Bee ; F44 CB Intro & Rig upgrade [1]

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Pacific Bee
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Joined: Sun Apr 07, 2019 3:09 pm
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Bee ; F44 CB Intro & Rig upgrade [1]

Post by Pacific Bee »

hi all , Intro ; my Name is Sven Stevens, The Netherlands. occupation ;Former Merchant Marine Captain, last 30+ years running a international business in Naval Architecture, Marine interim management & PM and a yard specialized in Carbon Fiber one-off constructions.
I had the plan to build a 44' light displacement free standing mast cat ketch [see Azurspeed.com website] , as so often time is limited, and i like sailing more than endless building processes.
My path suddenly crossed a nice F44 CB, and having made a extensive pricing /condition spreadsheet for F40, F44's some years ago, I decided without hesitating to place an offer.
So,
In the early summer I acquired "Bee" a 1985 F44 CB w/ conventional booms , among a long list of "nice to have requirements" , I focused on the seaworthiness /safety issues first . [later more] .
I just spend the last 2 month on board ,re-doing a lot of items on the safety list. + making a nice cruise around the entire long island sound. I like the boat a lot , its a very good and swift full-on cruiser.
Having raced dinghy and offshore my entire life I always looking for performance improvements + some flaws I found that needs solving.
So , iam going to upgrade this F44 within reason, and, without destroying the looks of this classic, + restoring a few missing parts. for instance ,I just re-designed the Dorade boxes & scoops, which I will be producing on the yard soon.

The Rig;
Considering that my boat is in the NE US , and I am on the other side of the pond, the present sails will unlikely survive the crossing . hence.... I started to redesign the sails & running rigging.
- higher performance w/focus on durability. mizzen , main, and roller reacher staysail for reaching conditions.
- vaast improvement of the 6 to 15 knots TWS spectrum. both upwind and deep reaching.

Plan Mainsails;
1- area increase by +/- 10% to cope with 6-15 knots TWS
2- mild square head 1300mm , w/custom carbon headboard [due to less RM , this F44 can handle the squarehead with more ease.]
3- with automatic topslider system to enable easy stowing.
4- keep the masttrack asis however attach a plastic composite primary track which will take battencars . [squareheads require better sliding system. lug sliders will not work]
5- as [on this F44 at least] the P size = within -584mm the same as the mainsail. I plan two identical mainsails. as such they become interchangeable , nice for redundancy.
6- very flat shape holding sails , to build power is easy , to reduce power is more difficult.
7- redo reefing . 1 flattening reef ,main 2 , mizzen 2
8- lazy Jacks integrated stowingbag & doubles as topping lifts. [ rigid vangs often break booms offshore]
9- loose footed , use the boom boltrope rail for the lazy jack sailbag w/zipper. [ can be removed easily for heavy offshore going]
10- measure the prebend [luffcurve] of the mast , this, I couldn't do yet as my loadcell was in the Netherlands. [ I might ask the kind help for this from one of our Dutch F44 owners]
11- low stretch halyards .
12- durable [ some saillofts give as sample of durability 500nm to go back to 80% shape quality , which is ridiculous for a cruiser, and imho a waste of money, lets see were we end up :D ]
13- laminate a big reinforcement patch where the radar & holes are drilled , incorporate carbon radar dome bracket, re-glue in place.
so , these are the starters for the new mainsail/mizzen rig

Plan deep reaching sails;
1. in stock I have 2 new runner gennakers from an other raceboat project 1.5oz heavy duty laminate a fractional halyard lead fitting to the mainmast to eliminate topmast failure ,incl fractional runners.
2. the other is a masttop 0.5oz. I will try that one upto 10-15 kn AWS
3. roller reacher fractional halyard fairlead bracket to minimize stress on masttop.
4. two low stretch mizzen running fractional backstays remove ss masttop runners , as far aft as possible [stern]

although cruising needs to be relaxing , speeding up for long hauls is imho a must. quick passages are safer when you can predict weather system better , instead of being constantly overtaken by depressions.
a typical Eastcoast -Azores can be crossed [ if you plan right] stay within 2 to 3 depressions max.

please do not hesitate to comment ; more knowhow makes better products. :D

Well thats about it for starters. regards Sven.

SeaMac
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2022 7:41 am

Re: Bee ; F44 CB Intro & Rig upgrade [1]

Post by SeaMac »

Hey Sven,
That was a really interesting read.
How did your changes turn out? Happy in the end I hope!

I'd be interested to know more detail about your reinforcing around the radar mounting point.
How did that go for you? what was the design and work involved?

Has anyone else made mast reinforcements around mounting points?

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