Hirilonde

What ever people decide to fabricate keep in mind it needs to be closed or closeable forward, and can be open aft. Your boat points into the wind at anchor.

I can still step my DF masts, but it is getting to be less fun. I am considering a tabernacle for the main. The mizzen is easy to step as you don't lean over the fore deck trying to insert the foot of the mast. The masts can be a support for a tarp wether on insterted carrying brackets or tabernacle. The only down side to a main tabernacle is that the mast will extend a couple feet past the transom while trailering. I would have to make the hinge pin easy to remove as my boat won't fit in the garage if anything extends beyond the trailer hitch or transom. @Murray Sprits used to bother me before I tried them. The minimal loss due to sail shape doesn't bother me any more. I find the advantages out weigh the head clunker and extra lines. I figured I would try them first, and convert to wishbooms or conventional booms latter.

Bigger is better, until it is a tender. I once had 4 medium/smaill adults and some stuff for a row out to the mooring. I felt safe, but rowing that deep in the water was a bit of a chore. My crusing boat was 27'. I could fit the Spindrift nested on the fore deck inverted and tack no problem. I used a high cut clew 135% genoa there were no fouling issues. But after proving it worked, I never did it again. For coastal cruising, among islands and such, towing is just so much less work. I stowed the spars, board, rudder and sail aboard when towing. The longest mast section for a 9 is 6'. If I were doing this all again, knowing what I know now from experience, I would build a standard 10. Now if you are building a small sailboat to go sailing in, the 12 sure is bigger. Damned because it's all related.

It sounds like a Spindrift might foot the bill, especially if it may become a tender to a cruising boat. I would not build a nesting version unless storage is a real issue. Whether that is nested storage on deck of the cruiser, or in the garage/shed/wherever. The layout of the original version is much better. A Spindrift tows extremely well. I would put a few pounds, some times a bag of garbage, in the stern to get it to squat a little while towing. Otherwise it would try to pass my Renegade in a following sea. My Spindrift 9N was a tender for 8 years or so, and now it is my excercise rowboat. 17 years and counting.

The mizzen. It shows the snotter, halyard and downhaul as I leave them, ready for the next launch. The snotter block on the main. This shows the halyard block on the mizzen, as well as the pennant and halyard block. A different angle of the previous.

As to pictures of my masts, let me know what detail(s) you are looking for. I used the block B&B sells. As the main halyard leads from the base of the mast to the port side deck and aft, and because the mast rotates, I didn't think a shieve leading the halyard fore of the mast could handle all the angles leading aft. There is an outdoor lumber yard, as in it sells outdoor lumber, that was 10 minutes from my house when I built. That had gorgeous Douglas Fir and Alaskan Yellow Cedar. They probably still do. My DF spars look and work just fine. But I do regret not paying the extra for ALC. Your birdsmouth sampler looks right on. The fun parts are tapering the staves and then the epoxy goo/assembly. Wear clothes you should have thrown away long before, you may wear it well. I built 2 cradles to hold the pieces while I assembled. They were concave half rounds just over 3" d. and attached to saw horses. Getting the last 2 staves in place is definitely amusing.

I tackled the masts first while waiting for my plywood order. It is a tedious job and I was glad I did it early. I wish I had used AYC instead of Douglas Fir for my masts. It is a little lighter and still fabulous in all the characteristics needed. I balked at the price. Though I bet you can get it a lot cheaper than I did. Is B&B making all the planks for you? Spiling and fitting the planks was probably the most time consuming part of the build. I think the Lapwing is the perfect daysailor. It is less than 16 feet and still carries 4 in luxury. On a trailer it is 19'8", so it fits nicely in a 20' garage. It is quite stiff, hence forgiving, yet still performs well when the wind picks up. I have had mine planing several times, it is exciting. FYI, there is no such thing as too many boats.

Compared to stitch'n'glue the Lapwing sure is a tedious hull to build. The effort will be worth it when painted. I don't know that the false stem adds any real stiffness to the hull, but it is a bumper, especially if a metal chafe strip extends from the bottom up the curve of the stem. Just make sure to form the bend before you drill the screw holes, to maintain a nice fair curve.

Hey Kenneee, I built both masts the same, cept for length. I believe they are 18 and 17 feet long. I did 6' of full diameter and then tapered to the end of both. I made them almost a foot long so that when I cut the ends it came out neat. I only plugged the ends. The only reason to block a hallow mast is for structural attachements like a gooseneck for a boom, or where spreaders join. I did the birdsmouth cuts on my table saw and then tapered them. 1 1/4 tapered to 3/4 gives you a mast just a tad under 3". I then made thin glass bushing at the butt and at the partner to remove the slop from my 3" ID tube or hole in thwart.

