How much mast rake is wanted on a BCC?

Sails, Trim + Rigging
#1

Hey all, I’m trying to tune the rig on my 26’ BCC, which is a Lyle Hess–a smaller version of the 28’. Anyway, my question is about how much rake is typical for these boats?

My mast seems to “want” to sit with a fair bit of rake in it naturally–if I use the main halyard as a plum bob, it hangs perhaps 8"-10" aft of the mast at the boom. If I tighten the headstay, it puts a forward curve into the mast, even with all lowers slackened. And ain’t right, as they say.

I read through an earlier post on here about weather helm, and I’m definitely a victim of the old, bagged-out sail problem, coupled with a large main and small forward sails. All of which makes it hard to judge the amount of rake for my mast by sailing her and seeing what works.

I want to get the rake close to correct so that I can get good measurements for new sails.

Many thanks for any thoughts on this!

Jon

#2

Probably a little late, and I actually don’t have a BCC 28… but I just loaded up the BCC 28 sail plan and measured the rake at 14". My boat has a taller mast and has a 24" rake… so sounds about right. FYI, if you adjust your mast rake, you may want to take a look at the foot of your mast and make sure it is flat in it’s step. Adjusting the rake without adjusting the step can put unwanted stress on the mast.

On a previous boat I also had old sails, weather helm, and poor pointing. I purchased a new staysail and jib and it made a huge difference. I would have eventually replaced the main, but sold the boat instead.