Melanesia Mast Step

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Anonymous (not verified)
Melanesia Mast Step
Has anyone experimented with the idea of resting the base of the 'mast' on the bottom of the Melanesia and lashing it to the outrigger poles to eliminate the need for the shrouds. So the mast would slot in rather like on laser and topper dingies. You could put a number of mast foot positions in place to easily accomodate the different angles needed for trimming in different conditions. I do find setting the spars up to be the most tricky part of getting ready to sail and in my keenness to hit the water i often rush it and end up with a rig that isn't quite right. Thanks, John
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Melanesia Mast Step
I have thought about the same thing. I have the Melanesia plans, but haven't built it yet. I had envisioned a 1x4 board screwed and epoxied between the gunnels, just ahead of the forward beam. Partner that to a foot epoxied to the bottom with some pvc pipe between them. I have the same setup for a sprit rig on an 8' dinghy I built. You can kinda see it in this image. It is built into the seat here, but similar idea. [url]http://gallery.bateau2.com/displayimage.php?album=lastupby&cat=0&pos=3&u... [url]http://gallery.bateau2.com/displayimage.php?album=lastupby&cat=0&pos=11&... Gary Dierkings Wa'apa design uses that idea too. You can see the mast step with a stub mast. The forward shroud is actually the halyard. [url]http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/garyd/wa_apa.html[/url] THere are a few ideas from Dierkings book that I want to adapt to my Melanesia build. It is a cool design to build simply to the plans, and modify as I want as I use it. Now I just need to take a few weekends to get it done! Let me know if it works for you! Thanks Jon
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Melanesia Mast Step
I am in the middle of my build. I was planning on doing the exact same thing and then lashing it to the cross piece. I built a Bateau design last year. Good boats