One of the trickiest parts of the Star boat is managing the backstays, which support the mast. The stay on the leeward side needs to be slack going downwind, else you disrupt the shape of the sail (see sail number 7844...).
One of the trickiest parts of the Star boat is managing the backstays, which support the mast. The stay on the leeward side needs to be slack going downwind, else you disrupt the shape of the sail (see sail number 7844...).
Comments
Huh. And then if you forget to retighten it?
— John Hovell
That's when the mast breaks.
— Catherine Hovell
You'd probably lose your boat borrowing privileges if you did that? Geez it seems like it would be a matter of when not if...
— John Hovell
Norm broke his own mast five times in one year, so I think he'd understand. I'd still rather not do it.
— Catherine Hovell
Yikes. Define break... Does it just bend or Topple over? Do you fix or can you only replace? Sounds like a serious drawback if not an outright design flaw!
— John Hovell
Huh, did you not see the picture from the night I was out and we broke our mast? It was a fatigue failure, so picture ripped aluminum. They're often repairable; depends on where it breaks (and how many times it's broken before). I'll try to find a picture where you can see the rivets / welds where the one on #13 now has been repaired.
— Catherine Hovell
Sounds vaguely familiar. Huh, repairing ripped aluminum. Seems spotty at best. Don't you need an evacuated environment to weld aluminum? It's not easy!
— John Hovell
I don't know the details of the repair process, but yes, welding aluminum is not easy. I'll try to find out more info for you. In the meantime, I texted you a photo...
— Catherine Hovell