Proctor c mast stiff or not?

[enigma]

I am currently refurbing an old Dormic Fibreclad,Enigma 442,fitted with a Proctor C mast.
Q.. do I mess with Lowers etc and raking the spreaders fwd.
Its getting a Banks dacron boom boltroped sail

Obviously I havnt a clue!!
Robin

[Meat Pie ...]

Robin
The C Section Proctor Mast is one of Proctors more flexible sections yet it is not as flexible as the Needlespar,Dolphin or SSS variants and others that crop up on Moths from time to time.
It should have a nice tapered section from the Hounds up which should give the upper section some give or flexibility.
Whether the Sail is loose footed or not should not affect the Mast stiffness[or vice versa really].
By moving the spreaders forward you will stiffen up the Mast in the lower section,using lowers will further stiffen the Mast.
The most common use and aim of using Lowers is to hold the Mast as straight and controlled as possible when sailing offwind or down hill.In fact most have the Lowers on all the time in a race but I let mine go upwind and crank them on offwind really hard.
Best is to start with an " average" and neutral position with the spreaders i.e the shroud line from the chainplate to the shrouds is straight and see how the Mast performs.
If you need the Mast to bend a little then angle the spreaders back a tad.
If you need to stiffen the Mast angle them forward and possibly extend them out.
We use a C Proctor on one of our boats and allow it to bend a little when sailing upwind.
Beware a stiff mast can prove to be a handful....
Suggest you look at Mr Hall,s rig set-up hints which will I think suggest more or less the same as I suggest.
Whatever you do make a note of the adjustments you have made and record an assessment of the effects of any change.
Will gladly play around with the "new" Enigma if you are planning to come to the Frampton Moth Training Day but have a go yourself...its quite rewarding.
Roger Witts

[colin]

Robin,

The Proctor C is very close to the Lambda, despite it being greater in section. The sideways stiffness is the same but it is very slightly stiffer fore/aft. I would treat it as a ‘soft’ mast.

In a very broad sense the question is; are you looking for more power? If the rig is too soft it will bend off and de-power the sail before you can fully hike out (there has to be enough wind). If this is the case then stiffening the mast by the use of lowers will help.

If the sail looks a little flat at the luff then have a look at spreader rake. Try neutral as a first go.

There is a large degree of subtlety with rig setting that can only be addressed by sailing the boat and ‘reading’ the sail and mast that determines your next adjustment. You will find that sailing an open meeting or the nationals will provide more than enough expert advice.

Colin

[enigma]

Thank you both.
Robin