Running backstays needed for Cape Dory cutters?
 

I'm considering buying a Cape Dory "cutter" for cruising after I retire. Most of the larger Cape Dorys were rigged with a staysail with a club boom, which Cape Dory referred to as cutters (although I'm not sure if the mast placement makes them true cutters).

My question is about the need for running backstays. It would seem to me that in heavy weather, when using the staysail, running backstays would be necessary to support the staysail stay. However, it appears that Cape Dory cutter owners do not use running backstays.

When I have communicated with Cape Dory owners I got the response that "There's no need to use running backstays on the CD32 because her rig includes two aft intermediate stays which support the staysail". Is this reasonable?

Brian Stipak
Portland, Oregon

There's a great sidebar addressing this very topic in The Apprentice... Aft-led intermediate shrouds are somewhat of a compromise solution, however, if the rig is well-designed and the spar scantlings are appropriate, it is indeed reasonable to forego runners with said intermediates in place.