I took a long drive last night and picked up a 79 p15 for $175.
The mast is broken - I have a spare p16 mast though.
Is it possible, is it advisable rather, to attempt the swap?
It can be done/has been done, you will have to use the P16 standing rigging and sails and boom and you will have to make some minor adjustments to tighten the rig. With the boom you will have to put an extra block hanger closer to center as the existing hanger is toward the end of the boom, gives the main sheets a crazy angle. Advantage is that you will now have a jib to help with tacking.......disadvantage, you might be a little overpowered....... 😀
I put a jib on my P15, you can check it out in my album...... http://www.thebeachcats.com/pictures/?g2_itemId=100876&g2_GALLERYSID=7cacba24a1d546210efbc467e0ac83b3
(see what I mean about the angle of the main sheet? had to source a P16 boom from hullflyer)
so did you use the 16 sail or the 15 sail?
Another thought would be to put the 2 masts side by side making sure that the mast tangs line up, cut off top and bottom accordingly. Drill out rivets of mast head and foot, reinstall.
rwj0j0 wrote: I took a long drive last night and picked up a 79 p15 for $175.
The mast is broken - I have a spare p16 mast though.
Is it possible, is it advisable rather, to attempt the swap?
I forgot to mention that the mast bases are different because the 15 uses a mast rotator, so I would reuse the mast base from the 15 if I did go this way.
If it is not raining I will take some side by side pictures
I used the sail for the 15, let me re-iterate, I had a complete boat except for the boom, when I got my boom from Elias, it was for a P16, the block hangers are situated differently on the 2 boats. But I do like hullflyers suggestion, lay the masts side by side and see what the differences are, ideally it would be easier to shorten the P16 mast from the top. Then you can leave all the micro-blocks on the bottom half alone, you would have to remove the mast head with sheaves, shorten the mast to the same length as the P15 mast, relocate the mast tang if necessary, and switch the mast rotator wishbone to the new mast, reinstall masthead, you will not have a jib.
If you decide to put the P16 mast on the P15, it will not be as easy as it seems, although both boats are similar, there are huge differences. You will have to use the P16 standing rigging (stays), you will have to use the P16 mainsail, you can use the P15 boom as the foot of both sails are almost the same length, 1/2" difference. You will have to install jib block pigtails on the P15 if you decide to use the P16 jib, warning, if you install the jib block pigtails, you will have to install a reinforcement plate on the inside of the P15 hulls before drilling holes for the pigtails, the reason for this is that the P15 was not designed to carry these jib blocks pigtails, the hulls were not reinforced in this area when constructed. The jib pigtails are secured with a stopper slug, which could pull through the hull. I used silicone adhesive to adhere my plates to the inside of the hulls, drilled through the hull, through the plate, installed pigtails. The other thing to keep in mind is that the P15 tramp does not have center grommets to feed the tension line through that runs between the 2 pigtails.
R
Hopefully a p15 mast will turn up. I'm not holding my breath though. Considering having a metal working friend mend the mast - what do I have to lose?
It is much simpler. The mast tang locations are identical, so do not cut off top. Cut 12" off bottom, replace P-16 base, move boom bracket up 6" and add rotator above it. P-16 halyard lock is easier to use than hook & ring from P-15. Pete
prindle pete