Klaus Gruner
New Member
I would like to know how a Mizzen staysail for a Freedom 33 looks like and how it works
Mizzen Staysail
- Thread starter Klaus Gruner
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boat
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I have never sailed a boat that small/large with a miz but I suspect it works just like it does on bigger boats. I feel confident there are countless opinions as to how and why a miz is used but I can only tell you how I use it which is probably wrong.
You can look to the left of my post (picture of my x 45' catch) and see what a catch looks like. Originally the catch had the mez mast located forward of the rudder post while a yawl had the mast aft of the rudder post. When you see a yawl you will think the mez was an after thought stuck on the purhpit. The catch mast is much more forward of the stern. I hear that mast position is no longer a valid identifier of the two boats. It seems now days you look at the different heights of the main and miz mast as well as the amount of sail area. The catch has a taller mast and more square feet of mez sail.
I typically use the mez as a balance sail - that is to say, I trim the head sail(s) (jib and satay sail) for maximum power and the main for power which typically causes the bow to fall down wind requiring the need for a lot of rudder to keep the boat on course this also creates a massive amount of drag. The answer, trim the mez to overcome the nose heading down wind which will create a neutral helm. This will add power to the forward motion as well as allowing you to forget the helm. If the boat starts to head up loosen the mez a little. If it starts to fall off a bit tighten the mez until the boat goes where you want it to go. You will get accustom to using the jib and gigger (head sail and mez - no main) when the wind gets up. This is a really good to de-power the boat and make it quite manageable while still having a reasonable DMG.
When trimming the main you will probably find that it is easily back winded when the head sails are pulling max. A little puff in the luff of the main seems to be OK and even with the disturbance in the luff you will still get a lot of power out of the main and the mez will keep the bow where you want it.
I really enjoy sailing a catch; it is a really comfortable/easy way to sail. Once the head sails and main are generating the maximum pull you can forget everything but the mez. Just sit in the cockpit, fine tune the mez every once-in-a while and enjoy the specialty drink of the islands nearest you or whatever. With any luck you can train your wife and/or your girlfriend or both to do all of the work and still have time to cook and bring you drinks... Yep, I guess I really am a chauvinist but not intentionally; just spoiled!
You can look to the left of my post (picture of my x 45' catch) and see what a catch looks like. Originally the catch had the mez mast located forward of the rudder post while a yawl had the mast aft of the rudder post. When you see a yawl you will think the mez was an after thought stuck on the purhpit. The catch mast is much more forward of the stern. I hear that mast position is no longer a valid identifier of the two boats. It seems now days you look at the different heights of the main and miz mast as well as the amount of sail area. The catch has a taller mast and more square feet of mez sail.
I typically use the mez as a balance sail - that is to say, I trim the head sail(s) (jib and satay sail) for maximum power and the main for power which typically causes the bow to fall down wind requiring the need for a lot of rudder to keep the boat on course this also creates a massive amount of drag. The answer, trim the mez to overcome the nose heading down wind which will create a neutral helm. This will add power to the forward motion as well as allowing you to forget the helm. If the boat starts to head up loosen the mez a little. If it starts to fall off a bit tighten the mez until the boat goes where you want it to go. You will get accustom to using the jib and gigger (head sail and mez - no main) when the wind gets up. This is a really good to de-power the boat and make it quite manageable while still having a reasonable DMG.
When trimming the main you will probably find that it is easily back winded when the head sails are pulling max. A little puff in the luff of the main seems to be OK and even with the disturbance in the luff you will still get a lot of power out of the main and the mez will keep the bow where you want it.
I really enjoy sailing a catch; it is a really comfortable/easy way to sail. Once the head sails and main are generating the maximum pull you can forget everything but the mez. Just sit in the cockpit, fine tune the mez every once-in-a while and enjoy the specialty drink of the islands nearest you or whatever. With any luck you can train your wife and/or your girlfriend or both to do all of the work and still have time to cook and bring you drinks... Yep, I guess I really am a chauvinist but not intentionally; just spoiled!
Klaus Gruner
New Member
My boat is a cat ketch with no head sails. I am planning a world sircumnavigation and like to have more sails for downwind courses.
My boat has all the hardware for a Mizzen stay sail but no sail.
Maybe someone can give me an advice.
Thanks in advance,
Klaus Gruner