Any benefit to rotating a non-wing / non-teardrop mast?

[brian eiland]

Hi Bruceb,
I was the original distributor for Stiletto and Prindle catamarans based out of Annapolis MD,...Chesapeake Catamarans, later Chesapeake Multihulls.
I was also the original importer of the Dragonfly tri that we could not get enough of. So I set about redesigning and building our own Firefly trimaran based on the Dragonfly.

I used a Stiletto 23 mast section on our FF and had built our own mast base casting that allowed rotation as well as set-up hosting pivot point. The mast rotated on a 2" diameter graphite. reinforced nylon ball. Just a few days ago ran across my drawings for that gear if you would care to see them. I also utilized a boomless rig for the mainsail.

I also designed the shroud and forestay attachment fitting such that the mast was pulled into rotation automatically, so that only a rotation limiter was needed,...instead of a rotation inducer.

Trimaran Design https://www.runningtideyachts.com/trimaran/

PS: believe me mast rotation is well worth it !!

 

[bruceb]

Brian, I have wondered if my "Dragonfly" is really one of your Firefly's. I have no history of my boat and it was not detailed quite like the other 800's I have seen in pictures. Mine is a "rescue" and had been repaired and modified before I ever saw it. It does have the Stiletto mast but the base was damaged so I built a different style that lets the mast drop aft instead of forward. I had a similar mast on my Buccaneer 24. I still have the Dragonfly but I recently purchased a Gougeon 32 that is quite entertaining. It's mast stepping system is different like everything else on the boat, seems to work well and is unlike any others I have seen. I am still learning to sail the 32 but it is definitely fast and rewarding.
B