for small boats. Simple enough that a child can operate it.
Cat Yawl: “Very quick to rig, low sheet tensions, easy to gybe, self tacking, can be used to balance the boat in order to have her self-steer under sail.”
Catboat: “My SageCat 15 has a rotating mast and a fatheaded main and is quite fast on all points of sail, however I find it harder to stay ‘in the groove’ sailing upwind (especially in a chop) than when sailing a sloop. It seems to be more partic- ular of sail trim and steer- ing than sloops of similar size and design. However, when sailed correctly it seems that it can match the upwind performance of similar sloops and really pull away on reaches and runs.”
More Reader Comments:
“Had a Standing Lug, on our last boat. Would not again. If a Lug, it would be a Balanced Lug. Also, with a Lug Sail, it is critical to have lazy jacks for sail control. Had a boomless set-up on a Drascombe yawl ... loved the flexibility and safety.”
Negative remarks? One sailor, objecting to his boat’s handling in higher winds said, “I’d never use a Sprit Rig again.” His choice for the next rig ? “Overall I would be reluc- tant to have a small boat without a mizzen that al- lows you to weathercock. It is an amazing safety and comfort feature.” One sailor rated his
boom-less Standing Lug a “7,” but though he likes the docile handling and that he can fit everything in the boat, he admits it’s not per- fect: “Any boomless main has to be over-trimmed when running to avoid excessive twist and rolling or capsizing to windward. So there is less power from the main off-wind.” Another owner deter-
“I believe simplicity itself contributes to safety when one is fatigued.”
“I like the Core Sound cat ketch rig better than any other that I have sailed, including: 420, Rhodes 19, Drascombe Longboat , Bolger AS-29 , Michalak AF-15 and various charter boats.”
“For new sailors, a flat-cut boomed lateen sail is probably the best. It can be sailed in strong winds without reef points, as the sail can be feathered into the wind without it flogging itself to pieces.”
“I love rigs like gaff, lug, and gunter, and I can see the advantages they might have over my plain old Bermudan sloop rig. However, in the final analysis, I like the ease of use, low stress factors and familiarity.”
mined a Catboat was too much for his daughter: “Catboats are very simple to rig and launch. Unfortu- nately they’re very difficult to sail well in high winds. Balance is controlled by a combination of sail control and centerboard position. In my humble opinion they’re dangerous to novice sailors (like my daughter), so I traded mine in for a sloop.”
Odds and Ends
• One owner recommended his self-tending club-footed jib, and we agree they should be somewhat more common: “Simple and
SMALL CRAFT ADVISOR
“I’m a novice sailor who just restored a 1982 Sparrow 16. One much-discussed risk of plastic boats of this vintage is standing rigging that’s worn out and no longer seaworthy. An experienced sailor examined my rig and found nu- merous issues—including a bent turnbuckle, undersized blocks, and the lack of backing plates—any one of which could have caused a big problem on my chosen sailing ground, the Lower Columbia River. I love the boat, but respect that a sailing rig carries very heavy loads and requires routine inspections and maintenance.”
easy for an old man, but very capable. Don’t know why more people don’t use a self-tending
jib...it’s so easy and you lose so little performance.”
• Another owner summed up a common sentiment: “The skipper has many tasks to attend to; the boat’s sail rig should be a helper, not demanding constant attention. It should give good all-round performance without lots of demands or expense.”
• A reminder not to forget about the effects of a loose-footed sail: “My boat is a San Juan 21 and the class determines sail requirements, but they recently allowed a loose-footed main. On my boat this is a signif- icant improvement for reaching, downwind, and outhaul control.”
• Rower’s Rig? “Rowing to wind- ward with a mizzen is a joy! You don’t have to concentrate on holding the bow into the wind. Just raise the rudder, sheet in the mizzen, and pull away. And if you are tacking into the wind you can row with just one oar, let the mizzen push the other side, and adjust the mizzen sheet to change your course relative to the wind. If I was starting to build again from scratch, I would make the miz- zen even before I made the rudder.”
• A return to knots? “I’m intrigued by the possibilities of getting rid of all the metal aloſt. Carbon spars, and fiber standing rigging. Going back to knots instead of turnbuckles. Rigs that are easy to trailer and setup, that can be repaired with a bowline rather than an industrial swaging press, that have a large righting mo- ment, and that can be righted if they do capsize.”
Conclusions Clearly many different rig config- urations can work, depending on a sailor’s particular needs and desires. Just as with popular boat types or
designs, if a rig has been around for a while—sometimes a very long while—it’s probably for good reason. If the most highly-rated rigs in our survey represent a sort
of crowd-sourced ideal, then the “best” overall rig would be a Balance Lug Yawl, which is, we think not a bad choice at all—especially for a small cruising boat. But as one reader pointed out, every rig is fantastic in some
way and we should be so lucky to live long enough to try-out and appreciate them all. •SCA•
23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
