30 ketch or 30 cutter?

[Emile du Toit]

Which is better for 2 people planning some offshore sailing



emile@gte.net

[Murray Glue]

I have sailed for 25 years on a wide range of vessels, and have been
delighted with the balance and flexibility of the CD30 cutter we bought
last year. With the new sails just fitted, but even with the old slightly
baggy ones, she will sail on the wind with no attention to the helm.
We have weathered 58 knots in her and sailed her on the wind with the
asymmetrical spinnaker set.
Ketches seem to be an unecessary complication to me at the 30 ft
length. The cutter offers a good range of sail wardrobe for offshore
sailing, so the smaller sails offered for short handed crews by
the ketch would seem to be offset by the extra windage of the rigging
and, presumably, by the clutter aft.
My vote would be with the cutter rig.

Murray Glue
CD30 Dayspring
New Zealand



106452.2173@compuserve.com

[Emile du Toit]

Murray, thank you for the feedback. Do you perhaps have photo's of your boat or a website I may visit?

I have sailed for 25 years on a wide range of vessels, and have been
delighted with the balance and flexibility of the CD30 cutter we bought
last year. With the new sails just fitted, but even with the old slightly
baggy ones, she will sail on the wind with no attention to the helm.
We have weathered 58 knots in her and sailed her on the wind with the
asymmetrical spinnaker set.
Ketches seem to be an unecessary complication to me at the 30 ft
length. The cutter offers a good range of sail wardrobe for offshore
sailing, so the smaller sails offered for short handed crews by
the ketch would seem to be offset by the extra windage of the rigging
and, presumably, by the clutter aft.
My vote would be with the cutter rig.

Murray Glue
CD30 Dayspring
New Zealand

emile@gte.net

[Tom]

Which is better for 2 people planning some offshore sailing

I agree with Murray. The cutter rig is great for cruising, but each has it's advantages. The main advantage to ketches is smaller sails to deal with. The cutter rig with roller furling jib and club footed staysail is ideal IMHO.



TomCambria@mindspring.com

[Olli Wendelin]

Emile,

Ketch or cutter? Good question. The cutter rig appears to be more popular. All the later year boats are cutters. All the listings I have seen for ketches are either 77's or 78's. Note that the hull is the same for either rig. The interior varies a bit by year, but not by rig. I purchased a ketch because of opportunity, cost, and timing (1977 CD30 #36). I liked the idea of a ketch rig, but was concerned that it might be a bit crowded in a 30 ft boat.

I can seat five comfortably in the cockpit, seven with some crowding. Without the mizzen mast I could probably fit one more. The mizzen mast and boom turn out to be good cockpit handholds in rough weather. The mast is just right as a handhold when coming up from the cabin. The mizzen shrouds and main split backstay are a little busy, but again provide good handholds. I have a cockpit awning that goes under the mizzen boom and provides good rain and sun protection, and can be used while flying the mizzen.

The main mast is farther forward on the ketch rig (2 ft ?). This allows me to store my 8' 6" dinghy on the cabin top for offshore work. I don't belive you could do this with the cutter rig.

The main boom does not extend over the cockpit as it does on the cutter, which is a saftey plus in case of an accidental jib.

Handling of the mizzen sail is a snap. In addition to the standard sails, a mizzen staysail and mizzen spinnaker could be flown from the ketch, if you really want to stay busy.

Here are the comparison working sail sizes for the cutter and ketch:

Cutter: Fore Triangle 232, Main 205, Total 437

Ketch: Fore Triangle 207, Main 165, Mizzen 66.5, Total 438.5

I final point in favor of the ketch is that it is a blow against the humdrum skyline of single masted, sloop rigged, plastic boats seen on most sailing days and at most marinas.

I bow to others to highlight the benefits of the cutter rig.

Olli Wendelin
BLUE MOON
Charleston, SC



wendelin@spawar.navy.mil

[JD Johnson]

. "I have a cockpit awning that goes under the mizzen boom and provides good rain and sun protection, and can be used while flying the mizzen."


I have been thinking about adding some type of awning to my CD30 Ketch. Would you describe how yours works? Where does it attach? Did you make it or can a suitable awning be purchased aftermarket?

Thanks,
JD Johnson
CD 30 Mystic



jondj@gte.net

[Olli Wendelin]

Last summer I made a new cockpit cover for my CD30 ketch. When I bought the boat it came with a canvas tarp with four battens sewn in it. You placed it over the mizzen boom and attached it to the lifelines with elastic shock cord. It provided good coverage but: 1) mizzen had to be secured 2) didn't extend far enough forward 3) hard to store.

The old cover became smoke damaged and had to be replaced. The summer sun in Charleston requires some shade. I had made several bimini tops for other boats before, but the mizzen mast and ketch rig required some extra design effort. I laid out the design but didn't build it. Short of time and funds.

Instead I whipped up a small cover with some blue sunbrella I had around the house. It is about 62" wide and 83" long. The aft end has a sleeve for a PVC pipe. It attaches to the mizzen boom the same place where the mizzen sheet does. The aft corners attach to the stern pulpit with shock cord. The fwd corners attach to stays with shock cord. There is a slot in the fwd end about 13" deep which laces around the mizzen mast. With this top I can raise the mizzen and still have a sun or rain cover. To gain extra headroom I no longer bring the mizzen sheet fwd and down the mizzen mast.

Someday I will extend the fwd edge so that it attaches to the dodger.

Hope this helps. For more details or questions send an e-mail.

Olli Wendelin
BLUE MOON
Charleston, SC



wendelin@spawar.navy.mil

[Bob Pence]

Which is better for 2 people planning some offshore sailing

I owned a 78 CD30 Ketch for 6 years and loved her. Great for single handing. Raised the mizzen boom about 10", had new mizzen sail made and had plenty of standing room. Had drifter and mizzen staysail.Mizzen staysail good only if you have crew and steady wind on the beam or further aft. Presently have 81 CD36 cutter for sale and will take 30CD Ketch as partial payment.



sixpence@dmv.com