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Blog EntryApr 21, '09 12:58 PM
by Michael for everyone

Hello Balladfriends,

it seems that the mast of my Ballad is standing uprightly or even has a little inclination to the bow. This is curios, because the inclination is defined by the length of the frontstay. The mastfoot is standing in the middle of the footrail.

What do you think is the right mastrake or the right inclination to the stern?

What is the right position on the footrail?

Kind regards

Michael/ Ballad 1418 (s.crown)

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jocotton wrote on Apr 21, '09
I'd suggest that your forestay is too short. According to most reccomendations a mast should rake aft, probably a few inches at boom level if measured using a weight on the main halyard under calm conditions. Try adding a shackle at the lower end of the forestay and move the mast foot so that the mast is central in the deck-hole, then measure the rake. Remember weight distribution!. Don't have all your helpers on deck, but in the cockpit when you measure the rake!
However, more rake means more weather helm, other things being equal. Experiment is needed to get a sailing balance satisfactory for you.
Have a good sailing season!
'Josin' John
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maccormac wrote on Apr 22, '09
I agree with Jocotton. If your mast has been down for any reason you may find that the forestay has been swapped with the backstay. I know it sounds silly. But i have seen it done and the difference in length is enough to cause the effect you describe.
Best wishes Don
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jereku wrote on Apr 23, '09
Hello!

Does anyone remember the correct place of mast bolt on footrail? I painted yesterday Cita's floor (with Normadur 90 HS) and accidentally wiped out my marks from mastfoot rail with klysene...Well, it was very long day anymore...;)
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torbennoer wrote on Apr 23, '09
I have just taken a few pictures of my footrail, but I cannot figure out how to upload them here?
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gem2martin wrote on Apr 23, '09
According to an article in the Ballad UK newletter several years ago, the mast was supposted to rake forward. I didn't like the look and added a 6 inch stainless steel extension to the forstay. I cann't compair the results against other Ballads--only a few in San Francisco Bay--but it *looks* better.

Jerry Martin
Alte Liebe #1266
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mcguines wrote on Apr 28, '09
Michael.
When I got my Ballad I had the same problem, my mast appeared to be tilted forward. I gots lots of advice from club members but only one guy suggested that my stern seemed to be a little too high in the water. He suggested that I take everything out of the vee berth and then have another look at the mast. From the vee berth I removed all the sails that came with the boat and I removed 30m of 8mm chain from the chain locker. This solved my problem. And the stern of the boat was noticibly lower in the water. This may not solve your problem but you have lots of other good advice here to follow. As JoCotton suggested, weatherhelm tells you if your mast is setup correctly.

The fine entry of the bow section means that the Ballad is not designed to carry much weight forward. With two batteries and a water tank there already it doesn't take too much more weight to unbalance the boat. The amount of chain kept in the chain locker should be kept to a minimum as this weight is very far forward and will cause the boat to pitch more than it should. A previous poster to this forum said that to get a Ballad configured for competitive racing the batteries must be moved aft. A cruiser may not have to go to such lengths but it does suggest that extra weight forward should be kept to a minimum.
On my Ballad #142 the correct place for the bolt is in the second hole from the aft end of the footrail. If your setup is different, as a starting point make sure that the mast is parallel to the main bulkhead when it is in the centre of the deck entry. This way the mast is sticking up straight from the boat regardless of how it is sitting in the water.

Eamonn Mc Guinness
Andiamo #142
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