I built the boat exactly to plans with only cosmetic changes and my sheets are rigged to swivel blocks/cam cleats on the center thwart. I made birdsmouth masts and used bronze track. I glassed nothing, but did a continous bronze chafe strip on the keel. I have yet to rig reefing lines. I have reefed a couple times before setting sail. It is another thing to rig at the ramp. I think going to all the tedium of building wooden spars and then covering them in a luff sleeve is kind of a waste. I also used 2 full battens and 2 partials. Sail shape has always been my #1 concern. I can get her rigged in about 15 minutes at the ramp. I ordered 2 of the sheets of 6mil in Sapele instead of Okoume, for the deck and transom. It is a nice touch for varnishing. I wouldn't change anything I did. Probably better to ask specific questions, either now, and /or as you get going.

If your topping lift comes down from the mast and goes through a cheek block, oposite the one for the outhaul, and then to a jamb cleat, it will be adjustable. On bigger boats a 2:1 system is used, but not needed on a Spindrift. I think lazy jacks is getting carried away. But then I didn't use them on my 27 foot Renegade either.

Why do you want to depower? If it is an issue with wind and waves, then don't go dead down wind. Tack down wind, that is, sail at 135° TWA and gybe back and forth. There will be little or no tendency to roll when off the wind a bit. If you can plane the boat, it will actually be faster than 180° down wind.

Permanent archives have been discussed here and in other forums. They are almost always dismissed. Not just because some one has to do it, but learning things by reading, before you have even tried, is not sought by many people. Trying and asking specific questions is the choice of most, and a living/ongoing forum does that well. People can respond to exactly what the learner is asking, which can be much more meaningful. Anyway, that is my 2¢

Why? Just cope one out, use 2 pieces if you have to and scarf together. It is just decoration and maybe a bumper, depending on how you sail. Almost all stems, even in the day, were cut on band saws. I would varnish the tramsom. Actually, I did, but mine was Sapele though. You can always sand and paint if you don't like it. Flat surfaces at least are easy. Looking good.

Sail shape is the key to this. Battens play a much larger role than just supporting extra sail area.

Any DC bilge pump that fits will work. The issue is how good your solar charger is, and how much the boat leaks and how much it rains. Google "small DC bilge pump" and you will get many that will work.

Bunching up the sail with the reef point lines is nice too, but that's how I do it.

Well, you could, um, errr, build a Spindrift. ? In all seriousness, it isn't just the 9% more sail area. It is significantly better sail shape. It's all a compromise, and your damned because it is all related.

I had a similar issue with my wooden masts one year. I took a paddle and my main sheet and created a lever to twist the mast as I pulled it out. Then I went and solved the problem,

No personal info on this, but it popped up on my Facebook feed and thought it might interest some. https://www.purewatercraft.com/ribs/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=image_link&utm_campaign=rigid_inflatable&fbclid=IwAR04SPnfYFgj9Yw8KVDTg8rGMaPVxZjOBUr-pRy2p2KRlMIvEWujKNzTGME

Small electrics are already practical, though pricey compared to petrol. The larger ones are starting to catch on, but they don't seem to have a great range/run time and are very expensive. Technology in DC electric and storage of it are moving fast. It may well come down in price over the next few years.

Andy, the step of a Spindrift mast is shaped to keep the mast from rotating. Tim, you will need some really sexy bushings or bearings for the mast to spin on for any hope of a furling line to work. You will also have to remove the boom or put the bushings/bearings above the goose neck. I can't imagine either working. I would just raise the sail and go sailing.

Dealing with the gap is the easy part. Is the side with the gap now higher than the other? Does it protrude out beyond the topsides? Do you have to trim the top of one cabin side now to match the other? Do you need to dress down anything sticking out too far? These would be my concern. BTW, you have no shear strake on your boat. You do have a shear, and that gap is in it.

I find pockets for sheets cause more tangles than loose spaghetti on the cockpit sole. I coil my mizzen haylyard and tuck it behind where it leads down to the cleat. My main halyard leads aft to the thwart on the port side deck and I let it spill just forward out of the way of my aft cockpit. If I had a balasted cruising boat I might do differently.

I am only 68, but I am beginning to appreciate your decision Pete. I am getting close to making aluminum or wood/carbon masts as my birdsmouth Douglas Fir masts are getting harder to step. Short sails in my Spindrif 9N on the small pond in front of my house are amusing, but I would not want a Spindrift as my only boat. Best to you on your new boat.