MOVING the AFT MAST on a Cat Ketch

[Weekender SNUPI Builder]

Hi Folks,

I'm working away trying to get my "somewhat modified" Weekender wet. The heat here has driven me out of the shop the last few days.

QUESTION ????

A friend of mine had been tossing around a building a Weekender. HOWEVER, recently he has been bitten by the "Cat Ketch Bug" !!!! particularily the BELHAVEN 19.

The one design area that he has been beating to death, is the obstructive location of the aft mast, centered in front of the companionway !

Could the aft mast be relocated to one side of the companionway, even by an amount that would make it a tad easier to pass by, without causing a catastrophic handling results ?????

Nobody, including some "Old Salts", that he or I have asked can answer the lethal question. Seems that at worst, the answer has been a resounding NO, without any rational logic other than , "Because the masts are ALWAYS CENTERED", to the other side of the coin which is, "Well given the overall balanced sail design, the absolute centering of the aft mast is not as critical and relocating it a few inches to one side or another would likely not cause the vessel to misbehave to a serious degree ! At least this indicates some consideration to the queston !

Way the blazes over my head !

Any brave souls out there ?

[Joe Nelson CS#35]

Bolger has designed a few yawls that have their mizzen offset to accomodate an outboard. But these designs have proportionately a much smaller mizzen.

Graham has gotten around this problem by locating the cabin hatch off-center. The biggest disadvantage of this is the proximity of the open hatch to the offset side in the case of a knockdown.

All designs have their compromises. You must deside which ones are worth the trouble they cause in relation to the problems they solve.

[Weekender SNUPI Builder]

Hi Joe,

Greetings from Nova Scotia ........

Your response is well founded. I have reservations about the offset companionway as well. We don't always get to choose which side is going "Down" in a "Knockdown" !

The problem that My Buddy, Shawn, has could be quite easily resolved ........ more "veggies" and LESS BEER until he would fit thru the opening, but I am hesitant to suggest such a "RADICAL" solution to a 6' 5" , 265 lb Jolly Giant ! ( At least until I move a couple of thousand miles away ! )

My own take on the situation is that for ordinary "messin-about" sailing, moving the mast 8" - 10" to one side, on a 7' wide hull, is very likely the lesser of the evils and questionable that it would cause any drastic handling changes, however that is a decision that he'll have to make.

[brian watkins]

I have seen designs where the aft mast is slightly offset a few inches to allow the centerboard case to be centered, however the usual solution is to have the case off center. I believe having the aft mast off center will result in a "good tack-bad tack" imbalance. BUT, what if BOTH masts are off on the same side ala Bolger? Anyone seen that?

[Stump]

Or, aft, instead of over?

btw, Sir "slightly" modified Weekend builder, are we ever going to see anymore pictures of your creation?

[Charlie Jones]

First- I think the companionway "off-center" worries are just a bugaboo. That boat has so much buoyancy on the cabin side and cockpit that you would REALLY have to work to knock it down to where water would enter the cabin through the companionway. Remember - the 19 carries several hundred pounds of ballast on the keel. In addition, if you are sailing in winds that MIGHT knock you down like that, only a total fool would have the wash boards out and the companionway open.

So personally I think that is a Non-issue.

Secondly, Chuck Lienweber (Of Duckworks) built and sails a Jim Michalik "Caprice". It isn't a cat-ketch, more of a yawl and a lugger to boot, BUT-

The main mast is offset about a foot (maybe more) to port and the mizzen is located in the starboard corner of the cockpit rear, well offset. I've sailed on the boat and it sails just fine.

For the kind of sailing done in these boats, I don't think either solution would be any problem. Me, I'd offset the companionway slightly, which is the way the Princess is designed.

[Weekender SNUPI Builder]

Hello STUMP,

Pics of the MESSY / DUSTY PRIMER SANDING DUST all over everything within a 5 mile radius of SNUPI SOON . :x :x

I'm using a 2 part epoxy type industrial primer. Pricy, slow, but seems to be doing the job. Speaking of which.... I'm trying to fit some Real Estate business into my "Boat Building Time" ! :wink: :wink:

There was NO END to fairing the uneven grain of the D/Fir plywood ..... even after the application/ sanding of glass and epoxy resin, sooooooo, it's SAND, SAND, SAND, then more primer & "block / board" sand some more !

[Guest]

I offset my centerboard trunk and keep my mast centerline.

[Brent]

Recently there have been several mentions of pushing these boats over on the rail. It might be worth noting that the Core Sound ( and I presume the Belhaven) hardens up significantly as it heels. It take a little wind to make the boat heel a little, much more wind to heel a lot, and some really big wind to put the rail in the water (done that...30+ MPH wind). A knock down in a ballasted Belhaven would by my imagination take some monster conditions.

I have been on sloops that heel over big time in gusts, but my Core Sound generally just accelerates.