Baby stay on my Scampi 30 - keep or ditch?

[sailingdog]

Technically, what you're using are baby shrouds, not stays. Stays support a mast fore-and-aft... shrouds support it athwartships...

Originally Posted by CaptKermie

I have not heard of baby stays in any other context other than their use with trailerable sailboats like mine.
When trailering, the mast is carried along the length of the boat from bow to stern, at the launch ramp the mast is raised. Here is when Baby Stays come into play. I use a mast raising brake winch to raise the mast up, the mast is hinged at the base and the winch is on a gin pole which is secured by one end on the bow cleat and the other connected to a bail on the mast and I winch it up with the brake winch. The Baby Stays are connected to prevent the mast from swinging either to port or to starboard while raising the mast so that the mast base does not get twisted from 30' of mast torque twisting it. Once the mast is raised and pinned in place it is safe to remove the Baby Stays. I find they getin my way when up on the deck so I always remove them, but I know of several others who are a bit shorter than me that pass under them effortlessly so are not a hazard but moreso, an extra grab hold when on deck for them. The shrouds, if tightened to specs (as mine are)prevent any undue pumping that could take place so mast pumping is not an issue in my case. I am not familiar with your boat and set-up but I thought I might shed another perspective on the purpose of Baby Stays.

[mitiempo]

The scampi has one upper and one lower per side going to the same chainplate. The babystay is original to the rig and is the only forward support of the mast except for the headstay. I think you should keep it. The first picture on this page of a Scampi shows this.

Translated version of http://hem.passagen.se/dahle/index.htm

[jarcher]

Originally Posted by mitiempo

The scampi has one upper and one lower per side going to the same chainplate. The babystay is original to the rig and is the only forward support of the mast except for the headstay. I think you should keep it. The first picture on this page of a Scampi shows this.

I checked today and unlike the Scampi in these pics, mine has the upper and lower that go to the same chain plate, but also has two additional shrouds that go to an additional chain plate that is a foot or so aft of the other one. But there are no shrouds that come down forward of the mast step.

I also spoke with the PO and he told me that the baby stay is original.

So yes, I should keep it. But mine is not like that one in the pictures. It has been replaced with a line and block system, I guess because someone wanted to be able to adjust it. I'm also wondering why two additional shrouds were added aft of the original ones.

Also, I see my mounting system for the chain plates is very different that that shown here, from what little I can see. I was going to start a new thread on that, since I have a very screwy system that I don't like. In a nutshell, one of the shrouds secures to the chain plate cover, not the actual chain plate and the chain plate cover bolts through the deck to a mount under the deck. This all transfers stress to the deck and causes leaks. At least I assume thats the reason for the waterfall under the starboard chain plate cover.

Thanks very much for the link to the pictures! I have been having a very hard time finding information about my Scampi and every bit helps. I'll DL these pics for reference in case the link goes away.

Thanks everyone, I guess I'm stuck with my baby stay

When would it be safe to not use it? Can I remove it for sailing in lighter air or should I keep it all the time?

[mitiempo]

I'd keep it all the time. If I were you, I think I would try and revert to the original rig. If you google Scampi 30 you can find all sorts of stuff about the boat - there is even an owners club in Scandinavia and google has an option for translation. When I was looking for a boat I looked sereiously at Scampis as there were a few locally (Victoria B.C.) The Scampi is a fast boat that's fun to sail and is designed to race and did so very well to many championships including world 1/2 ton winner at least once. If I find anything interesting I'll email you the links.

[mitiempo]

a good Scampi video link
YouTube - Scampi 30

[39512]

Over the years I have had many requests to remove baby stays. After checking with mast builders and engineers, certain babystays can be removed. You would need to add pre-bend (mast slightly forward at the partners) before tuning and tune till the mast bows forward in relation to the partners and the masthead. I would be nice to move the tackle off the babystay and add it to the backstay to adjust the draft of the main, but not necessary. Prebend can also have positive effects on mainsail trim and keeps the mast from inverting.
The photos seem to show a hefty spar for the boat which is also a plus for removing the babystay as well.

[sailingdog]

The reason they may have added a line-and-block to the babystay is to help with mast bend. Is the scampi a masthead rigged boat by any chance???

Originally Posted by jarcher

I checked today and unlike the Scampi in these pics, mine has the upper and lower that go to the same chain plate, but also has two additional shrouds that go to an additional chain plate that is a foot or so aft of the other one. But there are no shrouds that come down forward of the mast step.

I also spoke with the PO and he told me that the baby stay is original.

So yes, I should keep it. But mine is not like that one in the pictures. It has been replaced with a line and block system, I guess because someone wanted to be able to adjust it. I'm also wondering why two additional shrouds were added aft of the original ones.

Also, I see my mounting system for the chain plates is very different that that shown here, from what little I can see. I was going to start a new thread on that, since I have a very screwy system that I don't like. In a nutshell, one of the shrouds secures to the chain plate cover, not the actual chain plate and the chain plate cover bolts through the deck to a mount under the deck. This all transfers stress to the deck and causes leaks. At least I assume thats the reason for the waterfall under the starboard chain plate cover.

Thanks very much for the link to the pictures! I have been having a very hard time finding information about my Scampi and every bit helps. I'll DL these pics for reference in case the link goes away.

Thanks everyone, I guess I'm stuck with my baby stay

When would it be safe to not use it? Can I remove it for sailing in lighter air or should I keep it all the time?

[sailingfool]

Originally Posted by jarcher

... I guess I'm stuck with my baby stay

When would it be safe to not use it? Can I remove it for sailing in lighter air or should I keep it all the time?

If you read the post above explaining the purpose of a babystay and when it is needed, you can answer these questions, and any more you can think of...

[Swesail]

Absolutely keep it. And make sure it is in good shape. I wouldn’t dare to use a spinnaker on a Scampi without a baby stay. I was crewing on a Scampi during an extremely windy race and we snapped the baby stay. The outcome was far from pretty.

[jarcher]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

The reason they may have added a line-and-block to the babystay is to help with mast bend. Is the scampi a masthead rigged boat by any chance???

It is indeed. And the back stay is adjustable. And as was suggested, I am looking to get the shrouds back to their original design. Looks like I am stuck with the baby stay. More work for the fore deck crew walking the sail accross the deck on every tack!