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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Capri 25 Specific Forum

Carbon Mast

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existentialsailor
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1180 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/21/2006 : 09:16:17

Has anyone replaced or researched replacing their Capri mast with a carbon one ?

Rick

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 01/21/2006 : 09:56:45

Talking straight out of my butt here... Don't they tend to be tapered and large at the base? Or was that just the early Freedom Yachts technology?

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 01/21/2006 : 12:01:38

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by existentialsailor
 Has anyone replaced or researched replacing their Capri mast with a carbon one ?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Wouldn't this kind of defeat the purpose of the Capri 25 being a One-Design racer? I'm not sure about the Capri 25 class rules, but the C25 class rules state...

"2. The extrusion of the mast and its fittings shall adhere to the specifications of the manufacturer and changes in shape and weight shall not be allowed."

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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5894 Posts

Response Posted - 01/21/2006 : 13:09:54

The Wayzata Capri 25 Fleet is apparently the most active Capri 25 racing fleet, and the class rules that they use say: "These are closed rules; alterations from the original manufactured boat not expressly allowed here shall not be considered legal. Any yacht modified or altered for the express purpose of substantially changing weight, trim, or sailing characteristics of the Capri 25 from the builder supplied yacht, shall be ineligible for one design racing."

A carbon fiber mast would be considerably lighter than an aluminum mast, and would no doubt be ineligible for one-design racing.

It's been a long time since I sailed a Capri 25, but it struck me as being a little tender, like many racing boats. If you could install a carbon fiber mast, and get rid of some of the weight aloft, it would make the boat less tender and faster. The problem is that the mast on the Capri 25 is deck-stepped, and, in order for the mast to be free-standing, it would have to be keel-stepped. If you couldn't get rid of the standing rigging needed to hold the mast up, you wouldn't be able to get rid of a lot of the weight aloft that would make the project worth doing. I think you'd end up with a boat that was faster than a stock Capri 25, but not that much faster, and nobody would let you race with them.

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Andy_334
Navigator

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USA
206 Posts

Response Posted - 01/21/2006 : 17:24:14

Here's the link to the specific section that Steve refered to.

http://www.wyc.org/capri25/rules.htm#RESTRICTIONS%20AND%20PERMITTED%20ALTERATIONS

The following is a quote from section I of our rules that explains the reasoning for these rules.
"These rules are also intended to help control the expenses associated with competitive racing, ensure safe family oriented racing and preserve the value of our yachts..."

As a crew member of one of three Capri-25's that were dismasted in the 2005 season, I'm thankful we were able to locate and afford a replacement stick before our season was ruined.

While I understand the Capri fleet extends way beyond the frozen wastes of Minnesota, these rules seem to have served us pretty will in the past.

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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5894 Posts

Response Posted - 01/21/2006 : 18:10:25

Andy, three dismastings in one year is very unusual. I've raced for over 25 years against some pretty aggressive racers on all kinds of boats, including Capri 25s, and don't remember a single boat being dismasted while racing. Why are the guys out there having so many? It almost sounds like they're all tuning their rigs to allow too much bend. Have they figured out if there's a common reason that's causing them all?

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Andy_334
Navigator

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USA
206 Posts

Response Posted - 01/22/2006 : 17:43:57

Steve, We think the cause of Jalapeno failure was a broken ring-ding, which caused the clevis pin of the upper shroud to pop out. The rest is history. We had previously checked all of the rings prior to sailing on that day.

The other two happened on the same day at the Capri-25 Nationals. It was on an ugly day, averaging 25, gusting to 35, on a medium distance race around the lake.

I believe one of the other failures was caused by failure of the spreader which caused the shroud to loosen.

I don’t know the cause of failure of the third one.

Andy

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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5894 Posts

Response Posted - 01/22/2006 : 17:59:16

That explains it. 25-35 kt. winds during the nationals, and everyone's giving it all they've got! It must have been some exciting racing!

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Andy_334
Navigator

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USA
206 Posts

Response Posted - 01/22/2006 : 18:37:59

Sorry guys. Thread hijack coming in 3....2....1....

Steve, It was a fabulous weekend! We scored our first bullet on the Friday, crashed out of the Saturday (25-35 kts) with a UGLY start line incident (it still hurts when I think about it), and finished the regatta on Sunday taking 3rd place overall!

I think Dallas still has the photos online. Try: http://www.dallasjohnson.net/photo/c25-1.htm

OK. Hijack over.....carry on...

Edited by - on

existentialsailor
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1180 Posts

Response Posted - 01/22/2006 : 20:26:00

Gusts to 35 kts are a lot for a Capri? Glad I didn't know that last summer!
Seriously, what is the theoritically limit?

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