Sailboat without a mast

[BubbleheadMd]

Originally Posted by DocParty

Lots of info here is foolish. You folks ever ride on a MacGregor, both under sail and under power pulling a skier? I have. It operates perfectly under either set up.

No, it operates marginally in either setup. The Mac is the "spork" of boats. It does everything mediocre, and nothing very well.

Your definition of "perfect" is merely that it is capable of motoring and sailing at all. Yes, I've sailed aboard the Mac. I've also sailed rings around two of them in my Pearson 30. If you had any sailing experience, you'd know that although it sails, it doesn't sail all that well.

I'm not really sure what your point is here. You've made your decision, you're not looking for advice. You're looking for validation. Do whatever you like, but don't look at us for validation. Really, all you're seeking is a free beer-drinking platform on the water.

Your decision to turn a screwdriver into a hammer instead of just buying a hammer is your business. Good luck with that.

[THEFRENCHA]

Is it April first already?

[blutoyz]

I think that the OP accomplished his goal here...

He got everyone to write five pages of debate over a silly question that could have been easily ignored...

[hellosailor]

"The Mac is the "spork" of boats."
IIRC that honor belongs to the Revell, and the MacG should at least be called a titanium spork.

But I think JonB gets the prize for this one, as they say "Oy! Such a marriage!" or as the used car salesmen say, "there's an ass for every seat".

Who'd have thought, a perfectly converted boat, ready and waiting for wedded bliss.

Bubblehead, ain't you never pounded in deck screws with a three-pound sledge? Works just fine. (G)

[norahs arc]

Removing the mast - wow. I have had many sail boats with auxillary engines and I find I can always depend on the sails to get me where I want to go. Not so with engines. I have had my share (and maybe more) of engine failures over the last 50 years and they usually happen at the worst time. No I would keep the mast and sails unless you like to drift along out of control now and then. (Only power boats I would consider cruising on will have twin engines.)

[PCP]

Originally Posted by pedalsteel

I'm new to this forum. Am planning to purchase a used 30' sailboat but I'm not interested in sailing. I would like to remove the mast except for about 8 feet for antenna mounting. Would like to do the great loop and not have to worry about a mast, also very economical cruising. Would removing the mast as described have any ill effects on the vessel?? Thanks Al.

Some traditional sailboats and hull shapes that were intended to sailing gained a new life as sailboats. The beast example that come to my mind are Llauts also called as Menorquins. There are hundreds of them around Mallorca, once used as sailboats and know used mostly as motorboats. One famous brand even based all its motorboat production around those boats:

Menorquin









Regarding what you want you should look for sailboats with a traditional shape, long shallow keelers (not deep one's), beamy boats with a relatively high CG (not to roll much) and that took its stability basically from hull shape. With care you should find one suitable. Off course it will not be a perfect fit for the function but it will work reasonably well if you don't try to go over hull speed.

Regarding those pictures you can see that they add a lateral hull extension to diminish roll. Another device was used in fisherman's boats that still had a shape heavily influenced from the time they used sail. In this case they add some kind of lateral small keels (more a stabilizer really) that not only diminish roll has sustain the boat in the beach. This kind of structure will not be hard to add to an existent boat.

Regards

Paulo

[Bluerain]

Originally Posted by SloopJonB

This seems like an appropriate thread to post my latest "find".

vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/boa/3565104446.html1973 Columbia sailboat/pilothouse cruiser

I actually went and looked at that boat. The pilothouse addition and alterations made it pretty roomy actually, but it did roll worse than I expected, and it's probably due to no mast to balance it out.


As for the OP's question, I think the question was good (though lots of people ignored the actual question to instead belittle his idea because it isn't something they would like). Personally I had wondered what effect not having a mast on a sailboat hull would have, so reading this has been beneficial.

I totally understand what the guy's reasoning is, for cruising speed say 5-6 knots, a sailboat with a lil tiny diesel taking 1/2 gallon per hour or less of fuel, is far preferable to a trawler taking 4 gph (say $2.50/hr vs $20/hr, the difference adds up real fast). Some people want to motor along slowly and economically, nothing wrong with that.

It just seems it would be best to keep the mast even if not using sails at all, if this is the way someone wants to go.

[hellosailor]

There are plenty of people who have converted life boats (which can be quite large) and launches, instead of chopping up a sailboat. And of course plenty of trawlers that have masts with a steadying sail. Take a trawler, put on a prop that is optimized for 6 knots instead of 20, and run at 6 knots and you just might close some of the economy gap. And length-for-length, you might find a 28' trawler has as much interior space as a 42' keelboat. Which makes the dockage much cheaper as well.

[DonScribner]

Learn to sail. It's more rewarding, more sophisticated, more enjoyable, greener, cooler, quieter, cooler, not smelly, cooler and just plain, cooler.

[c. breeze]

Use a sawzall rather than a hacksaw or angle grinder. It'll be way more efficient. Have it hooks up to a crane so as soon as you cut the top 20-30 feet of mast off the crane can swing it free. Sawzall will work on rigging too but it'll chew it messily. Post video of the procedure.