BYYB Forums

I was wondering if installing the dolphin striker as in the plans is really important, or is it just a decorative option that I could do without. Thanks for any feedback.

The real purpose of the dolphin striker is all but meaningless on the Vacationer, though it does provide a better purchase angle on the bob stay. If the eye for the stay was moved to just above the LWL, you can eliminate the dolphin striker.

The same could be said of whisker shrouds too. The strains on this rig and the nature of the spar construction doesn't warrant either of these bits of standing rigging. They were used on "built-up" spars and sprits, but the single spar arrangement of this rig, doesn't really need them. Their removal helps reduce windage and cost too.

Thanks Paul. What exactly is the bob stay? Is that the part that the forestay is attached to?
If so, where should it be moved. Where is the LWL. Could you provide a sketch.
What are wisker shrouds? I think I may know the answers but I'm not really sure of all the terms.

The bob stay is the wire that attaches below the sprit, down to the stem. The forestay is the wire above the sprit, the jib hanks onto. Whisker shrouds are on either side of the sprit, to keep it from moving side to side. I'm not sure if the Vacationer plans show these, but some have added them. On larger craft youy'll see a net woven between the whiskers, for better, safer footing.



This shows whiskers with a net and chain bob stay and dolphin striker. The dolphin striker and whiskers aren't necessary on this 20 ton schooner, but the owner liked the look.



A much bigger boat with 4 whiskers and split chain bob stay, aft of the striker.



This is how it's done on smaller boats. The bob stay is mounted low on the stem, just above the LWL. The whiskers fall back to the rails, well aft of the bow.

On small boats, simpler is always better.

Paul, Thank you for the explanation and pictures. Simplicity is what I'm after, so I will leave the bowsprit exactly as I did on the Weekender. I'm also doing the mast tabernacle exactly like the Weekender so that I can leave the gaff and boom on and omit all the extra time of doing it the way the Vacationer plans are laid out.
I made the mast bottom 60'' and the rest of it is 16' which I will trim down about 16".
I can raise my Weekender mast easy by myself. I'm hoping I will be able to do that on the Vacationer. I am about 2 weeks away from launching.

Got any photos Herschell?  ...... two weeks 'till launch eh! Looking forward to the launch description and pics.  I'm more like 2 months away!

Gerrard

I am trying to send a photo now but the dialup connection seems to be too slow. If this does not work I will go to the library in town where there iw high speed.

Well, I can't believe it. The photo got sent. I installed the rubrails today ( not shown ) as the boat could not fit out of the garage if they were on. I took the picture Sunday when the boat came out of my garage. This is the same trailer that I use for my weekender. All I had to do was raise the bunks 3" so I screwed in 2 2X4's on each side.
I'm not sure if the wheels are in the right place for the size of the boat right now, but I'm starting to look around for a trailer.