a bimini purchased from CD on my tall rig C25. Now, the problem is that the bimini is too high for the boom. The easiest solution seems to be have the main shortened about 18" and raise the boom. Obviously this will require modifying the gooseneck by removing the original part and using an adjustable one from CD. I would appreciate any suggestions that you may have before I make the drastic move of having my main cut.

 

[The Garbone]

Topping lift? When we are not using the main we sheet the boom to port out of the way. On our old C27 we just could not use the bimini and main at the same time, math just did not work. A nice floppy hat is good.

 

[Jackdaw]

Just think about that now? ;^)

You could have the foot of the sail cut upwards at an angle, and the leave the gooseneck where it is. Nothing says the boom has to be level.

 

[CloudDiver]

NO! Why would you go through the expense an headache of changing the geometry of your rig at the expense of balance and performance to install a Bimini that was NOT designed for your boat?
Yes, that's right... The Bimini CD sold you was NOT designed for your C25, but it will WORK when installed properly. I'm not saying anything bad about CD, I'm a customer too, but they just aren't very good about including instructions with many items.
The Bimini is a generic size, only it's width is selected by CD to cover the cockpit width of the C-25. To clear the boom you will need to cut a small amount of tubing from the long leg of the frame. If you read Stingy Sailor's article on mounting a Bimini you will se he had to cut 5 inches off his legs to clear the boom on his C-22. You also need to position the Bimini far enough forward to clear the Mainsheet Tackle.
Probably one of your problems is that you are trying to mount the Bimini on top of the cockpit coamings, rather than out to the sides on the gunwhales (I'm not sure what version you ordered). The ideal mounting method is to use the genoa track by using the genoa car mounts CD cells or fashioning your own. CD also has additional short tracks specific for Bimini use that are cheaper than T-Track. This allows you to slide the Bimini fwd or aft as you see fit.
Be prepared that it is possible you may not have standing headroom below the Bimini, but if you get the frame legs cut correctly it will clear the boom and you will have 'close' to standing headroom. Generally speaking, raising the boom and re-cutting your mainsail is a bad idea just for some shade.

 

[Anonymous 121765]

Stan,

I've raised my gooseneck & on two other boats. This is a fairly easy task if you are mechanically familiar & adept at drilling & threading. With the bolts (I would by new SS machine bolts) carefully thread & use Loc-Tite.

I was lucky, as I did not have to modify my sail. In your case, the new style of main heads on international racing boats called square top mainsails may be the way to go. This way, you will not have to modify much. I would check with a knowledgeable sail maker to see if this is plausible.

Hopefully, you also have a topping lift. Ever see sailboats with booms not perpendicular to the mast & hanging low at the boom end when raising their mains & tight boom? Many of these sails will have stretch lines parallel to the leech. The sail is being stretched out of shape with an unbalanced load while raising.

A proper sail will have it's stretch points more balanced along the foot for the leech. I also keep my sail leech line adjusted to lessen the leech stretch. When I'm at the dock, I take up on my topping lift so my boom end is 10° higher than at the gooseneck. When raising my sail, I always slacken the boom sheet. I take her up & tighten the luff down. I then slacken my topping lift & the boom stays close to level. My sails seem to last longer & hold their shape better. Just my thoughts on this pal.

Here is a link for the square head mains to give you an idea. It may be feasible for your main & it's alot less cutting. Besides, there's not much of a performance factor for the top 18" of your sail. A square cut just might be.

https://www.google.com/search?q=new...=WZeoV6ikE8TJmQGv_pSgDw#imgrc=g_NIDXzD06NlnM:

CR

 

[Benny17441]

Is the bimini too high or just too far forward? A good bimini installation has the backstay cut right through an opening in the canvas to insure that the back of the bimini provides shade to the back of the cockpit. If it can be placed to fit behind the boom or just slightly under it then the topping lift can be used for adequate clearance. The opening in the canvas can be accessed through a Velcro fold. Another solution is to cut the poles down until the boom can swing freely above the top. Al you need below the bimini is just headroom to be able to sit comfortably and be able to look over the cabin. No need to seek standing room. In a tiller vessel shade at the back of the cockpit is not as important as on a wheel driven one.

