My Dad & I designed our flying hull trailer based on a design popular in the '70's.

Made completely out of alloy, it can be built using a hand drill and circular saw...no welding is needed (or recommended...reduced strength by destroying temper of the alloy).

The advantages of the design are that the boat can be carried tilted or completely dismantled (much better for long trips to save fuel), the boat can be stored on the trailer flat for mast up/drysail yards and the boat can be "floated off" the trailer for ramp launching...makes it possible to launch/recover completely single-handed.




I have used the original prototype for quite a few years now, doing 3 trips from Ventura, CA to Houston, TX, 1 trip to Miami & back plus many weekend excursions to Long Beach & San Diego.


More pics and assembly photos here:

Full Tilt Trailer Construction

Hey Tornado Fans!

Got a question I just picked up a bare Marstrom Tornado CF spar. Although I’m not using it on a tornado I’d like to rig it out like a tornado. I need to get information on the rigging such as boom, heel, and spreaders. Also I’d like to know where I could purchase such parts new or used. Any information would be helpful.

Thanks

When you say "bare"...you mean you've got the spar but no fittings at all? Strange...they usually come from Sweden with everything in place.

Spreaders are CF "winglets" with adjusters for rake angle. Ultimately pretty simple setup, but the stock shape is impressively nice. Rod diamonds are spec'd for CF masts in the class rules, though cable could work. Do you have the mast foot? It has the diamond tension adjuster built-in. Boom is pretty usual...gooseneck on the CF mast is a simple stainless fitting that pivots left/right:



Boom forward cap has a solid stainless square-rod that slips into the pivot and secures via single bolt. Some teams have fitted the Marstrom cap to different boom sections like the Tiger (more square...allows for easier internal mainsheet setup).

Check out Marstrom's web store for parts list & most items have good pictures. That is the only place you can find new components. Used, you've got to track down campaign teams.

You might like to review my rigging photos for other details here:

Tornado Shots

A mini towing a tornado !!! What about a Hummer H2 towing an Optimist ? Did you have to tow your tornado down the highway ?

Were you in SW Florida with your Father lately?

I was there with my father to pick the boat up about a month and a half ago.

--Jorge

Did I "have to"...No! Did I? Yes! Mini has loads of power (160 hp w. supercharger) and is actually quite heavy for its size. Trailer (alloy) and boat weigh in at under ~900 lbs. Pulls quite easily on the freeway and even up the big grades we have around here. I used to pul a steel tilt trailer with a VW Rabbit...that was more challenging...less power, lighter car and softer suspension.
I no longer use the mini for longer trips (>100 miles) as I have a Eurovan pop-top weekender for regattas...no more stanky motels.

Thought so. I tied it down with you. Hope all went well on the drive home.

Bob, you and my dad did a really good job getting everything secured. We didn't have any problems at all on the drive. Thanks again for your help.

--Jorge

You should give Robbie and Jill a call. 727-793-8743. They may have what you're looking for.

Mike Dobbs,

Thanks for the information great pic. I'll look at the link.
Mike Shappell

What is the chance anybody has a pic of the mounting bolt. Is it a SS bolt with a ball? Does it go to a dolphin striker? Any pics?

The mast mounts on a simple stainless steel stub about the size of a thumb tip. This is the end of a long bolt passing into/threw the main beam into the striker post. There is no hinge mechanism so stepping the mast is always fun ;-)

I will try to get you a pic tomorrow...my boat is sitting out on the driveway.

Mast step:



More mast related pics posted here:

Rigging Album

Mike,

Yes I see and that may work for my application. I will be mounting a “post” in a bulkhead that will come up through the deck for a mast step. Since this is all inches over my head I’m looking for a proven system. That gives me enough meat to fabricate off of. Is the ring a collar or washer? Interesting no type of hinge now I see why this boat was selected for an Olympic event.

Can anybody tell me if this a weak point of the design, the mast foot - step should I look for something else? With all of race time for the tornados under extreme conditions any word do these break?

What is the trick for stepping the mast besides having a carbon mast? I’m sure there are many stories.

Thanks for the pictures it is a great help.

Mike Shappell

The ring at the stub base is more of a shoulder/flange...all the same material...either machined or forged as one.

The early T's (that were the boats "selected" for the games did have a hinge system. Marstroms dispensed with it...even on the earlier alu mast. The trick to raising/lowering the stick is to keep downward pressure on the foot as another person walks it up/down. I stand at teh beam, put one hand onto the mast foot and lean heavily on it. Other hand holds a trapeze handle and exerts as much force as possible forward. Critical angle is about 45 degrees...then the weight starts to shift down onto the foot more and stub engages better with the cup.

Robbie Daniel showed me a neat technique...with the mast positioned to raise, stand on the front beam with one foot on the mast foot while holding a traphandle. Start leaning forward, putting wieght on the foot and on the trap. The other person acts to guide, start the list...but the work is done by the human gin pole effect. Trick is to keep the mast from rotating under your foot, which can cause you to slip off the mast foot, creating a dangerous spar fall. Lowering the mast is the reverse of this procedure. Brillant when/if it works.

One thing to consider for your application...since there is no captive mast foot, you cannot use things like shroud extenders/hyfield levers etc to assist in boat righting after capsize. Also depending on how much flex your design has, you might need to look at a different base setup...excessive flex might slacked the rig enough to cause an unstepping situation.

In all the years of Tboats I have, have never heard of these mast feet failing...and they do run higher rig/mainsheet loads than the usual 20 beach cat. Some of the older cast alloy designs have reported to crack...after 20+ years and perhaps with owners running more modern rig settings/tensions on older boats.

Within a year of the carbon mast introduction. Marstrom notified owners that the base of the mast where the foot inserts into was developing cracks...due to the higher than spec'd main downhaul purchases (8:1 vs 16:1) being used by lots of teams. Since the downhaul acts against the foot, forcing it into the spar base at very high loads, the spar end was failing. The fix was to wrap a layer or two of carbon tape around the lower edge to reinforce the area. You can see this wrap in some of my photos. I likely used way more width on this tape than was needed...but it was my first ever carbon work.

If your spar is a recent build, I suspect it has likely got more layers there already.