Roller Furling Move From One Sailboat To Another

[Sail123]

Many of you remember me as the guy that wanted to change masts on my Clipper Marine's so I could swap my roller furling without modifying it or my sails.

I decided to go with everyone's advice and not move the 30' mast to the boat with the 27.5' mast. So far. I am still doing some head scratching, working on a way to move that RF system to the boat I am using.

How about this?

Currently the "J" measurement is the same on both sailboats. 13'. The roller furling currently is on a 30' mast to achieve the 13' J measurement.

For you slide rule kids, what would be the new J measurement if I moved the RF as it is to the 27.5 mast?

I would be willing to have a new bow pulpit made. It could be reinforced by running a cable from the wench recovery hook below the bow pulpit. I am no math expert but I imagine I would need to extend the J measurement apx to 14.25' or an additional 1.25'.

Clipper Marine 33. That does not sound so bad. Lol

That would allow me to keep my current jib sail without making it smaller

What problems would I run into that I do not see, by doing this? What sailing fundamentals for good sailing might I be messing with?

I would have a very nice new bow made to include a locker for the anchor, and a substantial bow pulpit where it would be fun and safe to hang out while sailing.

 

[kloudie1]

The difference is more like 2' 3" but ya should be able to hook the end of a 50 foot tape (Securely) to the jib halyard and pull it up to the top and take a reading on each boat.

 

[Ted]

I haven't done the math but you will undoubtedly have a major amount of increased lee helm. Excessive lee helm can be dangerous in windy conditions. Your boat will want to bear away from the wind in a gust which is just the opposite of what you would want the boat to do to stay on her feet. Why don't you just modify the furling system so that it fits the shorter mast properly?

 

[Victory]

The luff difference is easier to handle.... much easier. My calculations indicate you would have to increase the "j" to 17.69 ft. !!! in order to accommodate the 32.7 ft luff on the new 27.5 ft mast....

Headsail hoist (I)= 27.5 ft Luff length of RF 32.7 ft. Solving for "j" Luff squared minuse "I" squared equals the "j" squared or ....

(32.7 x 32.7) - (27.5 x 27.5) = J Squared
1069-756 = 313
square root of 313 = 17.69


4ft 8 inches is a huge amount to add on to the front of the boat.

I suggest refitting the RF unit to the shorter luff... by cutting down the foil to the proper length. Then, either convert the ketch's exisiting hank on sail to a luff tape, or re cut the RF sail from the sloop.

Even if you were to build a 4.5 foot sprit and modify the pulpit, the sail probably still wouldn't fit correctly.... because the change in headstay angle would tilt the sail backward and drop the clew down below the deck level.

You could probably find a newer sail that would fit perfectly for much less than the trouble and expense of making so many changes.

I understand why you wanted to install the larger mast..... since the J is the same you could probably just swap out the rigging.... but what I'm sensing is that you just want to save the cost of modifying a sail.... Or perhaps you think the boat will be faster... I don't know.... but if that is what's motivating you, there are cooler ways of getting more sail on the boat.... adding a short sprit to attach a gennaker is one very popular way(the sail would attach in front of the pulpit). That way you have the normal headsail for upwind work and the larger reaching to roll out when sailing across the wind.

In the mean time, you can enjoy the boat as is, with the hanked on jib. One thing you can do to make sail handling easier is to rig a simple "jib downhaul" to help get the sail down on deck without going forward. You can also lace some light cord on the lifelines, from the pulpit back to the second stanchion.... to keep the sail from sliding off the deck.
Both additions are inexspensive and simple to set up, but will make your sailing experience even more pleasant.

 

[Sail123]

Wonderful posts gentelman. Thanks for your help.