FRACTIONAL RIGS

[missbonnie]

I HAVE RECENTLY BOUGHT A S&S SHE 27 RACING CRUISER
THIS IS MY FIRST BOAT I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE RIG OF THE BOAT MY MAIN QUESTIONS ARE ABOUT BACK STAYS
I HAVE A MAIN BACK STAY AND TWO ? RUNNING BACKSTAYS THE PROBLEMS I HAVE HAD ARE THAT IT IS VERY DIFICULT TO RAISE THE MAIN WITH OUT THE MAIN BATERNS GETTING CAUGHT IN THE RUNNING BACK STAYS AS PERFORMANCE IS NOT IMPORTANT COULD I REMOVE THEM & STILL HAVE A SAFE RIG

 

[peterk]

I'd have to see the rig to tell you that.

You CAN slack off on the running backs
until the main is raised,
then set up the windward one.

have fun!

...peter, www.juprowa.com/kittel

 

[castaway]

I had a fractional rig on a previous boat, and found that the "runners" were always getting in the way.

Most of the time left them slack, but with lenghts of shock chord attached (permenently) about 6 ft up. These were run forward to a convenient place eg. chainplates, and kept the wretched things pulled taught and out of the way until I felt needed them.

Regards Nick

 

[Rowana]

I've sailed & raced on a couple of boats with running backstays. I would agree with the shock cord idea, but would have an eye in the middle of each stay so that when I pull it forward to the shroud, the eye would be approximately at the bottom, or just slightly up a bit. Shock cord would be permanately attached to bottom of shroud, and it's then an easy matter to hook into the eye and keep the stay out of the way. Once you've got the main up, simply unhook the weather one, and wind it on, usually on a seperate winch from the sheet winch. Tacking is simply a matter of letting go the weather one, run forward with it and hook on shock cord through eye, and then duck under boom, and bring the other one (now the weather one) aft and wind on. We did have problems on one boat in that the attachment points of the running back stays at the mast were very close to the groove, and the main sometines would get caught when hoisting. It just ment that we had to be dead into the wind in order to get the thing up!

I wouldn't remove them by the way, as the rig has obviously been designed with them, and you might end up with unacceptable loads on the remaining backstay without them. If you still think you'd be better off without them, I'd get a professional opinion first.

Jim