Demasted, looking for good rigger in Canaries

[Slahm]

My Grand Soleil 46.3 has been demasted catastrophically. Broke off at the first of three spreaders.
I need to replace the mast and all the rigging and the best bet seems the Canaries, I can motor there.

Does anyone have any experience replacing a mast in the Canary Islands?
Any recommendations or things to avoid?

I've been trying to get information online but it's surprisingly hard.

Also considering upgrading to a furling mast since I have to basically start over with the rigging, any thoughts?

 

[capnsensible]

Hiya. I live in Lanzarote. Two places here you could email.

Marina Lanzarote in Arecife. www.marinalanzarote.com

Puerto Calero varadero@puertocalero.com

The marinas are run by the same people but the boatyards are, I think, separate. English is spoken both places and I've seen a chap I know, Clive the rigger, working in both places.

Hope this helps!

 

[davethedog]

There is also ALISIOS based in Las palmas, gran Canaria. They do the rigging etc for the ARC boats :

ALISIOS SAILING | Sailing Supplies and Services

Hope you get it sorted!

dtd

 

[Slahm]

Thank you for your answers! If anybody has any experience with some of these companies, let me know. I'm currently talking to both of them, the holidays don't help.

 

[Thistle]

Sorry to hear that: not a good start to the year.

Assuming it's an insurance job, it might be worth asking your insurers if they have any recommendations / preferences.

 

[Kelpie]

Where are you just now?
I'd second Alisios, I didn't get any rigging from them but they did various bits of canvas work for me and I found them very friendly and reasonably priced.

 

[RupertW]

Hiya. I live in Lanzarote. Two places here you could email.

Marina Lanzarote in Arecife. www.marinalanzarote.com

Puerto Calero varadero@puertocalero.com

The marinas are run by the same people but the boatyards are, I think, separate. English is spoken both places and I've seen a chap I know, Clive the rigger, working in both places.

Hope this helps!

My only issue with the yard at Puerto Calero is that they can take many months to get round to doing any work. We found that for a couple of small jobs but we got to know a couple who had been waiting 5 months for work to start.

 

[dunedin]

Your biggest challenge is likely to be getting the necessary mast section and shipping to the Canaries. Might be worth contacting the mast manufacturer and/or Grand Soleil asap to see what the lead time and costs might be.
And yes, if thinking about changing to a furling mainsail, now is the time to do it - especially if the mainsail was ripped in the dismasting. But this will need quite a few other changes in detailed fittings, so need to plan carefully. Also, for a boat of that type, perhaps worth considering a boom furling sail (as most X Yachts, for example, now seem to have) rather than in mast furling.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I’m sitting on our boat about 100 meters from Alisios in Las Palmas as I write this. If you need me to pop over and ask them about anything drop me a line. We’re here for another two or three days or so.

 

[KeelsonGraham]

Your biggest challenge is likely to be getting the necessary mast section and shipping to the Canaries. Might be worth contacting the mast manufacturer and/or Grand Soleil asap to see what the lead time and costs might be.
And yes, if thinking about changing to a furling mainsail, now is the time to do it - especially if the mainsail was ripped in the dismasting. But this will need quite a few other changes in detailed fittings, so need to plan carefully. Also, for a boat of that type, perhaps worth considering a boom furling sail (as most X Yachts, for example, now seem to have) rather than in mast furling.

plus 1 for boom furling.

 

[Slahm]

I have been looking onto all of these ideas, thank you for the information!

 

[roaringgirl]

+1 for checking lead times from the supplier, as this is the first bottleneck you have to overcome.

Of course it's a personal preference, but I wouldn't go ruining the upwind performance of sporty cruiser with in-mast furling. I also much prefer the simplicity of a well set-up stack-pack for long-distance cruising.

 

[dunedin]

+1 for checking lead times from the supplier, as this is the first bottleneck you have to overcome.

Of course it's a personal preference, but I wouldn't go ruining the upwind performance of sporty cruiser with in-mast furling. I also much prefer the simplicity of a well set-up stack-pack for long-distance cruising.

That is why performance brands like X Yachts (and most superyachts) often have carbon booms with in boom furlers - with moulded North 3D sails. Better performance than in mast furling (and can drop manually in extremis). But far from low cost option

 

[Slahm]

Yeah, I will spend what I can to improve things, but likely will re-rig the same, I liked the setup. I am interested in furling mains, but seems like there are some tradeoffs. I am usually shorthanded, and can handle my current reefs pretty well. Looks like lots of fiddling to furl correctly with either mast or boom. I can currently(well, before, lol) drop my main almost anytime.

 

[Tranona]

Yeah, I will spend what I can to improve things, but likely will re-rig the same, I liked the setup. I am interested in furling mains, but seems like there are some tradeoffs. I am usually shorthanded, and can handle my current reefs pretty well. Looks like lots of fiddling to furl correctly with either mast or boom. I can currently(well, before, lol) drop my main almost anytime.

In Mast is not at all fiddly if the sail is good and you follow the instructions on how to do it. It has been around now for getting on for 40 years and mast makers, particularly Selden have refined their systems well plus sailmakers have learned to make sails that minimise the loss on sail area. The main potential loss of performance is with the wind forward of the beam because of the lack of roach on the main, but offwind it really makes very little difference. The big advantage apart from ease of handling is the ability to infinitely adjust mainsail area to match conditions rather than being limited to 3 (ot4) fixed sail areas. In boom is at an earlier stage of development and while it enjoys advantages, particularly in terms of maintaining sail area it is not without potential problems in furling. However as pointed out not cheap and more suited to larger boats than yours.

 

[Slahm]

In Mast is not at all fiddly if the sail is good and you follow the instructions on how to do it. It has been around now for getting on for 40 years and mast makers, particularly Selden have refined their systems well plus sailmakers have learned to make sails that minimise the loss on sail area. The main potential loss of performance is with the wind forward of the beam because of the lack of roach on the main, but offwind it really makes very little difference. The big advantage apart from ease of handling is the ability to infinitely adjust mainsail area to match conditions rather than being limited to 3 (ot4) fixed sail areas. In boom is at an earlier stage of development and while it enjoys advantages, particularly in terms of maintaining sail area it is not without potential problems in furling. However as pointed out not cheap and more suited to larger boats than yours.

If I do go that way, it will almost certainly be a furling mast. It's been on my mind for a while now. I'm excited by the idea.

 

[Tranona]

I have had 2 boats with in mast, both Bavarias. The first one was for convenience because the boat was used as a charter boat. It was definitely not a performance boat with a shallow keel so that it would go through the French canals. The second however was the later Farr designed type and potentially a much better performer. Because I sail single handed I specified the in mast and from the sail handling point of view it was brilliant. However I made the mistake of not specifying the better sails, partly because I had got to a self imposed limit on the amount of money I was going to spend and partly because the additional cost was excessive. After 3 years or so I got very frustrated with the sail as it stretched visibly and even recutting only improved for a short while. so I bit the bullet and had a new sail made of Vectran with a Spectra leech and no battens because the mast section did not have enough space for it to furl cleanly. The sail was a vast improvement although for various reasons I sold the boat before I had a chance to test its long term performance.

So the message from me is really that the mechanics of the system are very robust and reliable but pay attention to the sail and it is worth paying for a premium cloth and construction. Different sailmakers will offer different solutions but to me based on my research and experience the key is to get a sail that holds it shape well over time and use the outhaul to adjust sail shape and area to suit conditions.