I went up the mast today to remove the fragile stuff from the top prior to unstepping. A highly recommended precaution if you don’t like paying for new wind instrument wands.
Phyllis and I had this down cold on our McCurdy and Rhodes 56, but it’s always a bit nerve wracking on a new-to-us boat with different gear and set up.
We took a bunch of photos of the new gear we are using for a two part article Matt and I are doing together on going aloft. Look for it over the winter.
HMMM. Hadn’t previously looked closely at the mast of your new vessel. Are those not the much maligned swept back spreaders? This summer I walked away from a new Beneteau that surely had a longer waterline and a slipprier design than my 43 year old Brewer Morgan 382. But we were running down a narrow channel dead down wind. I could ease my sails well out, the Beneteau could not. It was an evil pleasure to see them fall further and further behind.
Hi Terence,
Yup, swept back spreaders, but fine in this case, because this is a boat with a sprit and an asymmetric spinnaker, so she never sails downwind or even close. When I wrote about swept backed spreaders I specifically mentioned that exception: https://www.morganscloud.com/2009/08/18/swept-back-spreaders/
That said, I would not have bought a boat like this if I was still short handed ocean cruising and particularly sailing in the trade winds.
Horses for courses.