Thinking of purchasing the Catalina 30 pictured below but I'm not familiar with this piece of rigging. Looks like stainless flat bar between the turnbuckle and chainplate on the upper shroud. Any insight would be appreciated.
Rigging- Has anybody seen this?
- Thread starter gfcng
- Start date
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,210
It could be a repair using shortened shrouds
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It also could be an owner/rigger design improvement. Asking the owner about it is the easiest way to resolve concerns.
Looking at the angle the shroud meets the through deck chain plate leads me to think The owner or rigger felt the angle could become an issue. A tang is used to provide a strong transition for the angle. Connects the chain plate to the shroud. The shroud and turnbuckle are kept in a straight line.
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It also could be an owner/rigger design improvement. Asking the owner about it is the easiest way to resolve concerns.
Looking at the angle the shroud meets the through deck chain plate leads me to think The owner or rigger felt the angle could become an issue. A tang is used to provide a strong transition for the angle. Connects the chain plate to the shroud. The shroud and turnbuckle are kept in a straight line.
Appreciate everyone weighing in. The current owner has only had the boat 3 years and not very knowledgeable.
Attached is another angle. The tabernacle explanation makes the most sense while viewing the base of the mast.
Anyone have an opinion on tabernacle masts?
Attached is another angle. The tabernacle explanation makes the most sense while viewing the base of the mast.
Anyone have an opinion on tabernacle masts?
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The second pic pretty clearly shows the tabernacle mast step and the rounded foot on the mast. Very unusual for a Cat 30, certainly not factory but it confirms Apex's thoughts, I think....
It was indeed a catalina 30, my dockmate when I was in Muskegon. I agree, it is a telephone pole of a mast, so a risky proposition.
.....I have a C&C 30mkII, and it is keel-stepped. Not friendly for tabernacle set up.
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Yes, it is a tabernacled mast step. Every sailboat (Catalina 30's included) in the upper Santa Cruz Harbor are setup that way because of a bridge transit. The Catalina 30's heavy mast requires a winch to drop and raise. There are more parts in the process than just the "hinged" upper shrouds.
The shackle at the top of the "flat bar" is a sure giveaway.
The shackle at the top of the "flat bar" is a sure giveaway.
That makes sense, I would check for additional equipment. I have seen sailboats out of Huntington Harbor/Anaheim Bay near Seal Beach set up to lower the mast in order to clear bridges. Also saw one guy tilting his mast forward to go under w. misssion bay blvd. bridge in mission bay to get back to Sea World Marina. I get the necessity for Santa Cruz. It's the only harbor in the area... also Huntington Harbor with so many waterfront properties... but the Sea World thing makes no sense because there are 4 marinas in the adjoining Quivera Basin with direct access to ocean. Cheaper too.
Now that the mystery has unfolded, I think it's a big plus to be able to lower the mast of a 30 foot boat without hiring a crane. BIG +++
good luck with your survey. I wanted to remind you that there should be some extra equipment if the mast is intended to be lowered completely... i.e. so it can be removed or worked on. Some kind of gin pole device, or other method of raising the lifting control line ABOVE the hinge point (mast step). Once the mast gets close to parallel, the lifting line has insufficient angle to pull up on the mast. If you're just dropping the mast to 45 degrees or so then any point at cockpit level, a halyard winch on the cabin top for instance, would give plenty of angle. My Nacra 5.2 had a 26 ft mast, the base was a ball/socket device that allowed spar to rotate, and also lower. That system, the mast dropped aft. So the trailer had a tower with a block near the top which was used to get the winch line up above the level of the mast base. At the rear, I had a tripod like pedestal that was positioned to "catch" the mast, and keep it from dropping below horizontal. (lots of guys used a 6 foot folding ladder for the same purpose) My 3 legged device folded so it could be stored easily on the trailer or in the cat box.
The reason I'm blathering on like this is to suggest that there can be more than one way to get the mast down safely, A gin pole, a tower, a ladder, etc what you need to understand is the geometry. Figure that out and you'll have a nice picture.