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wishbone x sprit: pros and cons.


Guest ricardo de oliveira

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Guest ricardo de oliveira

That's it. What's the pros and cons of a laminated wishbone boom compared to a sprit? The extra work means extra perfomance in this case? The boat is a CS17.

ricoliveira@uol.com.br

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Guest Tom Lathrop

It's easy to make a case based on aerodynamics for better performance with a wishbone or a half wishbone boom but, in practice, the difference is minimal. We have never seen any measurable performance increase using the more complicated rig. We have sailed both rigs on identical Bay River Skiffs on numerous occasions and the simple sprit boom rigs have always been faster. Not to say that the sprit boom rig is superior, but even a small difference in skipper ability overshadows any perceived performance improvement.

Given that the straight sprit is far simpler to build and rig and no significant improvement has been seen using the curved spar, my choice is for the simple rig every time. On larger boats, the story might be different.

harbinger@cconnect.net

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Guest Graham Byrnes

I have sailed quite a few miles with straight and curved sprits and it's hard to see much improvement. If you "believe" in aerodynamics, curved sprits (half wishbones)must be better, right? I think that some of the curved sprit performance gain must be offset by the fact that they are heavier, have more windage and as the wind increases they bend making the sail too full. A snotter led back to the cockpit can help with the latter point. These half wishbones take longer to rig because they must have a topping lift; and they are more difficult to stow on board.

I would start with straight sprits because they are cheap and easy to make. After you know the boat, if you would like to experiment, have at it.

Sometimes, if I'm on a long tack while racing, I will flip the leeward sprit to the windward side of the sail.

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