Simple Fractional Rigs and Rig Tuning

[oreana123]

I sailed as crew on a Corsair 24 Mk1 this weekend. I was pondering the rig and I thought that this boats 7/8ths fractional rigging might have some relevance to the Macgregor fractionals.

The Corsair line of boats use no backstay. There are 3 main wires on this rig, and you better believe that there is extreme strain on this rig. The 2 sidestays are adjustable in tension using the block and tackle you see rigged out on the ama. 3 wires do the job. The other wires on the spreaders and mast do not go to the hull or deck, they rigidify the stick and are pretty much set and forget. These 3 wires are analogous to the Mac's forestay and 2 upper sidestays......

 

[oreana123]

OK the two small wires are baby stays to assist in setting up the rig and don't do anything once the forestay is pinned.

Also be warned that this line of trimarans are addicting- we saw 13 plus knots in about 17 knot winds.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

betcha you can do 20knts... off the wind with a kite.... fast sled.

have you seen the hulls setup /locked? hulls feel solid?

I'd really like to see how they extend out and lock....
-I love the draft of the corsair!

 

[oreana123]

Mr Bill

I have completely gone over to the dark side after crewing on a Corsair trimaran. Almost every time I go out on one, I experience double digit speeds. The amas are extremely strong, as are the hold out bars (I know there is a polynesian term for them). My future boat has changed as I experience new craft and come up with new limitations. Originally, I wanted a Peterson 44 because I worked for the dealer in San Diego. Then I was sure I wanted a Lagoon 380. Afterwards I became very interested in the Gemini line of catamarans. Now, because of my plans to relocate to the Big Island of Hawai'i (where there is little dock space), I am looking for a Corsair 31. Easily set up and then pulled out and stored mast up on a trailer. I am sure with the right crew and disregard for personal safety, I'll see more than 20 knots in the trades around the islands.

Really less than an hour set up from on the trailer folded up.

I know that this is a Macgregor forum so I'll shut up after this but you have to experience the gliding acceleration as the center hull starts to plane! Oh yeah, I work the foredeck- setting and retrieving the spinnaker, which is huge.

 

[Kestle]

They are fun...but the owner of one I know, which I've sailed on, tinkers more than anyone here (except Su/Ruth).

Jeff

 

[Tom J]

betcha you can do 20knts... off the wind with a kite.... fast sled.

have you seen the hulls setup /locked? hulls feel solid?

I'd really like to see how they extend out and lock....
-I love the draft of the corsair!

When the ama retracts, the supports ( I forget the proper term) fold up. When the ama is extended, the supports fold down, the outside half overlaps the inside half and is secured in place by a stout stainless steel bolt that is turned into a deck fitting. My friend keeps a brace with a socket on board for just this purpose. When he docks, he retracts the ama nearest the dock, and we step out from the cockpit onto the dock.

 

[Jackdaw]

Fun boat, and you are right, addicting!

I'm pretty sure that for a 24 footer with 360 sqr/ft of sail, the rig tension is considerably LOWER than a typical boat of that size. The extremely wide shroud base allows for that. The narrower your shroud base, the higher the tension; the wider, the lower. And you can't get much wider than chainplates on amas. Because the boat is in effect always always reaching, the sweep angle can be rather high, creating more balanced loads (almost triangulated) and eliminating the need for a backstay. Its really quite clever. Typical these types of rigs, diamond stays with small spreaders are used to keep the mast in column and add pretend.

 

[tkanzler]

When the ama retracts, the supports ( I forget the proper term) fold up. When the ama is extended, the supports fold down, the outside half overlaps the inside half and is secured in place by a stout stainless steel bolt that is turned into a deck fitting.

And in the case of the Dragonflys, the amas swing back on a parallelogram akas (struts) arrangement against the vaka (main hull), so the bottoms of the amas are always in the same orientation, unlike the others where the amas roll in the water as they're folded in.

http://www.trimarans.com/

p.s. I've been eyeballing trimarans for a while, but it won't be time to try something new for a couple more years yet.

 

[Jackdaw]

And in the case of the Dragonflys, the amas swing back on a parallelogram akas (struts) arrangement against the vaka (main hull), so the bottoms of the amas are always in the same orientation, unlike the others where the amas roll in the water as they're folded in.

http://www.trimarans.com/

p.s. I've been eyeballing trimarans for a while, but it won't be time to try something new for a couple more years yet.

Dragonfly's ROCK. Do they have a US importer?

 

[Justin_NSA]

One of the guys in our club had a Corsair. They fly! He sold it and bought a Beneteau so they could have a comfortable cabin.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

I got back into sailing with a Hobie 16.

IMHO, cats are the way to get kids interested in sailing. monohulls typically are just too boring for kids.

the trade off on the corsair's is the cabins. mac's are better for camping families!

 

[oreana123]

Here is a pic of the boat going more than 10 knots. This boat belongs to Joel Santarone on Ruddercraft (working the jib sheets) and Howard is on the tiller. Since we weren't setting the chute this day, I am free to roam the nets. Last Sunday.

 

[tkanzler]

Dragonfly's ROCK. Do they have a US importer?

A broker or dealer in San Francisco is selling what I believe is a new 28 foot Dragonfly, but the price isn't listed. It's got to be expensive, though, as the spars and sails seem to be pretty high tech.

I couldn't find the site again, but there's also Helms Yacht Sales in Alameda, CA.

http://www.helmsyacht.com/dragonfly-28/