southern spars 49er User manual

COMPOSITE SPARS & RIGGING |COMPONENTS | GLOBAL SERVICE
49erMast Users Manual

Southern Spars 49er Mast Users Manual
© Southern Spars 2009

Table of Contents
1 Care
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Washdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Paint Scratches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Rig Inspections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2 Use
Quick Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Setup Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
UsefulTools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
HalyardThreading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Joining the Mast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
AttachingTrapeze Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Attaching Stays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Tuning Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 Dealer Information
Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Mast Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Mast Fitout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Warranty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
About Southern Spars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

49er | 1
Introduction
Southern Spars is the licensed supplier of the 49er
rig. e three piece male moulded mast is made
from 100% standard modulus carbon and is available
through licensed 49er dealers.
In carbonising the 49er rig, the goal was to develop
a rig that could be easily and accurately reproduced
with an empahasis on the details that affect
performance.
e focus was on how to achieve cosistency of: bend,
weight and CG. ‘Bend’ is determined by the tube
stiffness, spreader angle and spreader stiffness, while
weight and CG are controlled through strict quality
control of materials.
It was also important to ensure the rig retained its
ability to perform through the full wind range while
targeting an ideal crew weight of 155-160kg.
Before building the first prototype rig, many hours
were spent running finite element studies of the mast-
sail combination to ensure the rig performed properly
throughout the full wind range.
eoretical rig setup (dock tune) was established and
the boat was run through a range of conditions using
the software to simulate real sailing loads to output
the deformed sailing shapes of the mast and sail. e
mast stiffness and sail design was changed many times
and fine tuned using the software before it was made
and sent sailing. Independent on-the-water testing
was conducted by Julian Bethwaite and his team, using
the first prototype rig in conditions ranging from 5-30
knots along with a range of crew weights.
e rig has been developed as a 3 piece mast. e
longest section is less than 4m so it is able to be easily
freighted around the world. Both sets of spreaders are
identical and interchangeable. e spreaders slide over
the tube joining spigots between the mast tubes and
are separate parts. is allows simple assembly and
ensures that the spreaders can be easily transported
separately and protected from damage.
Southern Spars have developed a unique system where
the spreaders automatically line up when the mast
sections are fitted together.
e main and spinnaker halyard sheaves are
incorporated into the masthead fitting.
Purchase systems for the Main and Jib halyards are
now attached to the mast base to give more travel and
easier access for adjustment. e main halyard has a
2:1 purchase at the head, plus a 2:1 adjustment at the
base.
For more information about Southern Spars, visit the
website @ www.southernspars.com
49erclass

49er | 2
Care
Washdown
Ensure the spar is washed down after each sail and
all salt has been removed.is will help prevent
corrosion of parts.
e mast should be thoroughly washed down once a
month, inside and out, to keep it in top condition.
Paint Scratches
Paint scratches should be touched up to avoid bare
carbon being exposed to the elements.
Southern Spars uses a two-pot polyurethane (gloss).
Any polyurethane paint system can be used to touch
up over this.
Travel
When shipping your mast, or travelling by road, it
is important to package it well using the Southern
Spars covers.
Ensure that rigging is removed to prevent the stays
from wearing or banging against the mast.
It is recommended a full inspection is performed
when re-rigging the mast.
Rig Inspections
New Stays will stretch slightly after sailing; therefore
it is important to re-inspect your tuning each day
for the first 2-3 sessions after sailing with the new
rigging.
Tape any clevis pins or sharp edges to prevent tearing
of the gennaker.
Weekly Inspections
All halyards, taping etc should be checked on
a weekly basis
Monthly Inspections
Check to see that all sheaves are free turning
and well lubricated
Check for wear on stays and spreaders
Bi-annual Inspection & Re-rigging Inspection
Check all fittings for wear
Check mast for cracking
Check spreaders for wear
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3| 49er Mast Users Manual
Setup Quick Guide
Fit spreaders to midsection. Slide top
spreader over join at top of midsection. Slide
bottom spreader over bottom join.
Fit main halyard and gennaker halyard going
either side of upper bolt
Fit jib halyard
Join mast sections together
Thread halyards through mast base
Attach mastbase
Align spreaders with mast base and ensure
sail track is aligned. Tightly fasten screws.
Fit upper stays to bolt and run through top
spreader
Fit shrouds (just below top spreader), and run
through bottom spreader
Fit forestay and lowers
Tie trapeze lines through both ends of Dynex
loop
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

