Collaboration and creative solutions result in a new, streamlined rig system for racer-cruiser Jules
Baltic 52 Jules
Henry Maxwell, project manager at Moore Brothers, climbs the rig during fit-out of a new spar and rigging package, delivered May 2024 ahead of the Newport Bermuda Race.
At Moore Brothers, we take pride in delivering top-of-line products on time and in accordance with the client’s performance goals. In the case of Jules, a 52.5-foot monohull built in ‘96 by Sparkman & Stephens, the product was a mast, boom and rigging package, delivered in time for the 2024 Newport Bermuda Race.
After Jules lost her mast in 2023, program manager Jason Black contacted Moore Brothers to collaborate on a system re-vamp. Black has been working with Jules and its owner since 2018, focusing on boat optimization and upgrades.
“They had a fitting failure last August, which caused the mast to actually come down,” said Henry Maxwell, project manager at Moore Brothers Company. “Jason has a great relationship with the Moore Brothers team,” he continued, noting that the company delivered a bowsprit for Jules in April 2021, as well as a number of custom components for the 59ft classic, Hound, also managed by Black.
For this project, the owner of Jules wanted to get more competitive in racing, while maintaining the ability to switch to cruising mode and enjoy the boat with his family and friends. “The boat was set up as more of a cruising boat originally, by the owner that had it before him,” said Black. “This project required more than the typical cruiser-racer because we wanted to do both of them very well, which is usually a pretty big challenge.”
Ultimately the request was for a complete replacement package: new mast, new standing rigging, new racing boom. The Moore Brothers team saw an opportunity to do what they do best: create. “With a clean slate like that, we’re able to optimize all the pieces because everything fits together properly, as opposed to working with older parts or pieces,” said Maxwell. The end result was a simplified rig that could be easily set up and dismantled depending on what was needed out of the boat. “Anytime you can simplify the setup like that, I think it's better. It's easier to tune, less windage.”
The project’s engineering phase took place toward the end of 2023 and lamination began in January. With the Bermuda Race start in June, the build process was swift, but not without complexity.
“It’s one of the reasons that I continue to go back to them [Moore Brothers] because the projects that I work on are never straightforward, cookie cutter projects,” said Black. “I really enjoy having a team. And when I say team, it’s that the whole team is willing to join in the problem solving, and I just get that from these guys on a continual basis.”
The parts were installed at Jamestown Boatyard the first week of May and Jules was able to complete sea trials before entering the Newport - Bermuda Race on June 21st, 2024. “All the pieces, the rigging lengths, all those parts and everything came together really nicely,” said Maxwell. “I think we delivered early in the morning and actually stepped [the mast] the same day. It's a lot of parts to put together– to assemble a rig that size and actually have it all come together– but with careful planning and the team we have, we were able to do it.”
Was Maxwell nervous? “Whenever you deliver a new spar package like that, you're always a little nervous,” he said. “It's a full on custom part that you're trying to fit to another essentially custom boat.”
Jules completed the Newport Bermuda race in 2 days, 19 hours and 39 minutes. The owner, who captained the boat to Bermuda, seemed happy with the performance of the new system.
"We appreciate Moore Brothers' quality of work and the overall smooth and enjoyable process, from conception to installation,” said Jules’ owner, Thomas Dunn. “Thanks to the team's hard work we were able to install everything with plenty of time to prepare for the Newport Bermuda Race."
The boat can now be converted from cruising to racing mode in about two days, according to Black, which includes the time needed to convert the interior as well. Thanks to the new spar package this is done with relative ease when it comes to the rig, which is why Black keeps coming back. “The parts, they are going to go together the way that you designed them or expect them to,” he said about working with Moore Brothers. “Just the amount of experience that's there... I'm always confident that things are going to work out.”
