raising the boom

zephyr101 · Post by **zephyr101** » Sun Apr 24, 2011 1:42 pm

I want to raise the boom so you don't get hit in the head and i want to clear the bimini.i have my bimini so i can stand up 5'8"and not bend over under it.there seems to be enought height on mast to raise sail about 6-8" and not have to change sail .just have to raise boom .need to make new sail gate and close old gate i think my gate opening will be just big enought to get a slug in.outside of having to reef earlier,does anyone see a big problem and has anyone done this.
Howie

rwmiller56 · Post by **rwmiller56** » Sun Apr 24, 2011 3:29 pm

This is normally done using a topping lift. I guess your boat doesn't have one?

Roger

mastreb · Post by **mastreb** » Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:26 pm

rwmiller56 wrote:This is normally done using a topping lift. I guess your boat doesn't have one?

Roger

Or you can use a boom kicker, but a topping lift is easier. Or a solid vang. All three are made specifically for Macs.

c130king · Post by **c130king** » Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:28 pm

Me thinks Howie means he wants to raise his gooseneck 6-8" thus raising his boom higher and he can still have a tight sail.

Just raising the end of the boom with topping lift or boom kicker will just make the sail baggy unless you get a new sail with different cut.

Good luck.

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König
Sailing on König YouTube Channel

zephyr101 · Post by **zephyr101** » Sun Apr 24, 2011 7:46 pm

yes Jim thats right i want to raise the mast end and use the same sail the mast is high enought
Howie

Divecoz · Post by **Divecoz** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 6:41 am

I dont see why you couldnt do what your wanting to do..EVEN! If you have to take the sail in and have it cut 6" ( or do it yourself) 5 sq ft off the BOTTOM of a sail on these boats will make little to no difference in how it sails.. What have you got to lose? The cost of a couple ( x two if it doesnt work) SS pop rivets?? If you can get the sail to go all the way to the top of the mast and NOT be baggy??? As for the gate? Why couldnt as well you cut a wedge out of some hard wood and carefully with some finesse.... open that gate up a couple more inches if so desired..

zephyr101 wrote:yes Jim thats right i want to raise the mast end and use the same sail the mast is high enought
Howie

technicalman · Post by **technicalman** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 1:42 pm

I don't know if that's such a good idea. I'm thinking that if you raise your sail to higher on the mast, the boat will want to tip more easily and you'll get less power out of your sail. I'm sure we have a few number cruncher folks on this site that could actually figure out how much efficiency is lost by raising the sail higher on the mast. I'd love to hear from them.

bartmac · Post by **bartmac** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 2:07 pm

You wouldn't have enough mast length to just raise the boom and even if there was you wouldn't get the right halyard angle to the top pulley (too steep an angle).....which would lead to having to modify the sail.......smaller one which in percentage wouldn't be that much or detrimental.....a lot of work for what?

DaveB · Post by **DaveB** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 2:23 pm

Howie,
I to feel your pain as the Boom is fixed at the goose neck .
I am in the beginning plan to have the goose neck on a track and bring the Main full height and have a downhaul to bring the boom down but raise it enough to put the slides in.
I have a older main and is just about the balance of blown out and going to get a new one to get correct measurements.
I have already cut the support poles of the Bimini ,takeing off approx. 6 inches from the leg so the main boom just clears the bimini Close hauled but in a 20 degree heal beating it hits the bimini and I have about 5 ft. clearance.
I know what to do but I don't want to change after I install a New Main and than still have enough allowance for streach over the years.
I may even order a new mast adding 1 ft. on bottom. (this would require all standing rigging to add 1 ft. and that means replacement)
I probably will work out raiseing the boom with the down haul on a track.
Forgot one thing, keep your mast rake 1degree aft instead of the normal 2 degrees. This will heighten your boom over the bimini and for me the boat is well balanced beating to windward.
Dave

zephyr101 wrote:I want to raise the boom so you don't get hit in the head and i want to clear the bimini.i have my bimini so i can stand up 5'8"and not bend over under it.there seems to be enought height on mast to raise sail about 6-8" and not have to change sail .just have to raise boom .need to make new sail gate and close old gate i think my gate opening will be just big enought to get a slug in.outside of having to reef earlier,does anyone see a big problem and has anyone done this.
Howie

Divecoz · Post by **Divecoz** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 4:25 pm

T-M. Ya lost me here with this one..
1st. Your raising the sail 6" accomplishing the addition of about 1/2 ' sq. ft. of additional sail area.. aka a gentleman's handkerchief.. it could be argued you've raised the whole sail blablablabla Its minimal sail area ..
2nd point. The wind velocity is... great at 35' above the surface of the water than it is a 5"
You might well offset any difference.. Major point IMHO... even these boats are not so tender as to see a difference with that 1/2 a sq ft of sail added at the top..

technicalman wrote:I don't know if that's such a good idea. I'm thinking that if you raise your sail to higher on the mast, the boat will want to tip more easily and you'll get less power out of your sail. I'm sure we have a few number cruncher folks on this site that could actually figure out how much efficiency is lost by raising the sail higher on the mast. I'd love to hear from them.

