Breaking a mast

Technical discussion of ARC products
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whalerman
Professional
Posts: 101
Joined: November 5th, 2007, 11:26 am
Boat Make/Model: SC 17, SC 15
Location: Hamburg, New York

Breaking a mast

Post by whalerman »

Has anyone ever broken a mast while sailing? I don't mean pitchpoling on the beach or hitting a tree, I mean snapped it while sailing either main & jib or with a spinnaker?
Mac M
Professional
Posts: 232
Joined: June 13th, 2012, 5:05 am
Boat Make/Model: SC17
Location: Lugoff, SC

Re: Breaking a mast

Post by Mac M »

I never have but have a fear of losing a mast. I'm always looking for parts boats with good masts to buy for spares. I also carry insurance for that reason.
Bruiser
Professional
Posts: 55
Joined: July 1st, 2013, 6:37 pm
Boat Make/Model: RC 27

Re: Breaking a mast

Post by Bruiser »

whalerman wrote:Has anyone ever broken a mast while sailing? I don't mean pitchpoling on the beach or hitting a tree, I mean snapped it while sailing either main & jib or with a spinnaker?

Yes, broke one while flying spinnaker. What is the question?

Thanks,
whalerman
Professional
Posts: 101
Joined: November 5th, 2007, 11:26 am
Boat Make/Model: SC 17, SC 15
Location: Hamburg, New York

Re: Breaking a mast

Post by whalerman »

Was your spin too big or was the hound for the spin located too high on the mast? The SC mast is so heavy an extrusion I would think it could withstand the stress of a spinnaker.
Bruiser
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Posts: 55
Joined: July 1st, 2013, 6:37 pm
Boat Make/Model: RC 27

Re: Breaking a mast

Post by Bruiser »

whalerman wrote:Was your spin too big or was the hound for the spin located too high on the mast? The SC mast is so heavy an extrusion I would think it could withstand the stress of a spinnaker.
Yes you should be fine with the spinnaker. Where we made our mistake was not recognizing how important the main sail is for supporting the mast when flying a spinnaker. We were tight reaching with the spinnaker and got a puff, the hull went up and we should have simply let out the spinnaker. Instead, we decided to ease the main to save the trouble of having to pull the spinnaker back in as it was in very tight. Due to our laziness, the mast broke as soon as we eased the main. The main sail provides tremendous support for the mast when flying a spinnaker. So as long as you understand that you should be good.

Also if you plan to have the spinnaker located high on the mast you can also add some support wires to the mast where the spinnaker halyard block is. Run those wires back to the rear cross bar to add some support to the upper part of the mast.

Another key factor is to use common sense. If the spinnaker is loading up too much run the boat deeper and ease out the sail. This will immediately reduce the loads and save your mast. Where folks get into trouble and where we had our problem was trying to make the spinnaker go too high. We were in a narrow inter coastal water way trying to run a high as possible as we were against the shoreline and could not bear off. That will get you into trouble everytime.

These boats love a spinnaker as it make going down wind a blast. Make sure you get a very flat spinnaker and sail the boat's apparent wind. Size is not the answer with cats, it is more about shape and forward speed. The faster you go forward the deeper you can go with speed. A big spin will just keep you going low and slow. Check with Tom about who to have build your spinnaker. It makes a big difference having the right spinnaker for our boat.

Good luck
Matt Haberman
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Re: Breaking a mast

Post by Matt Haberman »

Whalerman,

I am going to add a bit onto what Bruiser wrote.

I believe you have an SC-17 correct? There are no diamond wires on the SC17 mast so you need to be cautious about how high above the main hounds you put the spinnaker hounds.

Backstays or support wires that Bruiser talked about really are not an option on the SC17 mast as the compression loads will get quite high and without the support of diamond wires to keep the mast in column it is quite likely you would buckle the mast with the spinnaker attached too high and using backstays.

We run a spinnaker on the ARC-17 mast with no problem and it is the same extrusion that was used on your SC-17. Give Tom a call to discuss how high you can put the hounds and he can get you a price on a spinnaker if your interested.
Matt Haberman
Aquarius Sail Inc.
http://www.aquarius-sail.com
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