We are all for many of the advances in sail handling systems that have appeared in recent years: roller furling, low stretch exotic fiber rope halyards, solid vangs, and clutches. All these and more have made sail handling on cruising boats easier and, in many cases, safer.
However, every so often we see a trend on offshore cruising boats that just makes no sense to us at all. The latest in that category is swept-back spreaders, often associated with complex three spreader rigs. Why on earth would you fit a rig to a voyaging boat that prevents trimming the sails properly to sail downwind? Isn’t planning voyages so that downwind and broad reaching are maximized the whole idea? I know it is for us.
I think swept back spreaders are really an economic issue. Cost of boat building has really gone up over the years and those heavier masts with three chain plates per side , cap shrouds , forward and aft lower on each side is just expensive !!Just put in a light mast sweep the spreaders back and run it all from a single chain plate , done . They will tell us that you need to keep weight aloft to a minimum , so a twig of a mast works best , then they put the mainsail inside , so now your main is always up . I actually like my heavy mast , it may impact the righting moment of the boat , no problem , add more ballast , oh no that means a heavier boat , boats are priced per pound , costs go up . My heavy mast slows the roll moment of the boat making her much more comfortable to sail then my last boat which was very snappy with its light mast . Uncomfortable to say the least. Then again , I’m a cruiser, comfort and safety is number one . As Ted Hood said , “I designed the boat to sail heavy “.
Hi John,
I agree, it’s primarily economic: https://www.morganscloud.com/jhhtips/radically-swept-back-spreaders/
And yes, heavier masts contribute to roll comfort and actually increase dynamic stability, unfortunately a heavier mast also decreases static stability and thereby increases wind capsize risk. Heavier masts also decrease sail carrying capability so if we go too far we end up with a tender boat that is not easily driven. Like most things mast weight is a trade off where moderation is important.
Agree , you don’t want a 2 ton mast . After I wrote this I found that artical . I had a recent difference of opinion on the spreader thing with a broker . So I looked it up and found this artical first .