Current design trends

[Zing]

I’m fairly sure that ‘rotating mast’ has been lost in translation and actually means folding mast. I may be wrong but that’s what the brochure suggests.

They do exist. A very expensive high performance feature.

 

[dunedin]

They do exist. A very expensive high performance feature.

Yes, but as Shuggy points out the mast in the brochure shots is a standard fixed mast, not the “rotating mast” often found on fast racing cats and some other exotic race boats with open rules.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Yes, but as Shuggy points out the mast in the brochure shots is a standard fixed mast, not the “rotating mast” often found on fast racing cats and some other exotic race boats with open rules.

Our Dragonfly 800 had a rotating mast. A production cruiser racer.

 

[dunedin]

Our Dragonfly 800 had a rotating mast. A production cruiser racer.

Isn’t a rotating mast much easier on a multihull ? Conventional spreaders (like on the boat the subject of this tread) don’t work with a rotating mast, hence tend to have wide shroud base and potentially on mast diamonds?
The Open 60s use huge deck level spreaders

 

[Shuggy]

“In its lifting keel and rotating mast version, the cruiser can sail along canals and rivers to its sailing grounds”

So says the brochure… so I’m going for ‘folding mast’ as the best translation.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Isn’t a rotating mast much easier on a multihull ? Conventional spreaders (like on the boat the subject of this tread) don’t work with a rotating mast, hence tend to have wide shroud base and potentially on mast diamonds?
The Open 60s use huge deck level spreaders

I’m sire that is right. Mast diamonds also interfere with overlapping jibs, which suits multis, the DF didn’t have them, though. The mast section was quite large, and aluminium, so heavy. The 920 they took a different approach to save weight aloft.

 

[B27]

“In its lifting keel and rotating mast version, the cruiser can sail along canals and rivers to its sailing grounds”

So says the brochure… so I’m going for ‘folding mast’ as the best translation.

Sounds like a mast tabernacle, to drop the mast.

A few dinghies have had rotating masts with spreaders, the spreaders are a unit right across the shrouds with a pivot on the front of the mast. Some Moths do this, with a 3rd arm of the spreader going to the forestay.
Tasar dinghies use over-rotating masts controlled by diamond stays, doesn't affect the jib. In fact with diamonds, you can have a big overlapping genoa and sheet it inside the shrouds to get a fine sheeting angle.

 

[Daydream believer]

Sounds like a mast tabernacle, to drop the mast.

A few dinghies have had rotating masts with spreaders, the spreaders are a unit right across the shrouds with a pivot on the front of the mast. Some Moths do this, with a 3rd arm of the spreader going to the forestay.
Tasar dinghies use over-rotating masts controlled by diamond stays, doesn't affect the jib. In fact with diamonds, you can have a big overlapping genoa and sheet it inside the shrouds to get a fine sheeting angle.

Shearwater cats have rotating masts with the attachment point on the leading edge of the mast . The foot sits on a ball rather like a tow hitch ball

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Shearwater cats have rotating masts with the attachment point on the leading edge of the mast . The foot sits on a ball rather like a tow hitch ball

Any other method with a rotating mast would be amazingly complicated. Darts, Hobies, Tonados and Hurricanes, and the more modern F18 cats, plus our DF800 all had that.

 

[Birdseye]

How does that work with multis then?

There was an interesting investigation into multihull seaworthyness by the US coatsguard. Probabloy sometime in the 90s since that was when I was looking for a Cat. Anyway, reading the report showed that a key factor in multi capsize was the area of the under deck which in bad seas often gave rise to lift. Solid bridgedeck cats were more at risk than those with nets between hulls.
For monos, the most important capsize issue was size - the bigger the better.