Triatic Stay

[Bruadar]

I own a 54 foot Bill Garden designed ketch. She is a Formosa 51, but their are many boat builders who produced this ketch - Hudson Force 50, Island Trader, etc.. Originally all these boats had wooden masts, ours have been replaced with aluminum by the previous owner. I have contacted many owners in researching the rigging on these boats and the placement of the triatic stay is not consistent. Many boats have the triatic at the top of the mizzen, some a few feet above the mizzen spreaders and one boat even has no triatic stay at all?

I would like to move the triatic stay on Bruadar from it's current (original?) position a few feet above the mizzen spreaders to the top of the mizzen mast. This would eliminate chafing on our mizzen staysail and provide us with clearance to fly a mule sail in light winds.

All of the original line drawings show the triatic attached to the position a few feet above the mizzen spreaders. I am not sure if these drawings are accurate and/or for wooden masts? Since our masts have been upgraded to aluminum and I am not sure if this changes anything?

A Two Part Question:

Part 1 - Moving the triatic? Could the triatic be moved to the top of the mizzen mast since the standing rigging used by the swept back spreaders terminates a few inches from the top? I assume that running backstays would be required?

Part 2 - Sprectra instead of wire? Would it make sense to use Spectra instead of Wire for the new triatic stay? This would eliminate some weight aloft and the need for insulators between the two masts. If Spectra was used for the triatic I would also consider running it down the mizzen mast so that I could adjust tension from the deck of the boat.

V/R,

Dan Pitman