Tandem Fore Sails...

[backcreeksailor]

The PO of the C&C 30 I've just picked up installed a CDI roller furling that uses a flexible luff in place of the original forestay. When this was installed, the original stainless forestay was left intact and now just hangs outside the front of the mast and is clipped to the base of the mast.

Now I've seen larger sailboats 40'+ with tandem genoa/jib set rigs. But I've never seen it done on smaller boats.

So my questions are:

1. Since the extra forestay is already there, but keeping in mind this is only a 30' boat. Is there any reason why I shouldn't (or couldn't) rig it as a pseudo-cutter with a staysail for a smaller jib or storm jib behind the primary fore sail?

2. Are there better uses for it?

3. Or would you just take the extra forestay down and get it off the boat altogether?

[AdamLein]

Originally Posted by backcreeksailor

1. Since the extra forestay is already there, but keeping in mind this is only a 30' boat. Is there any reason why I shouldn't (or couldn't) rig it as a pseudo-cutter with a staysail for a smaller jib or storm jib behind the primary fore sail?

Lots of cutters are 30' or less. However, does the forestay attach to the mast at the same height as the furler luff? The staysail on a cutter usually has a lower head than the headsail does.

2. Are there better uses for it?

Backup in case of a broken headstay? Or if you wanted to change down to a smaller jib, but didn't want to use the furler?

3. Or would you just take the extra forestay down and get it off the boat altogether?

Reasons I could see to take it down:
- It's clanging against the mast.
- It's useless windage.
- It still needs to be inspected every season (if you're not inspecting it, why are you leaving it up?).

[backcreeksailor]

Originally Posted by AdamLein

Lots of cutters are 30' or less. However, does the forestay attach to the mast at the same height as the furler luff? The staysail on a cutter usually has a lower head than the headsail does.

Currently it's attached at nearly the same height as the new CDI forestay/furler. So to rig it like most cutters, it would need to be dropped down to a lower head position on the mast.

That said... I was reading a cruising article that said there's nothing that says the secondary forestay in a tandem rig HAS to be parallel to the primary. It can be moved higher on the mast to allow for a larger sail than what could be accommodated if it's rigged lower on the mast to make them perfectly parallel.

But since I have absolutely no experience with either rigging method, and since the article didn't have a lot of detail. I don't know if the non-parallel setup still allows you to fly both sails at once, or if the limited distance between the stays in that setup limits you to flying one or the other.

[AdamLein]

If your headsail is on a furler, I suppose you could roll it up before you tack. I think your main concern with rigging a second stay is to ensure that your deck hardware is up to the task of supporting it, especially if you're planning on flying storm sails on it. There may be issues related to the skewness of the two stays -- probably something finicky like different efficiencies at differing angles of heel or points of sail -- but I'm no expert in that sort of thing either.

[ste27]

Cutter rigging a sloop like that will hurt you going to weather, make you slightly faster on a beam-ish reach and probably won't make any diff going downwind as you'd want the larger (forestay) sail winged out and the smaller sail will end up too close to the main in that case. Tacking the headsail on a "cutter" C&C30 is going to SUCK.

More trouble than it's worth unless you're going to single hand it around the world or something... then having the options it would create more than makes up for the negatives.

Also remember that if you were to set a real sail on your inner (old forestay) you'll need to consider the loads involved both on the rig and on the deck. Probably pretty major surgery in the forepeak to get a strong enough anchor point that you can 1) get some tension on the wire and 2) have it put up with having a sail on it

[BarryL]

Hello,

Are you sure what you have is a spare forestay and not a babystay? I don't know what year your boat is, but some C&C 30's did come with a babystay. I race on an early 80's C&C 34, and it has a babystay that spends most of the time clipped to a ring at the base of the mast. If it's real windy, we will use the babystay, otherwise it's left slack.

Good luck,
Barry

[backcreeksailor]

I don't really know what a babystay is... It's a 79 C&C 30... There is a pad eye about half way between the mast and the tip of the bow that it looked like it might reach to, but I don't know that for sure because I didn't try it.

[AdamLein]

I have a pad eye in a similar location on Essorant... it's probably an attachment point for a spinnaker pole foreguy.

[sailingfool]

You bought a sloop rig...if you properly rigged a second forestay, it'd still be a sloop, a sloop with two forestays, but not a cutter.

Forgetaboutit. The C&C 30 came equipped with a telephone-pole style mast, not much need for a babystay, seems unlikely a pO would install one. It's very surprising a rigger or a half-aware PO would leave an un-used wire connected to the top of the mast, maybe you should have someone with a little experience come by and take a look at it, no offense intended.

Congrats on buying a sweet boat.

[Faster]

Agreeing with SF once again here.... No reason for that "spare" stay to be left hanging.. if in fact that's what it is. No real value in trying to create a "cutter" - and you'd make tacking the boat a PITA besides.

Post some pictures or get someone to look at it for you.