[C38] History of the longer boom

[Max Soto]

Hi guys,

This very interesting info. Haven't heard this before, and I always wonder
what happen if the boom was a little bit larger.So,  You just answered my
question!!

Regards

Max


2008/4/21, David Epstein <davidepstein at seicontrol.com>:
>
> Hi Phil,
>
> You are correct, when SuperStar was originally ordered by my late
> boat partner, Sid Blinder, he specified a boom that was about 40"
> longer than stock.  When he first looked at the plans for the boat,
> he felt that the aspect ratio was way too high, and that the overall
> design would warrant the longer boom.  He ordered the boom with a
> secondary sleeve inside the stock extrusion, as with the main being
> sheeted in the middle of the boom, he thought it would otherwise likely
> break.
>
> We could not participate in the Nationals with the larger main, so
> Sid borrowed a stock mainsail and we marked the boom at the standard
> limit so the boat would qualify as "stock".  After SuperStar was
> delivered with the longer boom, several others followed suit.  As far
> as I can know, the only one that might still have the longer boom is
> either Snooky Po Free (now Shalako) or Grape Shot (in Mexico, last I
> heard), but I can't remember for sure.
>
> As the 40" was over the 10% that PHRF had specific guidelines for at
> the time, the local board had to make a determination as to our
> penalty.  They decided that three seconds a mile would be fair to
> start.  We won a few races, so they dinged us another three seconds a
> mile.  After a few more wins, they increased our penalty to nine
> seconds a mile, making it much tougher to win races.   Sid had the
> boom cut to stock length and ordered a new mainsail with a fuller
> roach, supported by two full-length battens at the top (he was the
> first that I know of to do this on a C38).  The larger roach and full
> battens recovered much of the lost sail area and were not penalized
> by PHRF.  We got our nine seconds back, and started being competitive
> again.
>
> I clearly remember what is was like to sail the boat with the longer
> boom, and I miss the extra power it provided.  It was extremely well
> balanced with the 130 genoa, and was very good even with the larger
> headsails.  Our main had a flattner plus two full reefing points, so
> we could always shorten sail as needed.  I have always thought that
> the boat should have a boom that is at least 40" longer, and that the
> traveller should be located right before the helm, which would be
> better in all ways in terms of sail trim and control (but not cockpit
> space and openness).
>
> Keep in mind that my experience was with a main that had a fairly
> straight leech, not the full roach/full batten versions that we all
> use now.  Also, the larger headsails really helps power through chop,
> which otherwise can be tough in these boats.  I would suggest that
> someone considering such a change should consult their sailmaker
> and/or a navel architect before making the mod and ordering a new sail.
>
> Thanks for the opportunity to go down memory lane...
>
> Regards,
>
> David
> .
>
> PS - "baby boomer", nice one...
>
>
>
>
> At 09:23 PM 4/21/2008, you wrote:
>
>
> >Mr David Epstein,
> >
> >I addressed this to the list-serve, but my question is directed to
> >you, David.  I was told that Superstar or another C38 tried a longer
> >boom and mainsail foot back in the 80s at the C38
> >Nationals.  Apparently, the larger main didn't perform well enough
> >to compensate for the rating handicap.
> >
> >Most production boats these days are going with a larger main and a
> >smaller jib to ease handling.  From a cruising perspective, how did
> >the longer mainsail foot affect the balance of the boat?  Would
> >enlarging the main and going with a smaller headsail make the boat
> >easier to handle for a baby boomer?
> >
> >Phil Gay
> >C38 049 Que Linda
> >Everett, WA
> >_______________________________________________
> >Listserve mailing list
> >Listserve at catalina38.org
> >http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org
>
> David Epstein
> President, Sound Solutions
> Chairman, CEA TechHome Division
> Member of the CEA Division Executive Board
> Tel 310.398.0032
> Fax 310.398.0036
> www.soundsolutions.com
> www.ce.org
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Listserve mailing list
> Listserve at catalina38.org
> http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org
>



-- 
Max Soto
C38 #198 ESTANCIA
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://catalina38.org/pipermail/listserve_catalina38.org/attachments/20080422/a25ddcad/attachment-0001.htm>