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New Mast/Standing Rigging and Olson History

Grizz

Grizz
The title could be inverted to read ''Olson History and New Mast/Standing Rigging". I'll let Loren figure out where best to put this...

It's been a while since I logged on, so a brief review will help: Yes, there was a dismasting in July. Yes, it put a huge damper on the summer and forced an array of decisions. The insurance company totaled the boat, they paid out 100% of the policy, minus the $3k to "retain ownership". Mast, rigging, instrumentation and sails have been factored. It's a lengthy and daunting list.

Ballenger Spar Systems, Watsonville CA, was the obvious choice to build the replacement, with recommendations coming from an array of knowledgeable sailing friends; there really wasn't a 2nd option that I could discern. Buzz Ballenger has made O34 masts previously, most recently for an O34 based out of Clevelend OH, so he had the pertinent information. He helped a lot in guiding through the PTSD.

[fast forward to 1/18/2022] I will be in San Fran Thursday, spending the weekend visiting my daughter in San Fran, with a daytrip planned to Watsonville this Friday (1-21-'22) to meet Buzz, inspect the mast progress and hopefully learn some tricks for mast assembly, because, of course, the 'somewhat capable' Shoe String crew will be taking on this mast rebuild without ever having rebuilt a mast. What's the worst that could happen? (don't answer that...)

But, pertaining to 'Olson History', Buzz knows we'll be allocating time for him to review his personal Olson History, as he admitted early in this Mast Process that he and another guy bought the Olson molds, tooling and ephemera from Pacific Seacraft. This is how that tidbit was initially revealed by Buzz in the first post-dismasting email: We have built many spars for Olson boats and know the Pacific Boats Olsen (sic) 34 well. I actually owned and leased the O34 molds to Ericson after Pacific Boats went under, and before Ericson went bankrupt.

"What?" and "really?" came to mind immediately, so there will be a conversation to pursue this thread, perhaps suitable for publication as an article somewhere. Questions are abundant: when did this happen, was it just Olson, or did it include Ericson items, what remains from the purchase, what were the plans, what would you do differently.

Soooo, that's what's on the horizon. If EyO Forum members have specific questions pertinent to Olsons that I may have overlooked...add them as a reply to this thread.

Have a great day. Over and out...
 
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Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
You have much to discuss for your own spar transaction, but my initial question would be about the Olson tooling. In the 90's, a company in Pt Townsend built 1 (maybe more) Olson 34's from the tooling that they bought from the Ericson bankruptcy.

There must have been some sort of legal reason that they renamed the boat to the "Sonic 34". That company did not last too long, and I have often wondered if the molds were cut up or just abandoned to a blackberry patch.

For any one model there would have been several truck loads of frp tooling, a set of patterns for all of the wood parts, and drawings. After 30 plus years, it would be unusual for this stuff to survive.
Now we can wonder if Mr. Ballenger's partner was the 'guy' up in Pt Townsend? And, did the tooling and etc for the O-911, go along for the ride?
Thanks for bringing up the question!

Hope there is some California sunshine to greet you for your brief hiatus from the chilly Great Lakes... !
 

Slick470

Member III
It will be interesting to hear more about Buzz's history with the boats. He's a member of our Olson 911 group on Facebook and this reminds me to follow up with him. He offered to look through the documents that he has and share anything that might be useful.

Please keep us posted on your adventure.
 

Grizz

Grizz
Christian, thanks for that link, most of which was muted or forgotten over time, indicative of the healing process. And to Slick470, I've added the 911/FB nugget to the 'conversation' template.

I just confirmed with the Santa Cruz Yacht Club that a) they are open and b) they are serving dinner Friday evening @ 5:30. Unfortunately, I'm hoping to be back in San Fran about that time to make the dinner reservation my daughter made. The hope to enjoy lunch and SCYC hospitality, in January, in the throes of C-19, may have been a stretch.

Stay tuned. Initial report to follow, constructed in large part during the flight back to Chicago.
 

