Cost of a new mast and standing rigging

[Peter Reynolds]

I am looking at a Nic 38 which is being sold by the broker with an “iffy” rig from the sound of it!

It seems that the current owners had a retro fit in-mast furling main fitted but now both the mast and boom are corroding badly. The standing rigging also needs replacement. If I were to do this I think would replace the mast with slab reefing and purchase a new main, however, I have no experience of in mast systems!

Has anybody any experience of a mast and rigging replacement? If so what should I expect to pay?

I am aware that one Nic 38 (Chihili 11) had an enhanced height main and Mizzen – would it be worth the extra cost and would it upset the sea keeping balance?

Are there any views as to what is the preferred choice for extended cruising between slab and in mast. – We will generally be sailing just as a couple.

Also, what should I expect to pay for a good quality cruising main?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Peter Reynolds (Newby)

[Chihili Q]

Hi Peter,

Chihili II, now Chihili Q, did have her masts extended by the previous owner who wrote “The present owner consulted Naval Architects Laurent Giles Ltd and they agreed that the Nicholson 38 was underpowered for Solent sailing conditions. Laurent Giles were retained to design a new, modern sail plan which resulted in the mast being increased by approximately 9’ (about 2.7m) and the mizzen being increased by approximately 6’ (approx. 1.8m). The height of the main boom was dropped to clear the cockpit GRP canopy comfortably and the height of the mizzen boom was also dropped while still permitting reasonable access under this boom. Depending on sea conditions, ‘CHIHILI’ will maintain a full set of sails in a beat to about 18 knots of wind. Thereafter, the main can be reefed or furled allowing comfortable beating under just the genoa and mizzen to about 24 knots. The first reef has then to be taken in the genoa.

The new masts, booms and spinnaker pole were built by Kemp Masts (now Spencer Rigging) and fitted by them in 1990 together with all running and standing rigging. The main mast is fitted with a Kemp gas boom support and down haul”.

I have fitted a lazy jack/ stack-pack system which makes reefing the main far easier, and avoids flapping sail around the cockpit (bothersome if the roof is off).

I haven’t figured out the best configuration since she seems to sail pretty sweetly whatever the sail pattern.

Adrian.

[Moderator]

On Rainshadow, we have the original masts and booms, which means we have the roller reefing boom on the main. We do not use the roller reefing boom, and instead use slab reefing. We thought about trying the roller reefing, but everyone we asked steered us away from it, so we never tried it.

Regarding spar corrosion, ours are not too bad, but we’ve found that the stainless steel fasteners used in the aluminum spars are corroded in place. These seized SS fasteners mean we cannot service the internal outhaul, for example.

We recently bought new sails from North Sails in Seattle. The main is a 7.8 Oz Nordac (dacron) cloth with two leech (lower) and two full length (upper) battons. There are two reef points. This sail cost us about US$2000.

Sadly, the sail design was not a good fit to the boat, despite the North Sails rep taking measurements himself and discussing each of the following points during his visit. If you purchase a new main, make sure your sailmaker does not make the same mistakes.
1. There was too much roach, so the top full batton hung up on the backstay at each tack. To correct this, the sailmaker had to trim the roach and recut the batton.
2. The reefing points were not correctly aligned with the reefing block on the boom. We had to remount the reefing block further aft to have the correct fairlead to the block.
3. The luff was about 9″ too long. We had to lower the boom and also use a spectra main halyard so the eye splice is very small, which allows us to raise the head slightly higher as well. This was required so the boom does not collide with the cockpit roof. (Before the roach was recut per point #1, the rep suggested we lower the boom even further to solve the backstay hang-up problem).

When picking your sailmaker, find someone who will take into consideration all of the boat, and not just the i j p e measurements. Balance is important. After getting new sails, we had to rake our mast forward, else the weather helm was unmanagable.

We are generally happy with the slab reefing concept, as it’s simple. We’ve never used an in-mast furler, so cannot comment.

Our plan is to progressively replace the standing rigging because the wires are about 15 years old and the hardware is mostly original. So far, we’ve only replaced the forestay as part of installing a new roller furler (Harken Unit 1). We plan to use Dyneema Dux for the main lower shrouds to reduce mainsail chafe when running, and also use Dyneema for the mizzen running backstays so they are more easily handled. The remaining standing rigging will be SS with sizing according to the original Nic 38 handbook. We don’t have any quotes for the materials yet – we’ll do the installation ourselves.

Re-rigging a ketch is more expensive than rigging a sloop. Start counting, and you’ll find 12 chainplates plus the stem fitting and backstay fitting. That’s 14 wires and their accompanying hardware. But we like the ketch sail plan because the sails are more easily handled by one person, and with a properly tuned rig she does sail nice!

Marilyn and Van

[Peter Reynolds]

Thank you all, Adrian, Marilyn and Van.

Having read the Yachting World October 1993 “Test of Time” download article about Chihili 11 (now Q) and Adrian’s comments, I can see that the increase of 9 foot on the main and 6 foot on the mizzen has made the Chihila Q more responsive and you, Adrian, must have a most enviable Nic 38. However, with my limited budget, the additional costs of a new main and standing rigging – standard or extended size – takes this potential purchase out of my range, so I will give this one a miss.

If anybody else is in the market, the vessel I was looking at was Lossiemouth based. The link is http://www.theyachtmarket.com/boats_for_sale/198677/ .

I very much appreciate all the excellent advice given on this forum, and hope that one day I will have enough experience of the Nic 38 to be able to repay with my advice.

Peter Reynolds – Looking to purchase a Nic 38

[Alexina]

Peter, Alexina had all her standing rigging replaced by myself 18 months ago. It cost about 1500 euros and I bought all the wire and fittings from Contract Yacht Services in Levkas. At the same time we had a new suit of sails from Barry and Sue at Sioux Sails which they sourced from Rolly Tasker, these cost about 3000 euros.

We do have an after market in mast reefing system from Easyreef and to date have had no real problems with it.

It might be a good idea to note that the Nicholson 32 has the same main mast as the Nicholson 38 if you are looking for a replacement.

Hope this helps .. Peter

[Author]

Posts