I built a 36" model America's Cup sailboat in school and about every 10 years I overhaul it. I'm doing the 6th overhaul and wondering just how far back from the bow the mast should mount on the deck.

I usually just guess but there must be a naval architect out there with the smarts to whip out a text with an accepted formula. --- ok I'll do the math for you --- in 1938 we didn't have a resource like this GREAT Seadercraft web site and I want to get it right before I hand this beautiful boat over to the grandkid.

hello dudes- I am trying to build a sailboat for my tech club marine design challenge, our team needs to sail a boat no bigger than 16 inches down a test tank that is 10 feet long, 12 inches deep and 2 feet wide......the wind is provided with a standard 20inch box fan, we have been having fun with styrofoam, plastic trash bags and skewers. we got the time to about 5 sec, we need to get to about 1 sec!!! any ideas from your experetise???

hellow guys i added a seadercraft boat forum over at my pirate website www.apirateslife.net/forum so if you are interested in maritime history and sailing feel free to join us over there!

One way to rig the tack of a lateen sail...
 Tie a knot at the tack of the sail, at the forward end of the spar, carve a small notch, slice up a small piece of flexible plastic, about 1 cm round, with a hole, drilled or bored in the centre small enough that the spar can squeeze into (with a little force).
Tie a length of line near the end of the boom, a notch there will hold the knot in place. Run this line and the corner (tack) of the sail through the bit of plastic, then push in the spar, the plastic will click in place when it reaches the notch in the spar, the end of the line is then drawn through, to draw the boom and spar close together.
A stopper knot will keep the line from slipping through, if you use a length of line long enough,
you can tie it to the stem, this will prevent the sail from swinging beyond a beam reach.

Can anyone give me some tips on how to connect a yard and boom together as I am having difficulty as they keep pulling out the only thing that has worked so far is a rubber band but that tends to move the yard and the boom together so that the boom does not stay level with the deck.

Re:Lateen sail. . . You don't have to 'dip and switch' when changing tack, although the sail will preform better when the spar is on the leeward side of the mast, there is not that much difference. When I go for a sail, I set up the lateen rig to suit the prevailing wind, so that the sail is set on the leeward side, most of the time.

I am afraid I do not know. What you suggest might work
but only if the spar is set right which is dependant
on where you set the mast you must be carful not to
set it too far back or the mast will extend to far in
front for you tilt it up and swap over. You could
ofcourse just try changing tack without swapping the
spar might work.
--- QT - Paul <qtopic+23-RQSj4WySG2c@quicktopic.com>
wrote:
>
>

Regards
Stuart
mansfield_marauder@yahoo.co.uk



Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com < replied-to message removed by QT >

Hiya,

  looking at the lateen rigged model on this site, I was wondering if you could explain to me how it changes tack? Do you have to bring the spar vertical and then raise it on the other side of the mast?

  Many thanks,

Paul

I would use wood every time as it is easier to work with and as for the plastic mast forget it it would not last two seconds I intend to use a metal tube as this will enable me to do away with most of the standing rigging associated with most yachts.

i am a student at CAMS and have to build a sailboat. i was wondering which would be better to use? - plastic or wood? for the base? i am limited on what i am able to spend. (15 dollars max) i need to learn about sail boats and if the mast material should or could be a plastic sheet cut to size?... can anyone help? PLEASE!!!!!

That would be a heck of a lot of sail area for a model that is only 16in. long (:-0
Keep in mind our models are un-balasted centre-boarders,
 too much sail area will garantee a knockdown in no time...
 the largest single sail, I rigged on one was aprox 98 sq inches and a lateen at that.
See the article called "Extreeme Lateen"
http://www.seadercraft.com/boats.html
About a foot and a half sq. would be tops. for a MkII

Can you give me some idea how much sail a MKII can carry because I would like to try the sort of sail you find on a Dhow at present a single sail comes out at about 600 cm squared that is about two thirds of a square yard that seams an awful lot of sail can a MKII cut it?

I recommend using a strip of untreated cedar shingle, it already has a taper, you then just have to smooth it down, cut to length, and fair it into a foil. Other woods will do if its sealed.
If you have a bench sander, take a strip of wood a little more than a 1/4" thick (and longer than you need, about a foot long) and grind away on the surface on one end, until you get a level taper that will wedge into the well. (Let the wood drag along the sanders surface.) Then trim off the ends and fair it in. A belt sander will also work if you secure it in a vice somehow.

I like the way you show how to shape the keel.
My model is now much faster after I made it smaller and put some shape to it.
What is the best way to make another keel?

I have not yet rigged the two exactly the same and tried. My hunch would be the MkII, based on the experience I have had so far.
When combined, the three hulls are equal in displacement as the monohull MkII.
But the MkIII really hugs the surface water, so there is little heeling. There is more lift, less drag when a MkII heels.

The MkIII has just been developed, the trick with the design was coming up with a main hull and amas that had enough buoyancy and generate lift on the forward end to counteract the “nose-diving” thrust on the hull from the sails. The last model I made (the trimaran with the blue and yellow sails seen on homepage) is quite fast, yet I know (after the fact) that the model can handle more sail area.

Although the MkII may be a little faster, the MkIII can handle sailing conditions that the MkII will not.

What model is faster Mark2 or Mark3? with same sails?

Hi everyone! Of course, there is no real “one topic” here other than crafting and sailing our models, that in itself has many side topics, such as, your favourite beach, comment on a Fairlead article, talk about the model you have made.
Ask for help, or give advice. Tell us about interesting (nautical related) web sites you have come across, feel free to contribute what ever you like. Keep in mind, like all forums, there is a monitor, (me) and offensive, or junk messages will get thrown overboard!
A single thread message board, is (kinda) interesting, and its ease of use may stir up more participation than the regular type. Subscribers to our newsletter have access to one just like this. As a new thing on our site, I’m taking a “wait and see” approach for now, if you would prefer a multi thread board, with registration, password, and all the bells n’ whistles, let us know!