Mizzen stay sail pt 2: will it actually work? See pics....

[demonboy]

Hi all,

I'm interested in the opinions of those who helped me in my last post regarding hoisting a mizzen stay sail. I was getting really excited, and then I had a good look at my rigging. To say Esper is over-rigged is an understatement, and Liz and I have been up on deck just now taking a look at your photographs and our rigging. To be honest I really don't think we can hoist a mizzen stay sail and I'm wondering if the sail is left over from a previous owner's previous boat. Please take a look at these images of our rigging.

The first image shows our mizzen mast (ignore the other mast in the background. It belongs to another boat). You can see the backstay from our main mast in the way (the backstay splits at the top of the photograph).

Perhaps a better view is from behind, looking at both the mizzen and the main. Towards the top of the mast you can see the mizzen forestays. It's these that seem to make the whole thing impossible - I can't see how the stay sail can slip between the backstay of the main mast and the forestays of the mizzen!

Does anyone else have a similar rigging set up and successfully hoisted the mizzen stay sail, or do you think this is a lost cause!

 

[michael_w]

Stick it up and find out! Nothing like empirical experiment. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

My Dad's boat had a similar arrangement and IIRC the stays'l set to loo'ard of the main backstay, tacked off on a coachroof handrail and sheeted via the mizzen boom/ pushpit. The luff is pretty soggy on a mizzen stays'l, don't worry, it's a reaching sail on most ketches/yawls. Stienlager 2 and Fisher & Paykel excepted.

It's a good sail, pulls well and a doddle to handle compared to a kite. in the light stuff, if running deep, we dropped the mizzen, as the stays'l was about twice the size and got blanketed.

 

[mel80]

I don't see why not. It's a reaching sail, so it won't need to be sheeted in hard. i.e. most of the sail will be well to leeward of the rig. In fact, I believe that with some rigs, the clew of the staysail attatches aft of the mizzen, in which case it goes outside the shrouds as well.

 

[demonboy]

[ QUOTE ]
Stick it up and find out! Nothing like empirical experiment.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry, I should have said I'm up on the hard and it's a bit windy at the moment /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Perhaps I'm being a bit impatient and should wait until we're in the water!

One thing did occur to me though: if you're reaching then the boom is right out, and perhaps the stay sail passes the end of the boom and round the forestays of the mizzen?

 

[Bajansailor]

There are a couple of photos of the mizzen staysail in action on Stormy Weather (who I used to sail on quite a lot) at http://www.stormy.ca/marine/album.html

Basically you want to fly it to leeward of everything - ie on the leeward side of that split backstay for the mainmast, and outboard of the mizzen leeward shrouds. We sheeted Stormy's staysail to a block on the end of the mizzen boom, and the tack was secured to a (I think) pad eye / block on the windward side deck, a little ways aft of the mainmast shrouds.

As noted above, you might find it easier to drop the mizzen to avoid blanketing the staysail - you should get less weather helm as well then.

 

[Goldie]

It looks very similar to our Biscay 36 (split backstay too). Tacked to the aft windward chainplate, the staysail flies forward of the backstay (cos the boom will be eased of course for reaching) - in fact there is a leather anti-chafe patch on the luff wire to prevent it rubbing on the backstay. The staysail halyard will have to be the correct side of the backstay of course, and that's the same side as the booms for whichever tack you are on. Lead the sheet outside everything to the mizzen boom end and I think you'll be there.

 

[demonboy]

Those photos really help, Martin, as do all the other posts. I'm now confident that it can be done and the advice of everything being to leeward (except the tack) makes sense.

 

[heerenleed]

We have exactly the same backstay arrangement on Heerenleed.
Seems complicated, but, as others said, keep everything except the tack leeward of the rig and you will be fine. Tacking means lowering the mizzen staysail and hoisting it on the other side of the boat. Can't be helped.

cheers