Charlie B.

Member II
Grizz,
I would imagine that you must be in the middle of your mast rebuilding by now. At least I hope so!
Regarding the Olson34 history, the only thing I am curious about is the rudder story. Did George Olson take the 911 rudder and stick it on the 34?
BTW, if you have any time next time you are in SF contact me and I will be happy to give you a tour on the Bay in my 34.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Did George Olson take the 911 rudder and stick it on the 34
I understand that EY did use the Schumacher rudder off of the already-in-production O-911, when they put the O-34 into production.
Some O-34 owners have replaced it with a sightly deeper rudder; there are threads here about that. The 14 gallon fuel tank from the O-911, was used on the O-34, also. I replaced that with a new 19 gallon tank that fits in the same space.

Speaking of that "tour"... I still recall our marvelous sail on your boat. :)
 

Grizz

Grizz
Charlie B: Thanks for the offer, my daughter is living in SF, Haight-Ashbury District, kitty-corner from the SF Mint. I was there the week prior to the 3 Bridge Fiasco, made the trip to Watsonville to visit Buzz's shop and inspect mast process. We also took the ferry to Sausalito, ate lunch on a reciprical at the Sausalito YC. Awesome.

I'd love to take you up on your "come on down!" offer, if only to inspect your very special O 34.

I see Loren has chimed in (great), I did replace the OEM barn door rudder with a bit deeper and narrower rudder, which has helped a lot. Also learned, via the 'school of hard knocks', that Erickson splice/welded 2 lengths of remnant rudder tube in 1989 to make 1 length, which snapped off during our Mac in 2017 (perhaps 2018, they all blend together...). That's another story. I figure I have @ 110#'s of broken stainless steel and aluminum (rudder tube and bottom mast section) in the garage as a pretty good start to a 'Rogue's Gallery of Broken Dreams'.

Loren & I are due to have a conversation so he can walk me through the Blog Process. I've got at minimum 5 distinct builds and processes queued up. Been busy, really busy. The mast is built, of course there was a math error during the Roller Furler build, with a replacement foil arriving tomorrow (so I'm thinking it'll be a day later). I still have time to make this correction, but just barely. Splash '22 is scheduled for May 23, mast step is schedule for May 24 and our Bridge Lift Trip is scheduled for Wednesday May 25. Lots of moving parts.

And there's that ever-present nagging question, that won't get answered until the stick is up and tuned, "how accurate was Buzz's math when he built the shrouds and stays?". Ugh.

The boat is ready, the mast is ready, I've been averaging 3+ miles walked per day within the boat yard, as the mast in in 1 building (upstairs) and the boat is in another building, separated by @ 1/4 mile. Lots of legwork on this one. The yard [name deleted to protect the guilty] looked hard to find the most inconvenient, tight, dark and hot space for me to rebuild the mast. The picture doesn't do the word 'tight' justice.

So...that's the scoop. Hope this fills in some of the blanks. Thanks and take care.
 

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Charlie B.

Member II
Sounds like you are making major progress! That area set aside for the mast assembly looks like a sweatshop.
Regarding the rudder story, I just wanted to see if Buzz could confirm it. Coincidentally, Friday, Baleineau was hauled out for some repairs and the boat next to mine is an Olson911. I’ll take some pictures and measurements to confirm the rudder story. A rudder upgrade is still a future project.
Good luck with yours, and I hope everything fits the first time! If you need any stay/shroud Loos gauge numbers, let me know.
 

Slick470

Member III
A number of the Olson 911s have upgraded rudders too. From what I understand the original rudder wasn't quite deep enough to maintain control in higher winds when reaching or downwind. The newer rudders are all higher aspect and deeper than the original. I know Carl Schumacher who designed the Olson 911 designed one of the upgrades but there are a few different versions out there.
 

G Kiba

Sustaining Member
Apparently I just learned last month that I have an upgraded rudder. It looks nothing like what is shown on Sailboats.com. It has no elliptical shape and it is almost as deep as the keel.
 

