Someone posted pic's of the new double SS Arch mast crutch resently on a boat made by BWY , I looked on their site & their is no pic's of it I ment to save the pic's but guess I forgot does anyone have them & could they post them here for me or send them to me direct Thx all
Yes, Todd designed it. This was the first boat they had installed it on at their rendezvous in Port Townsend last June. Cheryl has them available now.
A key feature is the upper mounting tubes on the transom plates are located in exactly the same location as the mounting tubes for the factory mast carrier arch. You can put either the stock arch or this larger taller arch in the same mounts. The height is to keep the radar above the BWY full enclosure and support the mast high enough to roll over the radar dome.
I would think so but if not all you would have to do is add a couple of stand off's at your stern seats
it does not take alot of pressure to tighten up the forestays with the back stay even with my two furlers I was supprised how little effort it took then you could add a cheap or buy a used traveller like I did & install it onto this arch you only need to set it at either P/S, center or S/B depending on your point of sail I use a continous line from the traveler car so I can ajust the traveler from either side of the boat
J
Duane ,
Thx for posting the pics again I saved them this time !
J,
My current setup uses a wishbone backstay with the cable running centerline, terminating at a block and lines going to the aft stanchions (block & tackle on port.) I only rotate the mast in light to moderate air when there is little to no backstay tension. When the wind kicks up, I pin the mast so it won't rotate and then apply backstay tension. I believe in heavier air, benefits of rotation are mostly lost and the excess draft becomes a liability, plus to get backstay benefets, the pull should be directly aft, not sideways. The traveler would cure this but I'm just not comfortable applying mast bend on a rotated mast.. not with the loads and conditions I experience in spring and summer winds in SF. Another benefit is this keeps the backstay swivel centered. My current profect is to install the electric windvane at the masthead, moving it from the aft post it's currentl on. If it was on a traveler, I wouldn't be able to do this. The downside of the setup is I have to disconnect the backstay to use the binimini. Not a big deal, since I rarely use the bimini and personally don't like sailing with it. The bigger issue is the large-roach main doesn't clear the backstay, so it makes contact with it during tacks... approximatelhy 10 inches overlap. It comes right through but I would perfer to have a clean passage. Putting the backstay attachement at the center point of the arch would clear it rather nicely, be over the bimini, essentially eliminating all the drawbacks. Would also eliminate having to remove the bimini when dropping the mast. I do put 200-250 lbs of static load on the cable when beating upwind in say 15-20 knots. Not sure what actual loads are under sail. My main concern is if the arch would hold up, considering leverage loads. If so, I sure want one.
Lots of bend. Forestay tension clearly improves by a large margin. Most of the forestay sag (approximately 75%) is recuced. Real results.. average heel reduction 5 degrees in moderate to strong breeze. Pointing increases by 5 degrees. Boat speed goes up .3-.5 kts. Jib gets much flatter and draft moves forward with straigther forestay. Mainsail flattening would probably be more obvious on a Dacron sail. I can't see it on mine but I can get virtually no draft without a backstay, so the real benefit for me is controlling forestay tension. Tension should be reduced as you bear away. Currently using 8:1 purchase (4:1 x 2:1 wishbone) 6:1 on straight connection is quite sufficient, in fact prefered. Anything stornger and you need to be mindful not to put tons of muscle into it. Also added insurance for anyone mounting a spinnaker hound above the forestay. Mine is 2 feet higher.
Yes Leon.I have noticed tension on the forestay is most important.I took my mast off & did some
work to it & putting the spreader back on & running the wires left things out of adjustment.
I use a backstay but only for looks. I can use it for my ssb radio
So if you tighten up this backstay enough to tighten up the forestay...does that make your shrouds go a little loose...and if so does it make a big difference?
Oh my I think this thread was accidentally hijacked.
Jim,
When you load up the backstay, the lower shrouds take on a small amount of additonal load and the upper shrouds have a slightly reduced load. Not a big deal if you have 300+ static load on the uppers. I'm currently rigged at 560 upper, 360 lower. That's more than most would be comfortable with. I would back it off for the current lighter-wind season but just don't want to make any more rig adjustments.
Bubba,
$550 installed. Includes masthead swivel, cable & block & tackle. I believe John bought the swivel on his own and built his for around $300-$400. I wanted the dealer to install it since they put it into production and at the time, I figured if the mast broke, they would stand behind it. Turns out the mast is up for the task. My 3rd reef is half hoist (approximately 65-70 square feet of sail area.) Sailed this way with large backstay loads (top half of the mast exposed) in 40 kts wind with higher gusts. So far so good.
I bought the rotating mast bearing kit from BWY approx $20. then made my own rotating mast head brkt out of Alum about half the weight of the SS one you have cost me about $20. for the Alum I used the extra forestay that came with my boat for hank on sails for the backstay and used the original mainsheet to ajust back stay tension as I bought something else for the mainsheet http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee20 ... 010016.jpg
I just spoke to Gail ta BWY and she had no idea what I was talking about. I described it twice and she told me this is not their item. Was a bit irritated at me to boot.
I can use it for my ssb radio
I think this thread was accidentally hijacked. 
cost me about $20. for the Alum I used the extra forestay that came with my boat for hank on sails for the backstay and used the original mainsheet to ajust back stay tension as I bought something else for the mainsheet 
