I have a Grumman Eagle that I'm looking to rig for sailing this summer. The local student sailing club has given me a 66+sf mainsail to use. The luff is 14'2". I need to fabricate a mast, leeboards and rudder.

Mast - Grumman has a base for the mast already riveted to the keel that has 4 holes in it. How does Grumman step their mast in the base. Just a mast step with 4 pins or something more secure? I plan on fabricating the mast out of alu. tubing or possibly wood. Any advice on dimensions or how to go about it?

Leeboards - Not really a problem, just wondering whether to go with 1 or 2.

Rudder - I pretty much have an idea how I want to do it as far as the shallows are concerned. I'm not sure how deep to make the rudder. Some form of a balanced rudder holds a lot of interest as well.

Thanks in advance for your help and opinions,
Dave.

Good for you, Dave! I don't know how Grumman steps their mast, but essentially, the step is often just a simple receptacle; most masts just rest in their steps without being secured. But, that may not be w/ the G. Will it receive a mast as a male/female fit? If so, you're ready there. Now, the mast will need to be secured to a mast partner, which is often in the form of a thwart--have you that?

I use two leeboards so I can have each down only a little when sailing in shoals. You can use one if it will always be in full-down. I often sail more shallow than the depth of my leeboards, thus my choice. Two also make for controlled, okay--"controlled"--beach launches and landings!

I wouldn't use a balanced rudder; it'll catch and keep weeds, potwarp, fishing line, etc. I suggest you use a kickup rudder instead. I'd suggest the rudder extend about a foot below the hull. Again, many are vertical blades, but [again] for shoals, I use a kickup that I can adjust when running in less than a foot, which is common here.

Reckon it's getting time for me to publish my blade setup!

Hope this helps!

Ed,

Thanks for the response. I'm an instrument maker at the UW, so I have a welder and shop at my disposal. I'll fab some sort of partner. Should I make the mast secure, or should it be something that can be dropped in an emergency? Either way, I plan on making it float somehow if I go with tubing.

I hadn't thought about the benefits of twin leeboards when running shallow. I should have though - lots of experience with C-Scows and M20's.

I'll more than likely go with a kick up rudder due to the heavy weed growth near shore during late summer. It should make clearing weeds, line, and such much easier as you suggest.

I'm looking forward to the next issue.

Dave

Dave, the mast partner is often just a hole through which the mast passes. Make it a close fit, but line it with leather, rubber or plastic to prevent wearing a ring around the mast and making irritating noises.
If you want to go with a tube mast, just seal it closed to make it float. Filling it with foam won't make it float any better.
Next issue out in a day(?)

I have 2 Grummans and the 15' operates in shallow water, but no weeds. The shallow leeboards and rudder interest me. How are you going to mount the 2 leeboards to operate separately. Sound like you have it thought out. Let us know how it sails. Don

Search for leebaords in the site and you'll see several articles regarding how-to.