Eddie Offermann's Page

This is George Henderson, owner of "Faith," Hull #69 located in the Boston area. Just letting the community know that she is on the market since I now live in CO. She is priced to sell. Makes me sad but I'd like to see her legacy continue. If you know of a potential buyer I can be reached at georgehenderson.usa@gmail.com / 857-221-1581. She is in great condition and has been lovingly restored. There are pics on my members' page and a link to a Google Drive folder is below, where you will find pics and a survey.

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1rIBwFD2-o9rJCVKsPaEcLq9jj8A54fJl

Eddie, Thanks for welcoming me to the group, I'm thrilled/terrified to have taken on such a daunting project but I'm just trying to work on one area at a time so as not to become overwhelmed, we'll see how that logic pans out. The former seller just wanted out which was why I was able to get it so cheap, also Morro bay doesn't have a large pool of potential buyers so I actually paid $2,100 plus $400 for an in the water survey. The main worries are a mast with excessive dry rot and lots of cosmetics. Again thanks for the welcome, months ago I was able to see your youtube video of your sail to del rey, looked like a fun group, can't wait to get mine in a state to be able to go sailing again. 

Eddie,  When I started as the rigger I was told that the spring stay was attached to the mizzen mast with a light rope attached so that after the masts were stepped and the standing rigging attached to their chainplates but not tuned, the last step of attaching the rigging of going up the main, drawing up the spring stay with the light line and attaching to the main mast head could be done.  That was done over my shoulders and I had to pull the spring stay up, rather difficult.  I finally wised up and put the spring stay on the main, went up the mizzen and pulled down on the stay to attach it to the mizzen head.  Much easier that way.  I'll bet you'll remember that when the time comes.

Eddie, this is for you because the mast head pictures seems to me to show slack in the spring stay, and it's for anyone else who reads this.  The spring stay should have some tension on it even when not sailing.  It is the 'fore stay' for the mizzen and it carries the drive of the mizzen.  If it is slack it won't carry the mizzen's power until it tightens up.  That causes a lot of flexing in the mast which could contribute to a short life span for the mast.  Let's look at the stresses in the rig when under sail.

Starting with a single sail on a single mast: the sail is pulling and the boom goes up.  The mast head is pulled aft as the sail tries to pull all three corners toward center.  It's the job of the forestay to hold the mast head forward.  If the forestay is loose that job is passed to the mast.  The forestay transfers the stress to the stem head or the end of the bow sprit and thence via the bobstay to the stem.  A jib on the forestay will increase stress on the forestay and bobstay.  We've just described a sloop with two sails.  Let's add a sail and mast (which becomes the main mast and sail) to make a ketch of three sails.  A spring stay is added between the mast heads.  All three sails tend to pull all its corners toward the center of their sail.  The sheets pull the clews (outboard lower corners) down, the tacks (inboard lower corners) are under the control of the boom/mast junction, and the heads (upper corners), which are pulled aft and down, are controlled by the various stays and the masts.

Now let's looks at which way the stays are pulling.  The spring stay is pulling aft, the forestay is pulling up and aft, and the bob stay is pulling forward.  The spring stall carries the pull of the mizzen, the forestay carries the pull of the mizzen and main and the added pull of the jib.  The bob stay pulls forward and carries the entire load of the sail power.

All of that to say that if any of the stays is loose with no wind in the picture it will not pull its full load with the wind even after the slack is taken out under the load of the wind because the masts have taken some of the stay's load.  I have been in enough auto accidents to recognize the importance of a tight rig.  I have always been a proponent of wearing tight seatbelts.  It idea is that as soon as the vehicle begins its sudden slowdown the seat belt is working and slows me down on impact.  Those who insist on wearing their seat belts loose do not slow down until the seat belts tighten up.  So, let's say we run into a solid wall that will not give at 50 mph.  I start slowing immediately as the front end crumples and the loose belt wear is still doing 50 mph.  I've been in this type of accident except the solid wall was a truck.  I survived with no injury or pain.  The wearer of the loose belt was heavily bruised by the belt when it tightened up and was in pain for several days afterwards.  Apply that to the rig.  The sudden tightening of the spring stay can shiver your timbers and a repeated shock treatment like that can do strange things to the structure of the mast.

