The Carbon Fiber Longeron & America’s Cup Rig: Dual Upgrades That Transformed Our Catamaran

/ Paikea Refit, Paikea's front beam / By

Author: Shayne and Anna

Key Topic:  While our salvaged America’s Cup rotating rig was a monumental upgrade, the custom carbon fiber longeron stands as its crucial counterpart, fundamentally changing how we sail. This massive central pole—fabricated from the same batch of recycled America’s Cup mast sections—eliminated the need for a clumsy walkway and complex whisker stays. In its place, it provided a structural bow pole for centerline spinnakers, a rock-solid inner forestay for storm sails, and the clean, robust front end that truly unlocked our catamaran’s performance potential.

While our salvaged America’s Cup carbon fiber spreaderless rotating rig often steals the spotlight, it’s not the only game-changing upgrade we’ve made to our Catana 42, Paikea. Our carbon fiber longeron represents an equally transformative modification that has completely revolutionized our sail plan, safety, and overall sailing experience. Together, these two carbon masterpieces have created a sailing platform that’s unrecognizable from the original production boat.

From Walkway to Game-Changer: What We Replaced

Previously, Paikea had a wide fiberglass walkway down the center with a storage box that served as both a pathway to the anchor and structural support to prevent the front beam from flexing backward. While functional, it was “a bit of a dumb thing” that required stepping over the box and provided limited sailing benefits beyond flying a jib and symmetrical spinnaker from the bows.

We replaced this entire system with a carbon fiber longeron crafted from recycled America’s Cup mast sections that were destined to become fence posts until we gave them a new life at sea – creating the perfect companion to our America’s Cup rotating rig.

The Transformative Benefits of Our Carbon Longeron

1. Centerline Spinnaker and Code Zero Launching

The longeron provides a robust bow pole that allows us to fly all our downwind sails – code zeros and both fractional and masthead spinnakers – from the boat’s centerline. This eliminates the complicated geometry and handling issues of flying asymmetrical sails from the bows and dramatically improves downwind performance, perfectly complementing our rotating rig’s capabilities.

2. No Whisker Stays or Water Stays

Unlike most bow poles that require a web of supporting stays, our longeron is engineered to be completely self-supporting. This means:

  • No holes in the hulls that could potentially leak
  • No stays to catch on anchor bridles
  • No drag from stays dragging in the water
  • Clean, simple lines with nothing to snag or maintain

3. Massive Structural Stiffness

The front beam and longeron combination creates an incredibly rigid platform that eliminates flex throughout the entire forward section of the boat. This stiffness improves sail shape and overall sailing performance, particularly when beating to windward – a perfect match for our high-performance rotating rig.

4. Inner Forestay for Storm Sails

Perhaps the most significant safety upgrade is the addition of an inner forestay that allows us to fly a storm jib or trinket in heavy weather. Instead of reefing our genoa and compromising its shape, we can now switch to a purpose-built heavy weather sail that’s safer and more effective.

5. Larger Trampoline Area

By replacing the wide central walkway with a slender carbon pole, we’ve actually increased our usable trampoline space, creating more comfortable lounging areas while simultaneously reducing weight.

The Complete System: From Mast to Bow

Halyard Setup: The staysail halyard runs inside the mast from the locking mechanism down to a slot at the base, with a dedicated cleat for parking the halyard when not in use to prevent flapping and wear.

Tack Arrangement: We’ve implemented a 2:1 purchase system (soon to be 3:1) for applying luff tension to the staysail, with all tension handled at the base rather than the masthead for easier handling and better control.

Safety Improvements: The system now includes proper tack lines for spinnakers and code zeros, eliminating the need for dangerous maneuvers like crawling out to the end of the pole to attach sails – a risk we took in the Canaries but have now properly addressed.

Conclusion: More Than Just Another Upgrade

The carbon longeron and America’s Cup rotating rig represent the perfect synergy of performance, safety, and practical cruising enhancements. Together, they’ve transformed Paikea from a capable coastal cruiser into a serious offshore passagemaker that can handle everything from light air downwind sailing to storm conditions with equal competence.

Most importantly, they demonstrate how thoughtful design using advanced materials can solve multiple problems simultaneously – giving us better performance, enhanced safety, and simpler systems in two elegant carbon fiber packages that work in perfect harmony.

Continue following our refit journey:

We have more videos in this playlist detailing the work we have done to Paikea’s front end. These videos include the engineering and build of the front beam and longeron plus the recycled America’s Cup yacht mast into our spreaderless rotating rig.

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