Rigging: Cruising vs Racing setups?

I have seen several references in ads for boats for sell and on The Flying Scot website about individual boats set up for cruising or racing. I haven’t seen anything that outlines the differences. If I buy a boat set up for one, will it be difficult to convert to the other without spending a ton of additional cash? What are the differences? Thanks!

FS5516's picture

The basic Flying Scot is the same no matter what hull number it is. It's the rigging that's different and varies among owners. To go from a cruising to a racing will involve some expense by the owner depending on how they want to rig the boat. The costs for hardware can add up quick and that's not even including the sails. To go from racing to cruising, the costs are substanially lower. One significant difference is the jib sheeting. On a cruising/day sailing set up there is typically a turning block on the deck and the line led to a cleat nearby it. Where as on a race setup, the jib sheeting is typically led to a turning block on the forward section of the seat and then to a cleat. Spinnaker setup can also vary.  Most of the Flying Scots that race will have internal sheeting, take up reel for the halyard and topping lift control line led aft, where as the cruising/day sailing spinnaker halyard, topping lift may be at the base of the mast or near it. Hope this helps.