 

[Stan Linado]

Some photos of the actual situation:

• The mainsheet has been moved forward to the companionway and that limits where the forward end of the bimini can be. I plan to have a canvas person set up the bimini opening for the backstay.

• The unit I ordered is 6' forward to aft and so covers a majority of the cockpit. The width worked out OK. The literature from CD said that the bimini height above the coaming would be 36". This would have worked. Obviously, from the attached photos the height is quite a bit more than 36".

• I wasn't too happy mounting tracks on the outside of the coaming because the mounting screws were attached only to unreinforced fiberglass. The brackets that were supplied with the unit mounted on the top of the reinforced area to provide a stable base.

I'm not sure of what the best way to handle this situation would be. Shortening the ss bimini supports seems like a big project if it can be done. Shortening the main 18" would make the sale area still greater than the standard rig.
HELP!!!

 

[gavinbailey]

Here's a pic of the Bimini installation on my C-27. Bit sure if it came from CD or not, however one modification I have made is to fit a pair of their sliding mounting brackets that allow the Bimini feet to attach to the toerail. This works well and is far stronger than the previous deck-mounted fittings which pulled away. Reading this thread I may need to move it further backwards to get more of the cockpit in the shade. As-is it clears the boom well but think it's been cut down to do so.

 

[Stan Linado]

UPDATE: After speaking with the bimini manufacturers at Carver Industries I was told that the unit I purchased could not be cut down. I decided to raise the boom about 1'. Since the gooseneck was bolted to mast I purchased a gooseneck slide from CD to allow the boom kto slide up and down on the mast. Well, the slot cut into the mast for the sail slides was 3/8" and the CD slide was 1/2" and would be below the new height of the boom I decided to grind a new slot at the bottom of the mast to allow the new slide to be inserted. This would allow the boom to be lowered to insert the sail slides and then raised to the 1' higher position for sailing.
Now comes the decision of what to do for the sail. The CD folks suggested that I sail with the existing main using reef points so that when the boat was sold the new owner would have a sail cut to the original dimensions. Speaking to the sailmaker about recutting the sail 1' lower he suggested that it be cut as loose footed.
So, the question is just reef or recut. If recutting, should it be with a bolt rope or loose footed?

 

[Bikerbob]

Wow Stan, I see this is now 10 days old, not sure what you decided.
I think CD is a great resource.. but they are no chandlery. Selling you a Carver Bimini is inexpensive, but cutting up the boat to fit an inexpensive sun cover is a poor move in my opinion. Also the statement that the Bimini could not be lowered is ridiculous! It can for sure.. I have done it, and custom fitting is what a canvas shop does.
Changing rig dimensions is not a good idea.. If you are not keeping this boat for the next 20 years then making permanent changes and cutting sails is not a good idea.. Any buyer will look at what you have done and any surveyor and state that the boat is operating out of is designed shape.
CD said sail the boat on 1 reef???? REALLY? talk about handicaping your enjoyment. Light air sailing will be painful with a reefed main.. or one cut a foot short.
Loose footed is the way to go. I represent a sail loft, and 90% of new sails are loose footed.. it allows you better shape in light winds.. and if you are a foot short.. your going to need it.

James

 

[CloudDiver]

I'm still looking for the 'Face Palm' emoticon... Carver telling you the Bimini cannot be cut down is a load of crap. Adding the sliding gooseneck wasn't a terrible idea because (I'm guessing) you may still have an inch or two of play to raise the boom before the main halyard tops out, no way to tell without actually seeing and testing. Now you have to add a boom downhaul to keep the boom down at the gooseneck since its on a slide.
Regardless, The Bimini legs can be trimmed. No question. My Bimini is practically identical with the same hardware. Cutting your mainsail is a huge waste of time and money.