Bee ; F44 CB Intro & Rig upgrade [1]
Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 10:37 am
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 ]
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.
Well thats about it for starters. regards Sven.
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 ]
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.
Well thats about it for starters. regards Sven.