Self-tacking staysail set up on a Golden Hind 31 cutter

sniffyjenkins

sniffyjenkins

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Hello people

Marschallin is nearing a state when we can get her in the water and sail her back to Langstone from Falmouth. Yay! I'm beyond excited. P and I have been commuting from Brighton to Falmouth every Thursday evening (in increasingly foul weather, ugh) and staying the weekend to work on the boat and it's been exhausting and wonderful and frustrating and exhilarating and everything in between. She's coming back to life and we love her. And we still have a couple of things to discover.

To whit, the self-tacking staysail system. We've never had the chance to be 'shown around' by the previous owner and have been making things up as we go along. So, Marschallin is a cutter and we've found photographs of other cutter rigged GH31s with self-tacking booms for their staysails. We don't, however, have any idea how to rig the thing. There is no track on the coachhouse roof for said self-tacking system (nor will there be). What there is is two stainless steel eyelets (I think they're called) through which a line goes through. We assume. The fore end of the boom attaches to a post that sits just aft of the anchor winch and the boom's aft end gets attached, somehow, to the line which, er, goes somehow through the eyelets and some blocks somehow...and as you can see, from there it gets a bit hazy.

What I'm asking, in a very roundabout way, is whether anyone knows how to rig this thing or, even more usefully, has photos or diagrams (or oil paintings, collages, installation art, an interpretive dance piece) showing how it works.

Also, some ideas on how to use the thing would be helpful. I've spent hours internetting this and while I've come up with a few interesting things, the vast majority of such systems use a track, which we don't have. So I thought this would be the place to ask.

Also, I'm tired of Googling.

All help gratefully received :)
 
I presume from your story that you have a boom for the jib and it attaches to a post just behind the anchor winch. The tack of the sail will be attached near the base of the inner forestay while the clew (aft end) will attach to the aft end of the boom. The actual control of the boom and jib is just the same as a mainsail.
So it might have a tackle down to the centre of the deck then running back to the cockpit. It could have a track across the deck for this tackle but usually that is only for a loose footed self tacking jib ie no boom.
There will be a tendency for the boom to rise when it is let out for running or broad reaching. If you could fit a vang or some device to hold the boom downwards that would be good but not essential.
Another arrangement is to have a tackle on each gunwhale. This makes it non self tacking but can aleviate this boom rising problem. Or you can have a main sheet tackle in the middle and tackles each side to tweak after tacking or gybing.
One of the main concerns of a jib on a boom is that it tends to sweep the foredeck when tacking or gybing taking any crew their overboard.
I hope these comments might give you a better idea of how it should or could be set up. good luck with that new boat olewill
 
William has it right. It is not self tacking. The boom is there to hold the foot of the sail down. There should be a block at the end and a continuous sheet that runs through blocks attached to the two eyes and then back to the cockpit. May or may not need a winch.

Not particularly effective at controlling the boom and it should really have a track. Try it rigged in this way, or just do away with the boom and use it as a normal staysail.

If you get a copy of MGs book Sixty Years a Yacht Designer you will find several drawings and photos of his designs with boomed staysails and most have a track on the foredeck or coachroof.
 
Is there any chance that you could post a picture of the (presumed) attachments on the deck, and also the boom and its fittings? This should buy me enough time for a bit of choreography.
 
Is this image any use, I changed her from sloop to cutter 30 years ago, Ifyou need any advise PM me

IMG_1910%20768%20x%20576_zpskrpkp7cb.jpg


Plank
 
I had a 40mfooter with a boomed staysail and came to the conclusion that it was not very useful and tended to get in the way on the foredeck,better just go for a staysail sheeted as normal,imo
 
sniffyjenkins said:
Hello people

Marschallin is nearing a state when we can get her in the water and sail her back to Langstone from Falmouth. Yay! I'm beyond excited. P and I have been commuting from Brighton to Falmouth every Thursday evening (in increasingly foul weather, ugh) and staying the weekend to work on the boat and it's been exhausting and wonderful and frustrating and exhilarating and everything in between. She's coming back to life and we love her. And we still have a couple of things to discover.

To whit, the self-tacking staysail system. We've never had the chance to be 'shown around' by the previous owner and have been making things up as we go along. So, Marschallin is a cutter and we've found photographs of other cutter rigged GH31s with self-tacking booms for their staysails. We don't, however, have any idea how to rig the thing. There is no track on the coachhouse roof for said self-tacking system (nor will there be). What there is is two stainless steel eyelets (I think they're called) through which a line goes through. We assume. The fore end of the boom attaches to a post that sits just aft of the anchor winch and the boom's aft end gets attached, somehow, to the line which, er, goes somehow through the eyelets and some blocks somehow...and as you can see, from there it gets a bit hazy.

What I'm asking, in a very roundabout way, is whether anyone knows how to rig this thing or, even more usefully, has photos or diagrams (or oil paintings, collages, installation art, an interpretive dance piece) showing how it works.

Also, some ideas on how to use the thing would be helpful. I've spent hours internetting this and while I've come up with a few interesting things, the vast majority of such systems use a track, which we don't have. So I thought this would be the place to ask.

Also, I'm tired of Googling.

All help gratefully received :)
Click to expand...
Hi there,

I used to sail Marschallin when I was younger and may have some photos of her if you're interested? She was never rigged for self tacking and you had to bend on the foresails but that might have changed now! I'm glad she has found a new home and is being enjoyed.
 
Thank you guys, I wasn't too hopeful but I thought that I'd offer anyway. I also know that a GH is far from racy! I remember watching the Lizard Light all night thinking we'd never cross the channel.....

Thanks again, B
 
GH can be made to go quite well, particularly if you are lucky enough to own one of the last few boats built by Mark Urry which had more ballast (to meet the RCD CatA) and taller masts. The last one he built has a 39' mast (compared with the standard 33') and a proper cuuter rib. Photo below. The second photo is my boat which is currently being converted to a twin headsail rig by moving the current large genoa to the end of the bowsprit and a working jib on an inner stay. The designed sail area is very conservative and a larger main with more roach such as I have just had made and the 130% genoa is enough to get the bilge plates vibrating in any sort of breeze. Starts at just under 6 knots and goes at about 6.5.
 

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