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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 250 Specific Forum

fractional vs masthead

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Johnnybob
1st Mate

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32 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/23/2013 : 09:27:32

Can anyone help me understand the difference in handling and performance between a masthead rig like the Catalina 25 or 250 and a fractional rig used on Hunters or Ericksons. I hear sail handling is easier with the fractional rig but it does not seem difficult with the masthead rig especially using a rolling furler. Do you sacrifice speed or performance with the smaller head sail of the fractional rig? Thank you for any thoughts anyone has to share.

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9076 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2013 : 15:05:19

A fractional rig uses a proportionally larger mainsail along with the smaller headsail, and the mast is generally a little further forward to achieve the proper center of effort for the rig as a whole.

The main advantage of a fractional rig is that because the backstay is pulling the top of the mast, and the forestay is pulling at a point below that, the backstay can more easily bend the mast back, which pulls the midsection of the mainsail's luff forward, thereby flattening it where it tends to have the most belly. A mast-head rig can impart some bend if it has swept-back spreaders for the upper shrouds (as on the C-250), such that shroud tension can push the mast forward. Forward lower shrouds (as on the C-25) can do the same thing, but this takes more setting up and adjusting than the simple tug on the backstay on a fractional rig.

Some cruisers like fractionals for their smaller headsails, while others like to be able to fly the bigger gennies of mast-head rigs. The standard jib on a C-30 is about 50% bigger than on a C-25, so you can see that the sail-handling issue increases by a lot on bigger boats. The larger mainsail is self-tending on tacks, but an overlapping headsail has to be "horsed around" and re-trimmed by the crew.

Modern racing boats use virtually nothing but fractionals because of the quick adjustment to the bend. Overall, mast-head rigs seem to be phasing out of sailing.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 04/23/2013 15:21:33

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9076 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2013 : 18:49:55

You mentioned Hunter... It uses a fractional "B&R" rig, which doesn't use a backstay. Instead, it has severely raked spreaders that let the upper shrouds support the mast from falling forward. The rakes spreaders also provide substantial bending force by pushing forward on the midsection of the mast while the shrouds pull back on the top. Also, with no backstay, the main can have a much larger fully-battened roach. However, the spreaders prevent the main from being sheeted out as far on a run, which probably at least partly explains Hunter's reputation for poor downwind performance. And the lack of a backstay gives many traditionalists like me the heebie-geebies.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 04/23/2013 18:58:55

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5895 Posts

Response Posted - 04/24/2013 : 07:24:20

I race both fractional and masthead rigged boats. I have heard it said that masthead rigs are inherently faster, because they carry more sail area than fractional rigs, since the jib goes all the way to the top of the mast. Logically it seems to make sense, but I'm not sure it's true. Boats with fractional rigs are very fast. The loads on a big, masthead genoa are enormous by comparison with those on a much smaller fractional genoa. As a result, when you are tailing a sheet, a frac. is much easier than masthead. Depending on the size of the boat, you will have to resort to using a winch handle to tail a jibsheet sooner with a masthead rig than with a frac. Tailing a jibsheet is much slower when you have to use a winch handle, and it is tiring for the crew. Jibing the huge mainsail on a 40 foot frac. is intimidating, and last year I had one get away from me in moderate winds and it burned the leather in the palm of my sailing glove. Because the mainsail on a fractional rig is the primary driving sail, you can get away with using a smaller jib when sailing singlehanded or shorthanded, without giving up much boat speed. As a result, when you tack, you will have a much shorter jibsheet to tail, making tacking much easier when shorthanded. That's not true of a masthead rig. When you downsize the masthead jib, you lose a lot of boatspeed. But, all that being true, the C25 and C27 are among the best masthead rigged boats out there. I have seen some C27s on the Chesapeake Bay consistently beating fractional rigs on much bigger boats. Overall, I think the choice between masthead and frac. rig is mostly a matter of preference.

I'm not a fan of the smaller Hunters (under 26'), not because of the B&R rig, but just because all the ones I have sailed have been so tender that you can hardly keep them on their feet in even a moderate wind. Maybe I just don't know the right technique, but I tried everything that works on other fracs, and nothing worked with the Hunters.

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Johnnybob
1st Mate

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32 Posts

Response Posted - 04/25/2013 : 04:45:13

Thank you, Dave and Steve for your excellent explanations.

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