Convert Boom Staysail

[O'Neal]

I am considering eliminating the staysail boom on my CD-30C and and rigging the sail with cabin-top tracks and sheets. I experimented with sheeting directly to the clew from the existing traveler, but the sheet angle is way to far forward it seems. Does anybody have any experience with such a conversion?

The purpose for the conversion is based a some personal experience and mostly on the experience of others. I plan to use the boat single-handed offshore and most of the literature I find regarding handling cutter rigged boats suggest throwing the stays'l boom overboard for safety reasons and utility. I am open to any suggestions.

Thank you,

Todd Nelson
s/v Invisible Sun
CD-30C, #220

[Maine_Buzzard]

What was the previous experience?

My first thought is that the wonderful thing about the internet is how many experts you can find on it...

But the opinions on this board are certainly more honest and based on actual seat of pants time than many other boards (Sailing Anarchy? anyone disagree? There, I said it.)

Soooo, the thought is, I have to admit, Guppy has always been sloop rigged with a 150, at least while I have been caretaking her. I love the rig for Maine summer sailing, figured out how to instantly reef with a turn of the line around the aft cleat, and invested in an ATN storm jib conversion so I don't have to drop a huge genoa in 25+ wind in order to hoist a storm sail in that teeny tiny track. Like that would even work without two skilled racers on deck.

Arriving circuitously at your actual question (so typical for me- hey, I ran the conversation back to me again, funny how that always happens, kind of reminds me of the time off Cape Disappointment, blah blah, OH WOULD I JUST SHUT UP!)


Again, back to the matter at hand- sheeting angles will be a bit hard, and the boom does a lot to make things simpler. Any chance you'd look at a removable inner forestay, a quick release on the boom, and a spot to park it on deck? If you had a spot to tie it away when not in use, next to the whisker pole, would you then be able to take it on and off as needed, or not?

Sheeting on the cabintop looks like it would just collapse the sail when you run down. Having the boom lets you hang the corner of the sail way out to the side.

With that, you get to try it out, and see what works for you, which is the best expert you can ask... Sometimes.

Apologies if the ranting and punchy response is offputting to anyone. I have been working far too long the last few weeks.

Enjoy the Turducken!

[Steve Laume]

I do not have a tremendous amount of offshore experience but have made a few, single handed, multi day, passages. The cutter rig with the boom does allow for lots of flexibility in your sail plan. My staysail has a reef in it which I have used a few times and it is a practical solution to reducing sail with the boom. The boom does restrict the use of the foredeck but so would any staysail arrangement on a boat this size. Sometimes it helps to have that boom to brace against while on the foredeck.

If all you were going to be doing was offshore passages you could do without it. The beauty of the boom is when you are in tighter areas. When offshore you have all the time in the world to tack or jibe and don't tend to do it very often. It is when things get tight that the boom is a blessing. I love being able to roll up the jib and just put the helm over to tack in tight quarters.

I added a bail to the end of the staysail boom that has a short piece of light line hanging on it that allows me to tie the boom off the one of the shrouds. I usually do this before anchoring and while in port. This goes a long way towards clearing up the foredeck when not under sail.

I don't know how long you have sailed this boat but I would live with it for a while and then see if it was still something you felt you wanted to do. Having two more sheets in the cockpit would create even more of a mess than the one line sheeting possible with the boom. It is bad enough to have the jib sheets and the control lines for down wind sails all laying around. It would also require the sheets to be run to winches, somewhere. The beauty of the boom is the uncluttered simplicity it allows and the auto tacking in close quarters, Steve.

[Paul D.]

I sailed an Ingrid cutter across the Tasman with the staysail boom set up and it worked well, but that boat had a larger foredeck. I agree with a previous post that recommends sailing with it for a season before any major modifications, especially if your sailing sees you shorthanded and tacking often in limited quarters.

One thing you could try is simply removing the boom and sheeting the staysail to the blocks on the coachroof as is. If the sheet is rigged with three blocks on a coachroof track or just two blocks on either side of the coachroof then leading back to the cockpit, it may work and you can get a feel for sailing without the boom.

I'm pretty much liking my 33's sloop rig, but I always have wanted to rig a removable inner stay for the big stuff. If I had a 30 I might look at setting that up too if in a light air area where a 135% genny would be sweet.

Just my two cents. I certainly would try to get some other 30 owner's thoughts though who have sailed both with and without the staysail boom.

[O'Neal]

Thank you for all the input. After some more consideration, cluttering up the coach roof with tracks and more lines will make footing while working at the mast dodgy. I think I'll just experiment with ways to manage the boom while working on the foredeck underway and anchoring. Always nice to bounce an idea off the experience of the CDSOA board.

Thanks!