Anyone added a bowsprit on a CD27?

[keesprins]

I have a CD27 and enjoy the boat a lot. The weatherhelm however is something I'd like to deal with. On this forum I've read many ways to help mitigate it (flattening and/or reefing the main, furling the genoa some etc. ). I'm considering having the roach and battens removed and a negative roach cut into the main. Another option I'm thinking of is adding a short bowsprit like a CD28 to move the CE forward. I figured if I move the forestay 18" forward; the CE of the genoa moves about 12" forward and the total CE (including the main) about 9".
Has this been tried before? Can I expect significant change in weatherhelm?

In 2003 John Vigor wrote: "Many boats from eminent designers have suffered from excessive weather helm in normal sailing conditions. The usual answer is to tack on an afterthought of a bowsprit to move the CE of the whole sail area forward. That is the most effective method, short of moving the mast forward, which usually involves too much work and expense."

[Walter Hobbs]

I have CD 27 hull #35. Weather helm comes early and I put in the 1st reef. Reduces heel and doesn't seem to affect speed. Sometimes put in the reef before I leave the mooring. It's always easy to shake out .
There are a few 27s that have a bowsprit from the factory, only seen pictures of them. Seems it would be difficult to build one without losing the bow chocks.
Not enough of a naval architect to know if it would affect weather helm.

[John Stone]

I have a CD27 and enjoy the boat a lot. The weatherhelm however is something I'd like to deal with. On this forum I've read many ways to help mitigate it (flattening and/or reefing the main, furling the genoa some etc. ). I'm considering having the roach and battens removed and a negative roach cut into the main. Another option I'm thinking of is adding a short bowsprit like a CD28 to move the CE forward. I figured if I move the forestay 18" forward; the CE of the genoa moves about 12" forward and the total CE (including the main) about 9".
Has this been tried before? Can I expect significant change in weatherhelm?

In 2003 John Vigor wrote: "Many boats from eminent designers have suffered from excessive weather helm in normal sailing conditions. The usual answer is to tack on an afterthought of a bowsprit to move the CE of the whole sail area forward. That is the most effective method, short of moving the mast forward, which usually involves too much work and expense."

I don't have a 27. But, I built a new bowsprit to my 36 and I added 24" to to the J. The helm on my boat is almost neutral. http://www.farreachvoyages.com/blank-17/



If going that way and you have ruled out all other contributing factors I would probably go with 24". But wx helm can be caused by lots of things and you need to eliminate those possibilities before you increase the J.

Old sails, especially the mains'l contribute to wx helm. Mast rake. Fore and aft trim. Sail trim. Failure to reef the main first, Etc.

I'd also reach out to Fred Meuller the CD NE fleet captain?, who has a very nice 27 and get some input from him then decide if adding a longer sprit is the best way to go forward.

[keesprins]

Thanks John and Walter for your reply.

[jfischgrund]

I would be hesitant to add the bowsprit for aesthetic reasons -- I think our 27's were designed to look as they are. Maybe I just can't envision what it might look like. I have a bit of a weather helm too, but not too bad. I think one reason for that is that my main is, I believe, slightly smaller than the original sail plan, and maybe that's what makes a difference.

[jadane]

Just came here after brooding about this question for forty years; glad to see everyone came to the same conclusion I have, particularly on the matter of aesthetics! But I have a quation on reefing: of course reefing the main ( which I do way more than necessary) helps. But wouldn't taking a couple of turns on the genny (I use roughly a 115-120) move the CE forward and accomplish much the same thing? (seems counter intuitive). I realize I should know this from experience, but when I start shortening the g., I generally have more on my mind than weather helm. Thanks to all the great answers here

[mathiasben]

I added a bowsprit to my CD 27 (#220) it was done to accommodate a top down spinnaker furler.

https://www.boatsystemgroup.com/en/boar ... ling-yacht

If anyone wants to see pictures I can get some, I think it looks good on the boat and I've gotten comments that it complements the boats looks nicely. The anchor roller was an added bonus.

[John Stone]

I added a bowsprit to my CD 27 (#220) it was done to accommodate a top down spinnaker furler.

https://www.boatsystemgroup.com/en/boar ... ling-yacht

If anyone wants to see pictures I can get some, I think it looks good on the boat and I've gotten comments that it complements the boats looks nicely. The anchor roller was an added bonus.

Always interested in pictures.

[mathiasben]

Along with a crane at the top of the mast, this addition pushed the spinnaker setup out far enough where it no longer comes in contact with the furled genoa.

[John Stone]

Looks pretty good.

[tvangilder]

I have seen two 27's with an anchor roller. they looked ok to me!

[fmueller]

Mathias ... That's a great looking bow sprit. Nice job.

On my boat Jerezana (CD 27) I have almost exclusively been flying a working jib (ie about 100%) for about 5 years now that trims from the factory jib tracs that are on the coach roof. Quantum Bristol made it for me. (I replaced original 3/4" coachroof tracks with 1".) Here in Narragansett Bay where we get 10-15 knots regularly and I don't miss the added footage of a genoa much. Two things happen with the working jib, she points a little higher, and weather helm is reduced ... and with two reefs in the main (and even rolling in the working jib a little) I can go out in 25 knots true and make 5.5 knots sog @ 45 deg true and the boat is safe at about 25 deg heel. It also makes tacking in any wind far easier (single handing).

I have considered adding an "extending" modern type bow pole/sprit (glass or carbon) so I could fly a code 0 or code 1. It's on light days off the wind where I feel the small jib most.

James Baldwin has a tremendous web site https://atomvoyages.com/ and in various videos you'll see where he has fit new sails to Alberg boats. He specs a flat roach main to address weather helm. His work is impressive.

IMG_1760.JPG

[PerrySail27]

The original sail plan for the CD 27 called for an 8'6" foot on the mainsail. After I bought my "27", ( hull 96) several of us at Cape Dory who owned this model suggested shortening the foot to 8' 0" on future boats, which was done. Another 6" off would not hurt, considering there is less weather helm with a reef in. Keeping the boat more upright is the key, which reefing allows, as the waterline moves aft as the boat heals, creating more weather helm.

[Mrmickey]

I haven't done it on a CD27, but adding a bowsprit could definitely help with the weather helm by shifting the center of effort forward. It’s a simpler fix compared to moving the mast.

[gonesail]

here's an example of the CD30 mkII bowsprit. you can't see the bobstay.

bowsprit.jpg