Rooster 8.1 rig on Laser

Good grief, until something happens untoward, then second guessing outcomes would appear somewhat pointless. 

There is no empiracle data to work from, or even any material data available, so who knows what will happen? Probably not very much.  Just top mast sections breaking as per usual.

Looks like a good idea to me, and far more likely to get the nod on the expenditure front from the family banker.

 

 

No, beacuse when a gust hits a sailor who is fully hiked the boat heels therefore reducing the load on the rig! There would be momentary instant where the load would be greater before the boat has started heeling, however most materials can take much greater loads in short temporary stints than they could if the loading were permanent. The age of the boat will also come into play, due to the mast step losing some stiffness over the years and probably becoming more brittle aswell so the gust impacts may affect it more on an older hull.

Originally posted by Jimbob In my view Medway Maniac is oversimplifying the forces on the boat. If a 16 st sailor were sailing an 8:1 rig upwind in steady wind 'A' fully blocked and fully hiked then he would be bound to put more stress on the boat and the mast foot than if he were sailing in a lesser wind 'B' since he would not be fully hiked in the latter. A normal 13 st sailor in wind 'A' would already have released his blocks and be luffing to reduce side forces.

Once the helm is fully hiked the boat is at max load regardless of rig size ...

I think you Guy's are all talking lots of sense.  One more thought though, once a boat is planeing (never really sure how to spell that) the loads are reduced.  I always think of boat going through the transition from non planeing to planeing generating the most loads on the rig. 

We are considering providing a carbon top mast for the boat.  We have one for show at the Dinghy Show - its over half the weight of the aluminium version, and perhaps more responsive. 

Happy sailing - whatever you sail!

In my view Medway Maniac is oversimplifying the forces on the boat.
If a 16 st sailor were sailing an 8:1 rig upwind in steady wind 'A' fully blocked and fully hiked then he would be bound to put more stress on the boat and the mast foot than if he were sailing in a lesser wind 'B' since he would not be fully hiked in the latter. A normal 13 st sailor in wind 'A' would already have released his blocks and be luffing to reduce side forces.

In the real world there are also gusts up to twice avge wind speed and there is inertia (of both the boat/rig system and sailor's mind). When the gust strikes there would be an immediate large increase in forces on the sail (and stressing moment at the mast foot) before the system and the sailor's brain started reacting to the increased forces by heeling, releasing main, and heading up. That is why masts get broken.