Hull alignment [Keith Bartlett]

[Archive]

Keith Bartlett wrote:

In a vain attempt to try and go a little faster, I have come to
the conclusion that my boat speed is significantly impacted by
whether the hulls are parrallel, which is governed by Trampoline
tension.
Does anyone know what the design width is for the
distance between the centre line of the hulls?, and should this in
fact be equal for the bows and the stern?
Mine is an ancient
lighweight Spark, which does not have the spring loaded stops in
the rear beam.

Any answers gratefully received

Keith
Bartlett no 1000 "Spark Naked " , now sailing from the
Open dinghy club

[Archive]

Bob replied:

Keith, I pretty sure that they should be exactly parallel but I
do not have any dimensions. You can check it with a tape measure
front and back, but be sure that both the hulls are hard against
the stops on the beams.Cheers, Bob C

[Archive]

tim replied:

the spring loaded stops do not affect hull alignment and are only there to stop the boat falling apart if the tramp fails completelty while sailing. I have never seen this so dont worry. There is a tolerance built in to the boat so
the best way is to check with a tape rule.

if the hulls are parrallel. no prob, if not you will need to move the spacers on the beams, BUT before you try this I have some beams for a small fee that might save you some work