49er | 4
Setup Tips
UsefulTools when Assembling the Mast
Spanner for M5 nuts
3mm Allen Key
Electrical tape
5m of 4mm wire as a threading guide wire
•
•
•
•
Now run the main and gennaker halyards through
the midsection, again pulling each halyard tight once
they have gone through. Check that the halyards are
not twisted.
read the halyards through the bottom section
and out the mastbase. It is best to do this with the
mastbase not attached to the mast. e gennaker
halyard exits out of the front of the mastbase.
e main and jib halyards exit through the back
sheaves in the mastbase. Before re-attaching the
mastbase do a final check that the halyards are not
twisted and are running freely.
read the jib halyard through the Harken HK 302
exit block at the top of the midsection. en thread
the jib halyard through the midsection and tape into
place.
Halyard Threading
e main halyard is 3mm dynex rope with a 4mm
Spectra tail.
Remove the sheaves in the head fitting and tie the
end of the halyard to the lower clevis pin on the back
of the head fitting. Remove the upper stay bolt. e
main halyard is a 2 to 1 system and goes through the
shackle that attaches to the head of the mainsail.
Once you thread the main halyard (behind upper
bolt) and gennaker halyard (infront of upper bolt)
through the tip section pull tight and tape into place.
At this point look up inside the tip section to check
the halyards aren’t twisted.

5| 49er Mast Users Manual
Attaching Stays
Please note: e T bars on rigging need to be “long
neck”T Bar hooks, otherwise you will not fit these in
the mast correctly.
Fit one end of one of the uppers (stays with eyes on
both ends) onto the uppers bolt making sure there is
a washer on each side between the mast and upper
stays. en bolt through mast, ensuring the gennaker
halyard is in front of the pin and the main halyard is
behind the pin. Fit the second upper stay and tighten
uppers bolt. Remove the clevis pins and retainer
stay plates from the outer ends of the top spreaders.
Place stay into hook, then refit stay retainer back into
spreader with the hook opening facing forwards.
Next fit the shrouds by inserting the T-bar end of
the stay in the mast. is should be inserted just
beneath the top spreader. Remove the clevis pins and
retainer stay plates from the outer ends of the bottom
spreaders. Place stay into hook, then refit stay retainer
back into spreader with the hook opening facing
forwards.
Fit the forestay to the mast by inserting the forestay
on the front of the mast just above the top spreader.
Fit the lowers in the bottom section.
Before putting the rig up, perform a final check,
confirm that all fittings are attached correctly, nuts are
tightened, and that all clevis pins and sharp pieces are
taped.
NOTE: Under Class rules, the mast sections and
spreaders must be able to come apart for measurement
purposes.
Attaching Trapeze Lines
When attaching the trapeze lines to the Dynex loops
at the top spreader, make sure both trapeze lines go
through both loops.
Do not attach one trapeze line to one loop, then the
other trapeze line to the other loop – both trapeze
lines need to be through both loops.
To join the mast together, slide the top spreader
(spreader with Dynex loop on) over the join at the
top of the midsection. Fit locating screw. Slide bottom
spreader over join at the bottom of the midsection. Fit
locating screws.
Now align the spreaders with the mastbase, making
sure that the sail track is aligned. Once aligned, tightly
fasten locating screws.
When attaching the spreaders and joining the mast
sections make sure that the joins butt up against each
other. e angled cuts are done at exactly 22.5%.
If you are to fit a replacement to your rig and it doesn’t
accurately align, lightly sand the join of the mast and
use a small rats tail file in the fastening hole so the
screw doesn’t pull the mast out of alignment.
Joining the Mast
e top join has two locating screws and the bottom
join has three screws. ese screws should be done up
tightly with the curved washers underneath, located
correctly on the mast.

49er | 6
require more tension to set the head at the right
depth.
e head needs to be flatter than before for the head
to work, so it may take some time to get used to
looking at the flatter top.You probably won’t need as
high loads on the lowers to keep the lower section
straight.
Don’t worry about the tension of the main shrouds.
As long as the forestay is at the right tension and the
uppers and lowers have the main set up at the right
depth and behaving right through the wind range
then the shrouds are at the right tension.
is style of rig is probably a little more sensitive to
lowers tension than the old rig, and fine tuning them
will make big differences to the balance through the
wind range.
Happy sailing, and please email any tips or tuning
information that we can use to develop a more
detailed guide to [email protected]
Tuning Guide
Over the next couple of years the top sailors in the
class will develop and fine tune the fastest settings
for the new carbon rig.
We will continually update the tuning guide with
as much of that information as possible, this will be
available on our website.
Mastbend
e old rig went best with a
straight bottom section. e top
section was relatively soft and this
produced a dynamic response that
automatically depowered the rig
in gusts.
e new rig relies more on the
square top for depowering.ere
is less luffcurve in the top of the
an even greater degree than the
old rig.
To support the square head, we
made the top of the rig a lot stiffer.
e lower section of the mast has
a very similar stiffness to the old
rig, however the whole rig needs
to be set up with a more even
bend to get a good balance on the
helm.
main so the head will open automatically in gusts to
If you set up the mast straight in the lower sections
like before, then the boat will feel stalled and go slow.
Forget about the way the mast looked before and set
up the bend so that the main looks good.
ere will be less change in sail depth through the
wind range and the main will retain a tighter leech
for longer, so you will probably set up the main
slightly flatter than before.
e mast is stiffer
overall, so the shroud
tensions will be
different.
Use the same forestay
tension as before:
29-30 on the loose.
e top of the mast
is a lot stiffer, so the
uppers will probably
Rig Tension

