Cal 39 staysail

Our 1978 Cal39 "Bribon" is rigged for main, jib, spin halyards and spin topping lift. There is a tang part way down the front of the mast which I presume is for a staysail stay/ inner forestay. For those of you who have this setup, where is the fitting for the tack positioned? Does it tie into the anchor locker bulkhead? If so, forward face or aft? If not, how far aft of the locker? Since the boat is in Puerto Rico and we're in Canada I can't just pop over for a peek...is the spinnaker topping lift normally positioned in such a way relative to the tang that it could be used as a staysail halyard? This would assume that the topping-lift block is strong enough... We are thinking of a temporary stay, rather than a permanent mount, to avoid the genoa getting hung up when tacking. We have only a mainsail and old~120% genoa. The flip side to our question is which sail to add next: the staysail or another 120% in better condition or a 90-100% jib. The sailing area is PR/Virgin Islands with usually good 15-20 knot breeze, so we are not thinking of a light-air sail for now. Thanks, Peter

--- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, "C. Peter Audet" <cpaudet@...> wrote: > > Our 1978 Cal39 "Bribon" is rigged for main, jib, spin halyards and spin topping lift. There is a tang part way down the front of the mast which I presume is for a staysail stay/ inner forestay. For those of you who have this setup, where is the fitting for the tack positioned? It might be a baby stay tang. This is used for controlling the mast when there are no forward lowers. It will help bend the mast when flattening of the main is desired and prevents mast pumping in heavy seas. A baby stay tang would be not far above the spreaders if a single spreader rig or mid way between doubles. Many rigs use the spinnaker lift as a staysail halyard and it would then be higher than the baby stay. Does it tie into the anchor locker bulkhead? If so, forward face or aft? If not, how far aft of the locker? Most baby stays are rigged to a track although ours on the Choat 40 was hydraulic. It gets a heavy load so should be attached to the hull at the sole. I put such a tang on our new mast although I will not use it except for deliveries when pumping might be an issue. If it is below the topping lift attachment, it is a baby stay. Probably not necessary unless you are beating into a heavy sea. The deck attachment would be forward of the hatch on a Cal 40, about 6 feet forward of the mast. Since the boat is in Puerto Rico and we're in Canada I can't just pop over for a peek...is the spinnaker topping lift normally positioned in such a way relative to the tang that it could be used as a staysail halyard? This would assume that the topping-lift block is strong enough... The spinn topping lift is also used as a staysail halyard and should be mounted as an internal halyard if so. > We are thinking of a temporary stay, rather than a permanent mount, to avoid the genoa getting hung up when tacking. That's why I don't have forwrd lowers anymore and don't have the stay rigged although I have one if desired. > We have only a mainsail and old~120% genoa. The flip side to our question is which sail to add next: the staysail or another 120% in better condition or a 90-100% jib. > The sailing area is PR/Virgin Islands with usually good 15-20 knot breeze, so we are not thinking of a light-air sail for now. Is the genoa high clew or low ? That would influence me. Mike Kennedy Conquest cal 40 # 96 > Thanks, > Peter >

Hey Peter! We spent a week sailing on Bribon, as guests of Rafael & Corrine. What a great boat! As for the wonderful sailing done out of Fajardo, I'm not sure a staysail is necessary, unless you perceive doing some long sailing, with the wind forward of the beam, or expect to beat in larger seas. We have a similar tang on the Cal 40, and have a connection in the deck, strapped to the hull (through the v-berth) for support. We use this for our staysail, and can use either the pole topping lift, or a jib halyard to hoist the staysail (normally use the topping lift, unless we are also flying the kite, then a spare jib halyard is used.) Before using the tang for anything, you might inspect it and determine it's original intention based on it's structural appearance... I guess Rafael, might also know? All the best & have a safe NEw YEars! dEmO! From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of C. Peter Audet Sent: Friday, December 29, 2006 1:54 PM To: Cal Yahoo Subject: [Cal_Boats] Cal 39 staysail Our 1978 Cal39 "Bribon" is rigged for main, jib, spin halyards and spin topping lift. There is a tang part way down the front of the mast which I presume is for a staysail stay/ inner forestay. For those of you who have this setup, where is the fitting for the tack positioned? Does it tie into the anchor locker bulkhead? If so, forward face or aft? If not, how far aft of the locker? Since the boat is in Puerto Rico and we're in Canada I can't just pop over for a peek...is the spinnaker topping lift normally positioned in such a way relative to the tang that it could be used as a staysail halyard? This would assume that the topping-lift block is strong enough... We are thinking of a temporary stay, rather than a permanent mount, to avoid the genoa getting hung up when tacking. We have only a mainsail and old~120% genoa. The flip side to our question is which sail to add next: the staysail or another 120% in better condition or a 90-100% jib. The sailing area is PR/Virgin Islands with usually good 15-20 knot breeze, so we are not thinking of a light-air sail for now. Thanks, Peter

Hi Peter I have been looking for a staysail for my cal 40 and found the "Gail Sail" http://www.atninc.com/gale.html It looks good because it does not need anymore rigging and keeps your roller furling main from coming open. In very high winds many roller furling rigs open and cause a disaster. I thought the price was reasonable also. Anyone else out there had a "Gail Sail" experience? Thanks Keith Cal 40 ----- Original Message ----- From: C. Peter Audet To: Cal Yahoo Sent: Friday, December 29, 2006 1:53 PM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Cal 39 staysail Our 1978 Cal39 "Bribon" is rigged for main, jib, spin halyards and spin topping lift. There is a tang part way down the front of the mast which I presume is for a staysail stay/ inner forestay. For those of you who have this setup, where is the fitting for the tack positioned? Does it tie into the anchor locker bulkhead? If so, forward face or aft? If not, how far aft of the locker? Since the boat is in Puerto Rico and we're in Canada I can't just pop over for a peek...is the spinnaker topping lift normally positioned in such a way relative to the tang that it could be used as a staysail halyard? This would assume that the topping-lift block is strong enough... We are thinking of a temporary stay, rather than a permanent mount, to avoid the genoa getting hung up when tacking. We have only a mainsail and old~120% genoa. The flip side to our question is which sail to add next: the staysail or another 120% in better condition or a 90-100% jib. The sailing area is PR/Virgin Islands with usually good 15-20 knot breeze, so we are not thinking of a light-air sail for now. Thanks, Peter