OriginsThe '3.7' was designed by Bruce Farr in 1971 as a single handed trapeze version of his successful 12 and 18 foot skiffs. It is believed he designed the first boat for Greg Elliott's Dad.
The class became established and has become a popular alternative to Lasers and such like for smaller lighter sailors interested in high performance sailing. At the present time over 400 boats have been built, most of them plywood. The 3.7 is a one design hull but with sufficient measurement tolerance to allow for amateur built hulls, which comprise the majority of the fleet. With a minimum hull weight of 50kg easily attainable this ensures the longevity of boats, and some of the oldest are also among the fastest. Bruce Farr's original 3.7 (XL, No. 1) is still racing competitively and is now over forty years old, a tribute to the designer. Although the 3.7 is a restricted rule class with a one design hull, there is plenty of latitude for a bit of ingenuity in other areas, particularly the rig. Various mast configurations are found at the front of the fleet; spreaderless, rotating diamond rigs and fixed spreaders. Since the introduction of carbon fibre spars the performance and ease of sailing has further enhanced the class's growth with new boats. |
If you have no reference for your mast rake, you can either start from Bruce Farr's diagram, or simply line up your boat level to another 3.7 and copy their rake to begin with. If you're a guru, mast rake will be all about feel... A perfectly balanced boat will have the lightest touch of weather helm which you can dial in over many sails and tweaks. Rule of thumb: Rounding up too much or sailing backwards through your tacks? Bump that rig forward. Bow being driven in too much and tacks a bit too frightening? Bump it back. Enlist a stick into your performance programme and mark your settings.
4mm on a forestay changes the rake quite a bit (check it out and see). Don't try to experiment by the power of your biceps when setting up the mast. The writer's experience is that even though in principle everything should be equal, the forestay sets mast rake, while the tightness of sidestays affects rig tension before it seriously affects mast rake. Sailing upwind, it is definitely the forestay that remains tight, and upwind is where the rake matters most. On the whole, rig tension does not need to be through the roof.
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