Terry · Post by **Terry** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 6:56 pm

Divecoz wrote:I dont see why you couldnt do what your wanting to do..EVEN! If you have to take the sail in and have it cut 6" ( or do it yourself) 5 sq ft off the BOTTOM of a sail on these boats will make little to no difference in how it sails..

Why off the bottom?????
Can one not cut a smaller section off the head of the sail? Perhaps make the top head of the sail squared a bit? Wouldn't lose as much sail area this way.
Personally I would not tamper with the current setup, but rather leave well enough alone, these boats are already poor enough at sailing without intentionally making them worse. I am 6' tall and have my own height problems in the cockpit with the bimini but I have learned to live with it. In fact I am one of the happy owners of the bigger MuscleHead mainsails which are 30 sq. ft. larger than the oem doyle sail and I get improved performance from it. I would not dream of raising the boom as I feel it would only be detrimental to the current sailing characteristics. But then again, it is your boat, and you have every right to ruin it any way you please.

Divecoz · Post by **Divecoz** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:38 pm

Terry have you looked at the geometry involved with taking 6" off the top?
Taking 6" off the bottom would be far easier.. as for how these boats sail?? I am.... No where as good as DaveB or the 3 Mad Men of Ontario.. BUT its All Me! It has Nothing to do with the boat as we are all now seeing.....

Terry wrote:Why off the bottom?????
Can one not cut a smaller section off the head of the sail? Perhaps make the top head of the sail squared a bit? Wouldn't lose as much sail area this way.
Personally I would not tamper with the current setup, but rather leave well enough alone, these boats are already poor enough at sailing without intentionally making them worse. I am 6' tall and have my own height problems in the cockpit with the bimini but I have learned to live with it. In fact I am one of the happy owners of the bigger MuscleHead mainsails which are 30 sq. ft. larger than the oem doyle sail and I get improved performance from it. I would not dream of raising the boom as I feel it would only be detrimental to the current sailing characteristics. But then again, it is your boat, and you have every right to ruin it any way you please.

b i l l · Post by **b i l l** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 6:40 am

I had same problem so I had a reef put in the main at an angle. Not that expensive and can sail with bimini up or down, haven`t lost any main, haven't had to mod. boom or mast . Raise your mainsail and take a measurement from bottom of boom to floor of cockpit, put up your bimini, raise the end of the boom with topping lift to clear bimini, take another measurement plus an inch or so. Subtract 1st length from 2nd, with sail spread out, mark off that difference on the leach, draw a line from this point to the corner of the luff and the foot, mark reef points along that line and either install yourself or have sail loft install. The big carpenters pencile does a good job of marking and comes off easily. Hope this gives you another choice to solve your problem. b i l l

Highlander · Post by **Highlander** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 8:54 am

I was able to raise the boom on my mast of my

for the same reason by 3" with no problem .

You could add an attachmemt onto the top of your mast allowing you to raise the mainsail halyard block 6-8" thus allowing the mainsail to be raised all the way to the top of the mast .
Or if you know someone was has a bent mast you could cut off and add an 12" stub extension to the top of the mast !! not that hard to do no need to change any standing rigging !!

J

Divecoz · Post by **Divecoz** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 9:11 am

Bill John and numerous others......too many to count.....
The Very Best part ( for me) about this site is the # of minds willing to work through a problem...

I ran the electrical portion of too many jobs to count over my 30+ years. Jobs from tiny 3 to 5 guys to huge in the hundredsssss.. and I always desired to have guys work in teams of no less than 2.. 2 are 3 times as strong and safe as 1 and offer most often the best most effective ( time money quality) solutions.. with the least amount of time and in put required from me.. Allowing me to focus on bigger issues...

Bill and John offered excellent solutions.. Very cost effective..

MacGregorSailors.com

MacGregorSailors.com

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