Shortening mast

[ghostlymoron]

I have a 20' boat with a 29' mast which strikes me as wrong somehow. So am considering shortening it which would make transport (on my trailer) and also raising the mast easier.
I'm aware that the sail would need modifying, standing rigging including forestay and furler but would anyone care to hazard a guess on cost or point out a good reason why I shouldn't do it or suggest a new length.

 

[Mr Cassandra]

I have a 20' boat with a 29' mast which strikes me as wrong somehow. So am considering shortening it which would make transport (on my trailer) and also raising the mast easier.
I'm aware that the sail would need modifying, standing rigging including forestay and furler but would anyone care to hazard a guess on cost or point out a good reason why I shouldn't do it or suggest a new length.

Was it a homemade boat or designed by a reputable firm

 

[ghostlymoron]

It's a leisure 20

 

[VicS]

It's a leisure 20

According to the spec and brochures on the LOA website the standard mast was 24 ft, but a taller , 26ft mast, "lake rig " was also available.

Assuming you will be salt water sailing 24ft would seem to be the "correct" mast height together with reduced sail areas

See https://www.leisureowners.org.uk/leisure-20/

Advice from the LOA would be good.

 

[prv]

Bermudan masts are invariably longer than the boat unless it's a stumpy motorsailer or something.

For comparison, my boat is 34 feet long and has a 44-foot mast (length of the spar itself, which is deck-stepped, not height above the water).

I suppose that's slightly less in proportion to yours, but not grotesquely so. I tend to assume the designer of your boat knew what he was doing.

The main reason not to do it will be that your sail area will be reduced. I'm also wondering what it will do to the centre of effort in terms of moving it fore and aft, but intuitively I doubt it will make a significant difference. I assume you will keep the boom and the foot of the sail the same length, so it's not quite the same effect as a permanent reef in terms of geometry.

Pete

 

[solent clown]

How about reefing the sails to the length you are thinking of and sailing it? At least then you will have some idea of how it will feel with a smaller rig

 

[Tranona]

Shortening an existing mast is not a trivial task. Chopping from the bottom would need remaking the gooseneck and lower part of the track, taking off the top would mean probably changing the height of the spreaders - and may not even be possible if the top is tapered. In either case, new rigging and sail mods, plus reducing the length of the foresail furling.

 

[Biggles Wader]

Probably cheaper to buy a used one. Thinking about that it might be cheaper or free to get one off a scrap boat.

 

[lpdsn]

I have a 20' boat with a 29' mast which strikes me as wrong somehow.

Do you have any reason to do it other than that? Very frequently overcanvassed? Bridge clearance? Something wrong with the proportions of the mast?

My mast (keel stepped) is over 20' longer than the boat, as per design.

 

[NealB]

Surely, the pragmatic solution is: don't waste a lot of money on an old boat!

Enjoy the better performance in light winds, but be prepared to reef a bit sooner when the breeze builds.

Maybe better, therefore, to make sure the reefing system is quick and stress free to use, rather than major surgery on the mast.

 

[Lon nan Gruagach]

Shortening an existing mast is not a trivial task. Chopping from the bottom would need remaking the gooseneck and lower part of the track, taking off the top would mean probably changing the height of the spreaders - and may not even be possible if the top is tapered. In either case, new rigging and sail mods, plus reducing the length of the foresail furling.

Yeah, dont take the cut off the bottom, else there will be a big gap between the mast and the deck.

 

[VicS]

Bermudan masts are invariably longer than the boat unless it's a stumpy motorsailer or something.

For comparison, my boat is 34 feet long and has a 44-foot mast (length of the spar itself, which is deck-stepped, not height above the water).

I suppose that's slightly less in proportion to yours, but not grotesquely so. I tend to assume the designer of your boat knew what he was doing.

The main reason not to do it will be that your sail area will be reduced. I'm also wondering what it will do to the centre of effort in terms of moving it fore and aft, but intuitively I doubt it will make a significant difference. I assume you will keep the boom and the foot of the sail the same length, so it's not quite the same effect as a permanent reef in terms of geometry.

Pete

Makes sense therefore to re-rig the boat to his original design.

 

[davidej]

Any way you look at this, the cost will be totally disproportional to the value of the boat. It would be cheaper to sell the existing boat as is and buy one with the mast length you want.

A friend picked up one of these with quite good sails for £200 on fleebay

 

[ghostlymoron]

Vic, I think you've nailed it. It's much longer than the original. It's a very nice mast and boom not the round section usually found on Leisures.
I think I'll leave it as is. I've fitted a second reefing point and reefing is fairly easy. I hadn't considered the complications with the spreader position and other geometry considerations.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Vic, I think you've nailed it. It's much longer than the original. It's a very nice mast and boom not the round section usually found on Leisures.
I think I'll leave it as is. I've fitted a second reefing point and reefing is fairly easy. I hadn't considered the complications with the spreader position and other geometry considerations.[/QUOTEmast/p

Two reefing points are considered customary on most modern cruising mainsails, but with the extra sail area conferred by the taller rig on your boat,hadn't you considered providing points for a third reef?
Normally with a third reefing point, where you only have two reefing lines in the boom, you could attach cheek blocks on the outside, or simply keep a light line permanently through the third reef to allow you to pull it down and re-reeve the line belonging to the first reef through it. (By the time you need a third reef, you won't need the first reef )

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Rule of thumb for length of mast is length of boat times 1.3 (20 x 1.3 = 26ft mast). However, I personally like tall masts, handy when there is little wind.

 

[ghostlymoron]

Rule of thumb for length of mast is length of boat times 1.3 (20 x 1.3 = 26ft mast). However, I personally like tall masts, handy when there is little wind.

Not so handy when you have to raise/lower it each end of the season.

 

[ghostlymoron]

Vic, I think you've nailed it. It's much longer than the original. It's a very nice mast and boom not the round section usually found on Leisures.
I think I'll leave it as is. I've fitted a second reefing point and reefing is fairly easy. I hadn't considered the complications with the spreader position and other geometry considerations.[/QUOTEmast/p

Two reefing points are considered customary on most modern cruising mainsails, but with the extra sail area conferred by the taller rig on your boat,hadn't you considered providing points for a third reef?
Normally with a third reefing point, where you only have two reefing lines in the boom, you could attach cheek blocks on the outside, or simply keep a light line permanently through the third reef to allow you to pull it down and re-reeve the line belonging to the first reef through it. (By the time you need a third reef, you won't need the first reef )

My second reef point is deep and equivalent to a normal 3rd one. My boom only has jammers for 2.

 

[Simonpk]

There is an Owners Club, would it worth asking on there sif someone want to swap there short rig and for your tall rig?