This is not meant to be a scare tactic, just a little study to encourage you all of the need of a well tuned rig.       Peace,  Clyde

I started to send you this as a message, but thought this way others might get some ideas.

Eddie,

I'd like the pictures you may get when aloft.  One thing I thought of that I haven't studied out is that you may be able to put a shoulder eye bolt through the main mast head up side down, with the eye on the low end on the after surface of the mast.  This may add an attachment point for the mule halyard.  Remember the order of things.  You have to keep that order from top on down using the attachment points you have from top down.  That up side down eye bolt likely will be the bottom point, if so then that will be the bottom item to be hung (I think its the main topping lift).  If the need the eye bolt right side up (on the forward side of the mast) for the spinnaker(?) then you may be able to add a "tang extender" under the nut of the eye bolt (on the aft side) on which the topping lift block can be hung.  That, if it is workable, will preclude the use of a mule head fitting.  What would make all this unusable would be chaff on any of the rig up there in that riggers nightmare.  I'll try to study it and pass judgment, but you should do you own figuring and judgment.  Doing that kind of thing gets you head around these things and you'll know what's happening up there.  All sailors should be able to do their own work.  Farming the job out to "professionals" (so called because they charge for their work, not because they are smart).  A pro does the work and it give up when you're way off shore or in some place without pros and you'll be the one with the problem, not the one who got your hard earned cash for a sloppy job.  Which brings me to the new guy, stay, whatever, you need.  There is a company that puts out end fittings for wire rope rigging that is put together with a couple of wrenches.  it uses a serrated cone that is put in the splayed out end in the assembly process.  Properly done these are as good as swaged fittings, and they can be assembled anywhere.  I always figured I use them on any sail boat I would have.  Makes it easy to replace rigging anywhere in the world without worrying about those good little shops that close down on you.

I am glad to be a part of this wonderful site. I am doing a lot work on Moonfeet and oh boy does she needs that! I believe no one ever did anything structural on her after she was build. Had to rebuild her hull as wood was rotten and re fiberglass and repainted her.

I thank you for welcoming myself here,

Natasha.

Thanks for the note Eddie  I found the site when looking for my Dad's Newporter "Resolute".  It might be the same as Steve Hyatt's as the bulworks look similar to the replacement/mod we did in Belize.  Spent several memorable and formative seasons aboard that boat, including one Panama canal transit.  Currently  I own a CSY 33.  Charlie

Eddie, 

I was just looking over our banter about seat boxes and propane stoves and stuff that we did last July and, lo and behold, strange to say: I found an error in what I said.  Thinking I never make mistakes (boy, that takes some gumption) I thought I’d better correct it.  I said your Newporter was built in Dorchester before I started working there.  The timing is right but the coast is wrong.  The picture Mark Packard gave you makes it quite clear that she was built on the west coast, in Costa Mesa according to your post.  The picture clearly shows some buildings on the opposite shore of where she was built.  All three yards where Newporters were built on the east coast (I worked at all of them) has good old South Jersey salt marshes on the other side of the Maurice River.

That picture raises a question; as launched she was the “Escape” from Denver.  I wonder, where in the Denver area did she sail?  I know that one of the Newporters we built at the Leesburg yard went to Montana and was put on a large lake on her owners ranch, the ranch being maybe half the size of Rhode Island.  But Denver?  I found some lakes, mostly reservoirs, in the area but 1 X 1.5 miles was about the largest of them.

Here’s hoping your coming season of sailing will be a fine and fun time, and from the looks of the winter wear you have on in some of your pictures you extend your sailing seasons to the bitter end.

Peace,

      Clyde