Phils Rig School continued...

Since those irritating three initials flamed up the other thread, before we
really talked the whole thing through and there was one thing that we
used to borrow from dinghies back in the days of flexi needlespars.

Topping Lifts.

Anyone remember them?
Line from the end of the boom to the tip of the mast, kind of exactly
opposite force to the boom vang as it was more generally called then.
Tightening it flexed the mast tip and released the head of the sail to get
that twist. It was going through my head as a possible extra source of
stay to counter the pull of a kite on an unstayed rig, least that's what I'd
been thinking before things went awry.

Anyway, are they still about, anyone use them?

Mirrors have allowed them a few years back. Generally of use in very light winds when the weight of the boom holds the leach closed, I believe used only sporadically to reattach flow. A problem also solved in other classes with loghter carbon booms. The problem with ones from the boom end to the mast head is all that pesky roach getting in the way, so I think the Mirrors were just using the pole uphaul.

Would a backstay make more sense, yotty style?! Model yachts solve the problem of the roach by having a 90 degree bend at the top of the mast to take it clear before coming down. Tuning the backstay is/was an important tuning thing in yachts.

the kicker on this boat is formed by being an extension of the boom, which has passed through the mast.  As you pull on the end of this extension the end of the boom is forced down, replicating to some degree the action of a conventional kicker.  Presumably you could also fit a devie that would have the reverse effect ie oulling the boom up. 

O.K. here's my next brainstormer.

My thinking was a two part mast system, with an inner and an outer.

The outer sleeve if you wish, it'll be difficult to describe this without
drawings.

But imagine a horse shoe style section of carbon in monocoque form, so
it's as stiff as the proverbial stiff thing, but the 2nd part, that the sail is
sleeved on/boltroped to whatever, has variable luff curve potential for
and aft.

Kind of bendy inner windsurf style mast (like the current rdms, ony
maybe a tad thinner)sleeved by permanent dont even try and change
shape outer.

That way the sail maker could set his bend curve to an inner of his choice,
and the outer remains universal. Less dicking about.

Now with the outer not having to be bent or buggered about it could do
useful stuff like twist to weather, or even slide back and forth a bit further
than is current.

I dunno, just a thought. Kill a couple of birds with one stone, standardise
the outer whilst leaving the inner at the sailmakers disposal.

Built in decent carbon shouldn't be too heavy, Might be a bit pricey, but
then if it really did the deed and you could get the sort of depower
windsurfer rigs are capable of, who knows...

Just a thought - damn dangerous this - sounding like a nutter and
mentioning Doug Lords name in the same thread.



Edited by G.R.F.