Whitby 42 Brewer Sail Boats

The myth, largely attributed to surveyor Jack Horner and unfortunately published as part of a series of boat reviews by Boat U.S., is that the mizzen mast may fall off due to a weak mast base.

So, here's the truth:

The first several boats Whitby Boatworks produced were found to have inadequate support for the mizzen mast. The area was redesigned and has been proven to be adequate. Examination under the aft head / berth bulkhead will reveal the updated fibreglass "spider" shaped reinforcement.

And more reality: There is nothing preventing an overeager rigger from tensioning the mizzen shrouds too tightly. This can lead to a compression of the aft coach roof. Another concern is damage to the aft coach roof. In 30 years it is possible that the core has become damaged. This is a popular area to pass cables through from the mizzen to the interior. All it takes is a poorly caulked hole to allow water entry and subsequent core damage to occur.

Hi,
I am new on this website (one hour ago) and I am the owner of a whitby 42 since one year. I did not heard about the problem you describe. I suppose that you may have an answer about my question : there is no mizzen boom topping on the vessel I have bought and I suppose that it is possible to install one. Since today I did not use this toping but this caused some damage to the sail. I have serached an answer on the whole website but did not find any.

Well, that doesn't surprise me too much as most of our boats have been through several owners.

I consider a mizzen topping lift essential. I have rigged mine from a tang on the mast head that is spliced to a piece of line 3/4s of the way down from the top. I had to have sheaves made for the mizzen boom boom end fitting. Once I had good sheaves installed in the boom end, I ran the line part of the topping lift inside the boom. It exits just aft of the goose neck and is led back to a cleat on the under side of the boom. I could replace the cleat with a stopper, but well, there are other things to do. Another good change may be to replace the locking handles at the front of the boom with sheaves. Then the topping lift and out haul would run more freely.

Thank you for your explanations.