As Rick said, if you intend to renew your furler then the Plastimo 609s is a fantastic upgrade. I would go one better & say that if you are using a 150 Genoa then I would definitely ditch the CDI & go for the Plastimo.
Thank for your comments Andy and Rick. Barry my rigger from Emsworth Harbour, told me that the crimped attachment for the furler is very old technology and he never uses them anymore. He will repair mine with a swaged connection and showed me in his workshop how these work with a kind of swiveling joint that can rotate in all directions. They certainly looked much stronger with straight cold pressed joins to the stainless steel cable. This is what Roly mentioned above. Barry said its possible to use a sleeve in the boom and welding but I will have to find a fabricator to do it. He also suggested checking out this forum or other boat breakers to see if I can get a 2nd hand boom. Otherwise he recommends Z-spar although it'll be about £1,000 for a new boom and may need some tailor made fabrication for the gooseneck joint. Not sure how much it would cost for the sleeve solution but at the end of they day when it comes to selling the boat that visible repair would certainly deter potential buyers. Lucky no damage to the mast. Standing rigging needs to be replaced as they are original and may have been stress damaged by the incident. The foot plate can be bent back straight, as well as the bent plate for the kicker lower connection. Anyway left my mast and furler with Barry and can still use my 26M with no sails until I get my new forest and rigging sorted. Anyone know of a space 2nd hand boom in the UK?
We are lucky in that rigging and sails are standard and we don't have to go to Blue Water Yachts in USA . A decent rigger and sail maker should be able to repair/replace damaged items.
Good Luck
Simon Armitage.
I agree that if you are replacing kit and can go up market, fine. However the original kit has lasted incredibly well, and well beyond the suggested 10 year life. I'm still on all original apart from turnbuckles on the side stays which I fitted.
I will be taking a close look at my forestay as the boat came home ready for Ireland. 😮💨 We had to drop out as Mim finally got her shoulder repaired 10 days ago. So we have to play safe for a month or two.
Hi Jonathan, I agree the original kit did do well to last so long. But to replace it like for like is very expensive especially with shipping & import taxes. So alternatives need to be found & some turn out to be more superior to the original. Obviously things like keels dagger boards masts & booms will still have to be bought from BWY. Hopefully I hope to produce a solid weighted swing keel for the X over the winter. If it turns out we'll then I will try a daggerboard. If you need to replace any turnbuckle's or you want any 316 grade screws/nuts & bolts then I recommend Westfield fasteners.
I'm sure the keel housing on both M and X could take a bit more weight than just water. However when BWY added I think a 200kg bulb to the bottom of a specially constructed daggerboard they strengthened the housing substantially. They say it produced a much stiffer boat unsurprisingly.
Remember that the club owns moulds for the M daggerboard you don't get X's braking the swing keel often.
Hi Steven, have a look for a boom off a wayfarer they are lighter & only three inches shorter. I have tried my main sail foot & it fits with one inch spare at the clew. The goose neck is very similar but should be easily modified or changed. If you look on eBay & marketplace you could pick a whole boat for a one or two hundred. The wayfarer boom is 124 inches long & the Mac is 127 inches long. If you can measure the foot of your main sail. At least this way you will be back on the water quicker.👍
As Rick said, if you intend to renew your furler then the Plastimo 609s is a fantastic upgrade. I would go one better & say that if you are using a 150 Genoa then I would definitely ditch the CDI & go for the Plastimo.
PXL_20230501_143620071
Thank for your comments Andy and Rick. Barry my rigger from Emsworth Harbour, told me that the crimped attachment for the furler is very old technology and he never uses them anymore. He will repair mine with a swaged connection and showed me in his workshop how these work with a kind of swiveling joint that can rotate in all directions. They certainly looked much stronger with straight cold pressed joins to the stainless steel cable. This is what Roly mentioned above. Barry said its possible to use a sleeve in the boom and welding but I will have to find a fabricator to do it. He also suggested checking out this forum or other boat breakers to see if I can get a 2nd hand boom. Otherwise he recommends Z-spar although it'll be about £1,000 for a new boom and may need some tailor made fabrication for the gooseneck joint. Not sure how much it would cost for the sleeve solution but at the end of they day when it comes to selling the boat that visible repair would certainly deter potential buyers. Lucky no damage to the mast. Standing rigging needs to be replaced as they are original and may have been stress damaged by the incident. The foot plate can be bent back straight, as well as the bent plate for the kicker lower connection. Anyway left my mast and furler with Barry and can still use my 26M with no sails until I get my new forest and rigging sorted. Anyone know of a space 2nd hand boom in the UK?
We are lucky in that rigging and sails are standard and we don't have to go to Blue Water Yachts in USA . A decent rigger and sail maker should be able to repair/replace damaged items.
Good Luck
Simon Armitage.
I agree that if you are replacing kit and can go up market, fine. However the original kit has lasted incredibly well, and well beyond the suggested 10 year life. I'm still on all original apart from turnbuckles on the side stays which I fitted.
I will be taking a close look at my forestay as the boat came home ready for Ireland. 😮💨 We had to drop out as Mim finally got her shoulder repaired 10 days ago. So we have to play safe for a month or two.
Jonathan
Hi Jonathan, I agree the original kit did do well to last so long. But to replace it like for like is very expensive especially with shipping & import taxes. So alternatives need to be found & some turn out to be more superior to the original. Obviously things like keels dagger boards masts & booms will still have to be bought from BWY. Hopefully I hope to produce a solid weighted swing keel for the X over the winter. If it turns out we'll then I will try a daggerboard. If you need to replace any turnbuckle's or you want any 316 grade screws/nuts & bolts then I recommend Westfield fasteners.
I'm sure the keel housing on both M and X could take a bit more weight than just water. However when BWY added I think a 200kg bulb to the bottom of a specially constructed daggerboard they strengthened the housing substantially. They say it produced a much stiffer boat unsurprisingly.
Remember that the club owns moulds for the M daggerboard you don't get X's braking the swing keel often.
Hi Steven, have a look for a boom off a wayfarer they are lighter & only three inches shorter. I have tried my main sail foot & it fits with one inch spare at the clew. The goose neck is very similar but should be easily modified or changed. If you look on eBay & marketplace you could pick a whole boat for a one or two hundred. The wayfarer boom is 124 inches long & the Mac is 127 inches long. If you can measure the foot of your main sail. At least this way you will be back on the water quicker.👍
PXL_20260708_115615243
PXL_20260708_115544462
PXL_20260708_115615243_0
PXL_20260708_115552863
Thanks again Andy. Will look into this.
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