7| 49er Mast Users Manual
Dealers
49er masts, rigging, spare parts and covers are
available from the following suppliers:
Argentina
Martin Bulloch Marine
San Fernando
P: [phone]
Martin Bulloch
[email protected]
www.bulloch.com
Australia
Bethwaite Design
Woollahra Sailing Club
Vickery Ave, Rose Bay
NSW 2029
Australia
P: [phone]
Clynton Wade-Lehman
cl[email protected]
www.bethwaite.com
Southern Europe
Nautivela srl
via Gardone 8,
Milano
Italy
P: [phone]
F: [phone]
Paolo Portiglia
[email protected]
www.nautivela.com
Japan
Performance Sailcraft Japan
3 13 31, Ayase shi
Kamitsuchitana Minami
Kanagawa Ken, 252
Japan
P: [phone]
F: [phone]
Takao Otani
[email protected].jp
www.psjpn.co.jp
New Zealand
Mackay Boats Ltd
24 Manga Rd
Silverdale, Auckland
New Zealand
P: [phone]
Dave Mackay
[email protected]
www.mackayboats.com
Europe
Ovington Boats Ltd
Tannners Bank
North Shields
Tyne & Wear, NE30 1JH
Great Britain
P: [phone]
Chris Turner
[email protected].uk
www.ovingtonboats.co.uk
USA
Laser Performance North America
300 Highpoint Ave
Portsmouth RI 02871
USA
P: [phone]
Devin Kelly
[e-mail]
www.laserperformance.com

49er | 8
Complete Mast
Mast sections and spreaders excluding rigging
Wire Rigging Set
Halyard Set
Main and jib halyards with tails; spinnaker halyard
Tiller Extension Standard
Including urethane universal
Tiller Extension Extra Light
Including urethane universal
Rigging Bag
Including urethane universal
Mast Cover Rig Mast
Including urethane universal
Mast Cover Travelling
Including urethane universal
Top Section
Complete with masthead and all fittings
Middle Section
Complete with all fittings
Bottom Section
Complete with mastbase and all fittings
Spreaders (ea)
Excluding stay retainers and pins
Stay Retainer Ring
Spreader end retainer ring
Mastbase
Complete with sheaves
Gooseneck/Vang Bracket
Gooseneck bracket, Vang bracket without pin
Gooseneck Pin
Complete with vang attachment ring
49er Mast Parts
590-0460
590-0480
500-0062
590-0473
590-0461
590-0462
590-0463
590-0482
590-0474
590-0465
590-0464
590-0484
590-0485
590-0486
Below is a list of 49er parts supplied by Southern Spars and
available through 49er dealers.
550-0200
Dyform forestay, lowers; shrouds & uppers; excludes stay adjusters
500-0063
49er Spare Mast Parts

49er | 10
Warranty
Southern Spars will remedy faulty workmanship
provided that any claim by the Customer for remedy
of workmanship was notified to Southern Spars in
writing within 12 months of the delivery date of the
mast.
Southern Spars will, if requested to do so, use
reasonable endeavours to assign to the Customer
the benefit of guarantees and warranties given
to Southern Spars by third party suppliers or
manufacturers.
e warranties above do not extend to and Southern
Spars shall not in any event be liable for any failure or
damage arising from fair wear and tear.
Any claim shall be made directly to the Dealer from
whom the rig was purchased.
About Southern Spars
Southern Spars has established its place as a world
leader in the design, construction, installation and
servicing of carbon fibre masts, booms, composite
components and rigging. Its rigs power a wide range
of yachts, from one-design class yachts to grand prix
racing yachts, cruising yachts and superyachts.
Innovation, quality and an insatiable desire to
produce what the customer requires runs through the
company’s culture. ese qualities have contributed
to producing product for numerous race victories,
including the Volvo Ocean Race, Vendee Globe,
America’s Cup, Sydney-Hobart, plus supplying
rigs to some of the hottest one-design classes such
as Melges 24’s, Melgs 32’s and Farr 40’s. e same
design expertise, manufacturing methods, materials
and components utilised on these racing rigs are
applied to every rig built by Southern.
In recent years, Southern Spars has expanded into
rig service and manufacturing composite rigging.
e specialist rig service business Rig Pro, has
service centres worldwide. e Composite Rigging
division, based in RI, USA manufactures custom
lightweight rigging products, including Southern
Spars carbon EC6+ rigging used on dinghys through
to superyachts.
Southern Spars has centres in the USA, France,
South Africa, and headquarters in Auckland, New
Zealand. It is supported by the North Marine Group
and shares the resources of that group of companies.
For more information: www.southernspars.com

Southern Spars |[email protected] | www.southernspars.com
COMPOSITE SPARS & RIGGING |COMPONENTS | GLOBAL SERVICE