Hi

I'm thinking of placing stiffeners on the inside of the hull. What would you use that is light?. I'm thinking pre pregged Carbon panels fitted at 400 mm centers and then a lid to form a floor. Where would you purchase the materials for this and how do you do it?

I'm assuming the panels would save glassing them
On the lay out of the panels is 400 mm cc okay? Is cross or diagional paneling necessary? Also how thick would the panels need to be.

Spinnaker pole and boom. Anyone got carbon poles I can turn into a spinnaker pole and boom?
Spinnaker pole is approx 2.5 m *50-60 mm.
Boom 2.7 m by 90 -120 mm DIA.

Mast
Anyone got a carbon mast approx 8.3 m long?

Macgregor and trailer sailor are mutually exclusive terms...they are pieces of snot....

I personally would keep the hull standard. Localised oil canning might be cured by carbon cloth laid over a formed shape. Carbon products are available at any fibreglass/epoxy supplier though you may may have to order in. Carbon is roughly 10 times the price of normal cloth and only half the width but is much thicker.

Spinnaker pole made from the tip of an old windsurfer mast is the easy way out. Slightly more difficult, use two tips and cut and join to have two tapered ends. Laminate carbon cloth onto 50mm plumbers pipe for a straight tube pole.

For a boom you can laminate over a larger plastic pipe or build a timber boom and laminate carbon over that. If ever I have to replace my boom I would build a canoe shaped boom, strip planked in Chinese fir or cedar and laminate in carbon. The open or U shape to act as a Stacker/lazy jack storage.

For the mast best bet is to find a secondhand carbon skiff unit, add cloth to stiffen if necessary. You can build from scratch in timber and laminate carbon but that's a lot of work. I have seen one built from plastic plumbers tube too but that's a lot of fooling around.

Do it.

Google will tell you that RL24's have been turboed by using 16 ft skiff rigs (including sails). Go down this line not anything custom, dont reinvent the wheel.

As for stiffeners it depends on how bad the flex is. I have never been in a RL24 so take this as general advice: I would make sur ethat the commpression loads through the mast are not flexing the roof down as you will need higher rig tensions due tot he 16 ft skiff rig. Possibly look at carbon here or aluminum supports if you dont have a compression post.

Stiffeners around the centrecase roughly at a 45 might also be the go glassed intot he floor and finishing at about the chain plates. This would also depend on whether you want to use the boat for any cruising or its just a race machine.

As for using carbon you should be able to find yourself some carbon cloth and lay that onto both sides of either foam or balsa which will be planty strong enough.

I would only do this if I was sailing in areas of heavy chop.

Ruckus said...
Thanks for the advice .

With regards to the rigs, carbon one off mast and boom is roughly $3700.00 plus rigging costs.

Out of interest do anyone know what current sports boats have a 8.3 m mast in carbon? What weight difference would they be ( Alu Vs Carbon)

It's not really the wieght gain you are going for with a carbon stick but stiffness.

A quality carbon rig with carbon spreaders and boom might be 30-40% lighter but twice as stiff as the ally one and also strength in places you want it.