Rigging survey
Some boats need the baby stay or inner forestay to control the mast shape and keep it from pumping (for and aft harmonic oscillation.) One other thought is - how big does your working jib need to be? Some newer boats are using two headstays very close together, one to carry the working sail for upwind and the other one (further forward) for an offwind asymmetrical sail. You never tack the asymmetric sail, it gybes in front of the forestay. Caveat - I've not had experience with either rig, so I might be talking through my hat. This is just what I've heard. I do, however, know what you mean about being paranoid! My boat is 8 feet longer than anything I'd sailed before, and loads in higher winds can get a little scary. One thing you should do if the boat is new to you is get the rig assessed by a good rigger and figure out what you want to replace. I believe that most buyers surveys only point out really obvious problems with the rigging, and disclaim anything further. For me, I was not comfortable until I replaced the standing rigging, I believe mine was 25 year old rigging, and its only supposed to go 20 years. From a piece of mind standpoint, this was a good first season expenditure. One additional thought - I looked at the Irwin 41 CC's on Yachtworld (all ketch rigged) and with the bowsprit on that boat, it seems like it was designed for a cutter headsail setup, two of the four boats there had a working job on a boom. But you have to consider the cruising ground we have in the pacific northwest. If this is where you are going to cruise - we spend a lot of time around here with our big sails up waiting for wind. What I have is sometimes a just powerboat with a big stick. So if you are planning on summer cruising inside Vancouver Island, a 135 on a roller and no inner forestay is probably a good choice. Was this a local boat?
