i am contemplating the construction of a vacationeer. if i build one, i think i want to increase the hight of the cabain which would require me to leinghten the mast to prevent interference with the boom and sail. would raising the sail higher up the mast cause the boat to heel more? would i loose any handling? i suspect that the wind would have more leverage againsed the boat if the same size sail is further away from the fulcrum.
please forgive the blather, i am a bad speller. i know others have done it and i am curious to hear how it works. any first hand experiences would be hot.
If you raise your cabin roof 4" and your mast taller by the same, you'll have no discernable differences in handling or sailing qualities.
A measurable difference (in sailing and other qualities) will be recordable, but not worth writing home to momma about.
thanks for the reply. i am sure 4" would make little difference. my plans have not arrived yet so i don't know how much distence there is from the floor to the roof. i just know that i am going to have to make adjustments due to my height. i would like to be able to sit strait up while sitting on a bunk and not hit my head as i am 6'3" tall. if i were thinking, i would have raised the roof in my weekender. i did move the bulkheads a little so i could strech out. this time, i plan to make sure i have room in both directions. i do love the weekender though.
Arron the plans call for a mast that is stepped with each sail. Almost all of us have designed or copied tabernacles that allow the mast to fold down over the coach roof for trailering. The pivot must be far enough above the lay of the gaff jaws and the bunched up sail to not crush or chafe anything. I raised my rig 18" with no loss of handling or increase in heeling angle. Look around the sites for pictures of how people accomplished the taernacles. Happy building. 8)
18"!! that is what i am talking about! after much thought on the subject i concluded that even if the boat heels over more than normal, all i have to do is reef the sail. so it sounds like even if i have reef points, i probably won't need them.
the tabernacle on my weekender worked out great so i will probably do it that way again. i have been tempted to refrain from doing a tabernacle on the vacationeer just to see how i like it. if i don't, i can allways install one later.