Charlie B.

Member II
Lucky you! Upgrading the rudder is high on my list.
I have been collecting photos of the original rudder and the Schumacher Cal 40 rudder that Foss/Finco makes. Attached is the clearest photo showing the size and shape difference. The new one is 10 inches deeper, 2-3” narrower and thinner.

Today at the boatyard, I confirmed tnat the 911 rudder is identical to the original Olson34 and clearly undersized when close reaching under spinnaker in above 10 knots of breeze.
 

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G Kiba

Sustaining Member
A note about the updated rudder. Yes, the boat steers well on a close reach with the kite up! Even steerable in a stalled broach. However, when motoring and steering in reverse, the tiller can over power you and swing quickly to one side. Looking a the pivot point on Andy's post makes that behavior pretty apparent. Also if you sail in waters with a lot of plant growth, it seems to consistantly collect on the longer rudder.
 

CTOlsen

Member III
That's a nice looking mast, Grizz. I have debated coating ours similarly, but just can't justify the time, effort, and expense.
I seem to recall the rudder comparison picture and "Olsen 34" rudder drawing from one of my posts years ago. As a note, my replacement Foss rudder was more like 6" deeper, not 3". I continue to enjoy the control it offers, and am willing to suck up the 3 sec/mile PHRF penalty.
I'm looking forward to seeing your new stick sitting vertically in the mast partners.
 

Grizz

Grizz
This mooring pic is from today (6-3-2022) as I departed on the tender. We 'raced' Beer Can Wednesday (quotes intentional, as the goals were to make the line, start, sail the course, finish, not break anything. Mission accomplished) and today was a clean up and make some adjustments.

The other pic shows us finishing on port Wednesday night, ghosting across the line and a dead/dying wind that shifted 180*. Somehow we finished without fouling anyone, ghosting into a favorable hole. The fleet behind had it far worse, no wind at all, most finishing 20-30 minutes later. Ugh. Not sure how it is elsewhere, but on this patch of water, when the sun sets, the engine quits and we suffer.

Buzz Ballenger continues to provide suggestions and support, most recently on how to manage the check stays, which are new and foreign ground.

And last, but not least, somewhere, recently, I recall someone offering up Loose Gauge settings within this Forum when the time comes. The time has come, but with a mind like a steel sieve, everything sifts through. If that 'someone' reads this, please reply in a manner that I can follow up.

On to the evening. Take care.
 

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Charlie B.

Member II
Great to see the mast up and the boat sailing again!

I think I offered the mast tuning we use on our boat. I will get down to the boat this weekend and will post them.

BTW, I experimented with check stays on my boat modeled after Razzberries who had a Ballenger “tall mast” . He ran his with a 1:1 line led to a turning block to the secondary winches. He had a clutch to hold it whenever he needed the winch. The check stays straightened the mast and tensioned the head stay very effectively.

Charlie
 

CTOlsen

Member III
Looks great. And good to see you using the checks. I have a mast with fittings and secondary winches for check stays, but have never used them.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Great to see the mast up and the boat sailing again!

I think I offered the mast tuning we use on our boat. I will get down to the boat this weekend and will post them.

BTW, I experimented with check stays on my boat modeled after Razzberries who had a Ballenger “tall mast” . He ran his with a 1:1 line led to a turning block to the secondary winches. He had a clutch to hold it whenever he needed the winch. The check stays straightened the mast and tensioned the head stay very effectively.

Charlie
Interesting detail on that boat. Our boat was initially rigged with the check stays, with line tails, led thru turning blocks, to the secondary winches. No clutches, tho. I always kind of wondered if some sort of clutch stopper would be needed if racing with a chute.
 

Charlie B.

Member II
Grizz, here are my Loos gauge numbers:

49 Upper
37 Intermediate
46 Lower

i use two different gauges, the upper and lower share the same gauge and the intermediate uses a smaller one. The rigging is not rod…i wish it was.

Charlie
 
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