mast and rigging for a strike 15 trimaran?

I'm building a Richard Woods strike 15 trimaran. Picking up the okoume plywood today actually. Anyways, I have found several options for masts and standing rigging locally. The plan calls for 14.5 square meters of total sail area. which is roughly 150 sq ft. I will talk down all these sellers, but i give you the prices they want to estimate.

1. mast, boom, standing rigging, and sails from a sailstar 17'. 23' mast and I would have to cut the boom shorter to fit a proper sail for this design. The forestay has a broken strand and he wants $400/bo. Sails are basically useless to me.

2. entire hobie cat 14' sailboat asking $745. Has decent shape main and straight mast. I don't want to have to deal with throwing away the left-over hulls and the price is kind of high.

3. entire Macgregor venture cat 15'. $400/bo Main 133' and in good shape. jib is 34 square feet but basically ruined. It has a roller furling jib system which interests me. Also the mast is a two piece mast. I kind of like the idea, however, how much heavier and weaker would a two piece mast be? It would be nice not having a mast 6-8 feet longer than the boat itself.

Which one would you choose? I can post up a plan

 

I attach a pdf sailplan of the Strike 15 so people know what joej88 is talking about (and yes, he did ask me)

And here, which I have posted before

http://sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs/27-trimarans-under-25/223-strike-15-trimaran

As you can see, it has a big roach mainsail on a flexible mast. So is more skiff than beach cat in concept.

I bought a used dinghy mast for my own Strike 15. I actually paid USD150 for a complete dinghy "as is" and then agreed to pay another USD50 if I left the hull behind (which I didn't want). But first I stripped it. So for the USD200 I got, mast, boom (several actually) Harken blocks, a good Plastimo compass. Complete rudder and daggerboard, furling gear, chainplates, a mainsail (not useable on a Strike), shrouds, bottlescrews etc.

So I think you should still be able to get a better buy.

Having said that I might well go for the Venture cat, although the mainsail has too long a foot

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

 

I want to say Richard Woods has been very helpful and prompt with questions of mine.

I stopped by my local composite shop and after talking to them about the costs of carbon fiber mast and spars I will go with a used aluminum mast and rigging. The venture cat 15 looks promising and I'm really interested with the collapsable mast. Now I just have to find a suitable mainsail and jib!

Only a couple bulkheads and aft hull panel have been cut out. I picked up the epoxy tonight and I am waiting on the sitka spruce before building the daggerboard box. Any suggestions on whether to glass the inside faces of the box or just seal with epoxy? I am leaning towards glassing.

 

You should use some kind of cloth for the abrasion resistance. For a trunk inside I'd recommend polypropylene either Vectra or a spun variety for its increased abrasion resistance. Defender and Jamestown are sources. The Venture cat might be fun for hot days.

 

Do what the plans say!

 

As the Strike 15 will rarely be in the water for more than a couple of hours at a time I suggest just epoxying the inside of the daggerboard case.

The drawings show that the outside of the case is glassed, extending onto the hull bottom. That is to ensure watertightness and also spread the loads from the daggerboard onto the hull

Hope that helps

Richard Woods, the Strike 15 designer

www.sailingcatamarans.com

 

I disagree as it will be hard to see if you've worn through the epoxy. Letting the wood get wet at all is a no no, the expanding pressure could crack the outer fiberglass.

 

Sorry, what "outer fiberglass"?

The Strike 15 main hull drawing 7 is one of the plan sheets available for free in my

"Download Free Sample Plan Pack" where you can see there is no "fiberglass" in the hull

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

 

I was referring to your post mentioning the outside of the case is glassed.
I've had cases go past 30 years with the inside glassed because the membrane stood up to the wear. My observations about owners are there will be a fair amount who leave their boats on a mooring or the shore for considerable time periods, especially lake boats, and the construction should anticipate this. It won't add any real weight penalty to do the job right.

 

Seems like a very expensive set of options for used stuff.

I've bought sail-able hobie 14's for $300. I would look for a better deal on a parts boat with a mast of the height you're looking for and buy new or used sails.

Whirlwind sails and http://www.beachcatsails.com/ are reasonably priced for something new.

I would also spend a little extra to set up with dyneema if it were me. Buy a spool of raw line and make your own standing rigging isn't too bad $ wise if your rig doesn't come with.

 

Strike 15

Any progress on your Strike 15? Have you seen the youtube video of the strike 15 being assembled in one long uncut video? For boatbuilding, it is one of the very best videos I have seen. The strike 15 looks like the best trimaran for its size out there. Post plenty of pix of your build please.

 

Glad you liked the video.

My own Strike 15 is being built in Canada, but I won't be back there until April when I'll start work on it again. Last summer we built the main hull, that has now been painted. The outriggers were cut out and the deck jig made. Then time ran out (we are not Canadians so can only be in Canada 6 months a year)

However it should be sailing in early summer, if our Strike 18 and new Skoota 28 don't distract us.

I looked at the beachcatsails.com website. To me it seems a bit strange that the phone is EST and the business address is a Wells Fargo bank in Nevada. We have a Whirlwind mainsail on our Strike 18. Good value for money

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

 

I can't imagine not glassing the inside of the trunk. Everything one leaves unglassed will just be trouble. On my tri 10 oz with graphite powder was the spec. If you hit something, or run aground the loads in there can be enormous. Every time I build a boat I glass more of it. Last dingy I built I even glassed the gunnels.