CD36 Staysail club boom needed

[denny]

We are the new owners of a 1983 CD 36 - Hull # 97.

The jib club boom has been removed as has the cast bronze pedestal mount for the club boom's gooseneck fitting.

If anyone has these items and is looking to get rid of them please contact me at:

denny@frehsee.com

I have asked RigRite to price a new boom. Per David Perry at Robinhood - the pedestal mount is no longer made, so in absence of finding a used one, I will probably have one fabricated.

I am open to ideas if someone else has had to solve this.

Are there any CD36 sailors who prefer to sail the staysail as a tacking sail, instead of self tacking?

Thanks,

Denny Frehsee

[Jim Walsh]

You mentioned RigRite is pricing a replacement boom. They also have a large selection of pedestals. A bronze pedestal would always be aesthetically preferable but they have aluminum and stainless units available should economy be a prime concern.

[John Stone]

I removed the club boom on the Far Reach (CD 36). I have no desire to go back. I rely heavily on the stays'l. If you're interested I can provide more info on why we eliminated it how we set it up.

[SSgtPitt]

Far Reach, I would be very interested in understanding the benefits and drawbacks of removing your boom, besides the gaining of all that space.

[John Stone]

Well, I provide my reasons only for myself, based on my own experience. I acknowledge and respect that many other sailors, some of whom are very experienced and have many ocean miles under their keels, like having a club footed stays'l.

Other than ease of tacking I see no advantage. And to me, the stays'l is so easy to tack even that is not an advantage. If I had a sloop that only carried a working jib then I could perhaps see the advantage of a club footed jib.

The club footed jib, when doused and with the club topping lift clobbers the fore-deck. It's in the way when anchoring. It's in the way when hauling the big jib up and down. It's in the way when launching and recovering the drifter or flying the asymmetric spinnaker. It's in the way when flipping the dinghy upside down on the fore deck. When head to wind, if you are on the foredeck the thing is a hazard.

Club footed jibs don't really set well. They have one fixed point for the lead and it's difficult to open or close the leach. They don't lend themselves easily to a furler, if you want one (I don't want one but many other contemplate having one).

When short tacking in light air, you can't remove the stays'l and forestay to make tacking the big jib easier. Most people will then just drop sails and motor--I don't have an inboard so we sail regardless the wind. Being able to short tack up a narrow channel in a light breeze is delightful. But with a forestay in the way it can be more difficult.

Sometimes, when off shore in big wind and swell, I'll run the stays'l sheets outside the uppers and really open the slot up. It's much more powerful. Can't do that with the club stays'l without a lot more work.

When double reefed and just the stays'l the Far Reach is very easy to tack. The stays'l comes across the fore deck almost instantaneously. Because the distance is so short, there is very little stays'l sheet to haul in on the new tack so it's fast and simple . . . just the way I like it.

Again, the above is my rational for me on my boat. I full appreciate that other sailors like their club footed stays'ls.

To make this work, I installed two small winches forward of the primary winches, one port and one starboard. Then, I installed a small simple flared bronze fixed lead on the side deck as close to the cabin top as I could. They create a stays'l lead of three degrees less (recommended by most sail makers) than the sheeting angle for the jib run outboard of the cap shrouds. Some folks prefer running the leads on the cabin top but on the Far Reach I wanted to avoid that for several reasons. (1) I did not want to drill holes through the cabin top (we effectively have no holes in the cabin top). (2) I did not want to mount winches on the cabin top. (3) Because I moved the tack of the stays'l to the stem of the boat I was able to gain the sheeting angle I desired by placing the leads on the side deck.

To allow for opening or closing the leach of the stays'l I incorporated an adjustable tack pendant for the stays'l which causes the same effect as moving sheet leads fore and aft. Same effect, simpler and less holes in the deck.

The arrangement we have has worked very well. It's simple and effective and the boat sails better for having it rigged in such a manner.

[tjr818]

Love the spring line belay. Very well done.

[denny]

Thanks for the insights. I think we will sail it without the club boom for a season, and see what we think.

In the meantime, if anyone comes a cross a boom or pedestal, let me know, in case I decide I really want it.

Denny