We have a sloop rig, 120 roller furling jib and RF main. We are headed down US coast to Carib then over to S Pacific and French Polynesia. We just bought a Parasailor for downwind. We will need to prepare for heavy air and want to add a staysail. We have a track for a storm trysail on the mast, so that's OK as is. We are debating whether to do a cutter rig by adding a new forestay, (there's a tang already on the mast where it could go). But then we would need to add backstays too. We have read about solent stays and are wondering if anyone has any experience with that. We know little about backstay pressure and how to adjust for additional solent. And if the solent would work for a storm/ staysail, as the solent attaches at mast top. We keep going back and forth - don't know which way is best. Advice PLEASE!
solent or cutter?
- Thread starter Mahayana1
- Start date
to be exact, converting the boat to a cutter rig would require a full refit... but a solent stay and/or staysail stay can be added/retrofitted into the original sloop rigging.
adding either a solent or a staysail stay will almost always require running backstays otherwise the mast will be highly overstressed as the sail pulls on the stay...
do a google search for running backstay in google images.. it will show you pictures of how they are rigged to be adjustable and used..
my opinion would be, if you are rigging for heavy air, fit the boat with a staysail stay and running backstays, get a good suit of sails to fit, plus spares, and go.
adding either a solent or a staysail stay will almost always require running backstays otherwise the mast will be highly overstressed as the sail pulls on the stay...
do a google search for running backstay in google images.. it will show you pictures of how they are rigged to be adjustable and used..
my opinion would be, if you are rigging for heavy air, fit the boat with a staysail stay and running backstays, get a good suit of sails to fit, plus spares, and go.
Center is right, you have to very carefully look at the added stress any new stay/sail will add to the rig. In particular on masthead rigs. Now your boat is masthead but has slightly swept spreaders. That helps, but not as much as a fully swept factional boat would get; you often see designed fractional systems that run solents without running backs.
With the mild sweep you MIGHT be able to safely add a solent stay to the mast where the D2 shrouds add support at the upper spreader. Might.
Or you could add a solent stay VERY close to the masthead, where the backstay and hounds would help support the load. The downside is that the stay is almost the same size as your headstay and really designed to fly maybe a 85% headsail and not a stormsail.
I'd consult a very qualified marine rigger for advice.
Web link on adding a stay.
http://www.sailmagazine.com/boatworks/convert-your-sloop-double-headsail-rig
With the mild sweep you MIGHT be able to safely add a solent stay to the mast where the D2 shrouds add support at the upper spreader. Might.
Or you could add a solent stay VERY close to the masthead, where the backstay and hounds would help support the load. The downside is that the stay is almost the same size as your headstay and really designed to fly maybe a 85% headsail and not a stormsail.
I'd consult a very qualified marine rigger for advice.
Web link on adding a stay.
http://www.sailmagazine.com/boatworks/convert-your-sloop-double-headsail-rig
Staysail/running back stays
Thank you for your reply. Can you tell me what the difference is between refitting our sloop masthead rig (with all RF sails) into a cutter rig... and refitting with staysail stay and running back stays? I thought it was the same thing. But maybe it's not. If we add a solent stay for the storm sail, attached at the top of the mast, would we still need to add running back stays? I did the google search you suggested... more mixed info! Still confused as to which works best for our boat.
Thank you Jackdaw. I will consult a rigger. Just cant find one in Buffalo who REALLY knows what's best to do. I have been working with the most knowledgeable one here and he is giving me quotes for a staysail stay and running back stays and it's an enormous amt of equipment to be added. But he's not sure about a solent. WE will add the staysail stay and backstays - if that's the safest and best solution. I just want to make sure it is. Do you know of a really good rigger who can be contacted by forum or phone? Thanks.
Mine does not seem a popular point of view, but it occurs to me that if your Beneteau was designed for ocean crossings with the potential for heavy conditions up to, and including, sustained gale-force winds and very high seas, it would already have the rigging on it to make those crossings (as in IPs). That's because boats that are designed for blue water cruising frequently ARE cutter rigged, etc.
Nevertheless, there are a number of Beneteaus (and other evident coastal cruiser designs) going to the Marqueses this year. (See the 2015 Pacific Puddle Jump participant list at the link below.) It's hard to imagine, potentially, that much re-rigging going on. Sailing downwind in the southeast Pacific trades, however, might not be the same as crossing the Caribbean, which could a bit rougher.
I went through nearly this same exercise with some of the folks here in this forum about my Bavaria 38E (7/8 fractional) re: adding a solent stay. After several days of discussion in and out of here, the conclusion was that all that I really needed was a 3rd reef point in the mainsail and a storm jib; although a solent could offer some convenience in high wind. True or not I don't know yet, but Bavaria Yachtbau rated the Bavaria 38E under the European system as Class A--High Seas to a minimum of Force 8 conditions, with Germanischer Lloyd endorsement posted right on the navigation panel, for what that may mean? It's nevertheless impressive. So, you might reconsider the "need" for re-rigging; maybe have a chat with Beneteau?
http://www.pacificpuddlejump.com/fleet.html
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I've sailed my factory OEM rig in 45kts with a factory double reefed main and a gale sail. The ride will wear you out long before your rig becomes a problem. I would put a bunch more miles under your keel, and talk to bluewater riggers from NE to Charleston before I made any impetuous decisions about standing rigging changes.
The one thing that I would do would be a sail change to heavy cloth and extra reinforcements. I think NP call it the "Hawaiian option".
The one thing that I would do would be a sail change to heavy cloth and extra reinforcements. I think NP call it the "Hawaiian option".