30 years ago I sailed an F28 with two-ply sails across the Atlantic, and particularly enjoyed being able to wing the main out to windward whenever the wind was behind the beam. Because it was not limited in its forward travel (I could point it almost dead ahead if I really wanted to), there was no real risk of an unplanned jybe, and the Autohelm had no problem keeping a good course with the sails balanced in this way. With no shrouds or stays, this seems a very logical use of the cat ketch rig.
I am now looking to buy an F33 with a view to spending the first few years of my retirement cruising long distances, hopefully with lots of downwind trade wind miles. Naturally sail configuration is important to me. I see that some F33s now have conventional booms and sail tracks, some have sail tracks with wishbone booms, some have sleeved sails, and some still have the original two-ply sails. This raises some questions:-
How far past the 90 degree mark can you push a conventional boom with a sail track forward?
How far past the 90 degree mark can you push a wishbone boom with a sail track (as in numbknots picture from 2009) ?
Any other suggestions for improved sail handling on an F33 cat ketch?
Thank you for your post. You said you sailed across the Atlantic on a 28’ CK. I would love to hear more about that crossing. I spent the last 3 years restoring Raven a 1980 F28CK (Hull #13). Raven is equipped the wishbone booms and wrap around sails (not original, unsure of age?). My wife Terry & I are new to sailing. We (mostly me) learned to sail a Dyer 7-11" dinghy over the 3 seasons it to to restore Raven so the Dyer is all I have to compare Raven too. Raven is so easy to sail; we laugh when we say “ready about” as there is nothing to do (no sheets to switch). We have been sailing Raven since June 2013 and have sailed over 60 times her on Narragansett Bay, RI. Wanting to test the boat and my skills on a windy day; I went out with 2 experienced sailors on a day when the winds were 25K gusting to 33Knots. Nothing broke, we had the toe rail in the water a couple of times. While not a rocket ship we say speeds mostly above 5.5Kn with a high o 8,1Kn (surfing?) that day. Both the sailors had ear to ear grins all day at the way Raven handled. Reading the forum post herein I think that most who have switched are happy they did. At least a couple regretted the decision as they found a loss of performance. I decided to sail with the WB until I need new sails (maybe 2 more years). Just to set a budget I had Steve Thurston give me a quote for replacements. It was $8,000 for both; this might be why most boats have been converted. I don’t think I will switch, but I would love to hear from anyone who has with what the cost were. Attached are a couple of pics of Raven.
Some quick comments. The wishbone boom will easily go past 90 deg. Two ply sails also. An issue with the original setup is that the sails can not carry a much roach and the Freedoms can be underpowered. If the mast has been converted and has a track on it, it really depends if the battens are full length and the design of the batten cars. Some styles will have a hard time going past 90 deg at which point there can b e interference between the batten linkage and the mast track or the battens and the mast. And on gybes or heavy winds the linkage can break. Been there, done that - on Wylie Cats though.
A standard boom can potentially go past 90 degrees but it depends on the design of the gooseneck and how much clearance the boom has from the mast. Same issues regarding full length battens possibly breaking.
Have a look on the board for “New Freedom Sails - contact info” for a picture of some beautifully made ‘sleeved’ sails, and my comments on our new ones, too.
I hope this picture shows what can be done with carrying the Main by the lee. This was our first new main with a sleeve, which has since been re-cut to replace the two ply main shown here, and we have a newer and better (and larger) main now.
The photo was by a Finn sailing an Albin Ballad, which we overhauled effortlessly on a reach; different story over the last mile, to windward, and he got the best berth!
I have F28CK with convenient booms and sail tracks. Batten end caps are on a luff and are not connected to the cars, sliders in my case. Sliders are located about 6 inches above and below a batten. Boom’s goose-neck is on a relatively long bracket and it can swing past 90 degrees without hitting a mast and creating a “hard joint” I normally keep it at 90 degrees and loosen up boom vang and let the top of the sail swing further forward. It does create a stable balanced platform for downwind sailing with main sail to windward.
Here is a video of my boat sailing on a broad reach, self steering, no autopilot or windwane in light conditions. Language is russian, sorry, but at the end of the video i turn the boat into wind and you probably can see that the mainsail starts flying over when the wind abeam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-970vqIv-EA&list=UUn313d8bFffQiLTk-Gc5GJA
Patrick,
I am the owner of Clave’, formerly Freeform. Numknots the most recent prior owner had upgraded to tracks and slides and kept the wishbone booms. Going past ninety with the current system will stress the sail track screws/rivits. Farther load the slides and battens at mast. Your technique with the original sail sounds useful. Square tops and the additional sail area just make sense for coastal sailor…and for a little more light air speed.
Found your 33 yet?
