Back in the 80’s I crewed on J-24s when not doing foredeck on offshore boats. In the Seattle area there are J-24 races on both Lake Washington and Puget Sound. The boats I crewed on often participated in both fleets the same week. To transit from Lk WA to PS included going under 4 bridges and the Ballard Locks. This was often done after a few post race beverages.
So, one evening we decided to attempt heeling the J-24 over enough to go under the LK WA Ship Canal’s Fremont bridge. As we approached the narrow passage one crew went up the mast and another on the boom gave enough heel to make it look possible. Fortunately we determined that heeling over far enough to clear the bridge lifted the rudder out of the water = zero steering ability before we were trapped under the bridge. Also, it was good that most of my more entertaining nautical performances occurred prior to cell phone cameras and YouTube. FYI, I sailed the J-24s enough to get a chance to crew in the 1989 J-24 worlds in Kingston including the road trips that go along with that level of competition. In the 10 years working up to that event we had many opportunities to perfect stupid people tricks like heeling the J over 90 degrees, having a crew climb up the mast then all other crew jumping into the water providing a sling shot ride to the guy up the mast. Martin DeYoung Calypso 1971 C&C 43 Seattle/Port Townsend’s boat yard From: Dan via CnC-List<mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Sent: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 1:54 PM To: Stus-List<mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Cc: Dan<mailto:dgcorm...@gmail.com> Subject: Stus-List Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: CnC44 Mast Height for Bridge Clearance Thanks everyone. The measurements came from when I had the mast on the ground, i measured from the spartite to the top, and also the entire length. Just looking for confirmation from another 44 owner to make absolutely sure. The bridge has a tide marker on it and the tide is not too strong here so we won't go for it unless we are sure. Just looking at the pilings here it looks like the tide drops 1 or maybe 1.5 ft... not promising. Will probably go up and remove all the head gear. Another option is to wait for stong wind and attempt to sail under close hauled if we can get a good lean on.. anyone tried this? Dan
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