Welcome! Need support, you got it. Or share you ideas and experiences.
I have moved on a little from being a would be boat builder because my wife took me to Somerset and forced me to buy a tattyish 1976 GRP, bilge keeled Leisure 17'. I tried to resist but was overpowered ; )
It is Bermudan sloop rigged with an alloy mast stepped in a plastic sort of shoe on the cabin roof. This is supported beneath the roof by a vertical wooden post from floor to ceiling.
I want an easy to handle rig for a single hander.
Can I convert all this to an unstayed Junk rig or would a Gaff rig be better? What should the mast height be? Will its position change and how do I calculate the square area of sail?
Thanks for your help.
Follow Ups:
Go for Crab Claw sail!
Hello Michael---ooops, 'Ugly Duckling',Thanks for the post on the SBF board! Appreciate the link to your most interesting site and your dedication to the nifty speedo way to cruise on the water--a Proa powered by a Crab Claw sail.
OK, Any more progress on your 18' plywood Proa design? Would love to learn more on "Taroa" the New Zealand built Proa by Harmon Hielkema & Michael Troy, any 'stats' here? Also, did Jeremy Walkers ever provide more information on his 23' Proa?
Looking forward to an update and more Proa Info.
Designer Michael Schacht e-mailed SBF and kindly provided this link to Gary Dierking's site for more Proa information powered by the Crab Claw rig. Do look at the "T2" design. Gary provides drawings and a free CAD download of this 18' Proa. The modified Crab Claw sail rig is most notable as well as the modified asymmetrical hull form...
Here is a Crab Claw sail dugout catamaran model found at the Pacific Island Exhibit at the Burke Museum in Seattle WA.
Now you have gone and done it... Bitten by the small boat bug--twice! Once to buy the Leisure 17 and the other to want to change it!Well, to begin with you may want to get the vessel out on the water and give it a thorough shake down to see how it behaves in most of the waters and weather you will be sailing her. In the meantime, the best book I know of on Junk Sails is: "The Chinese Sailing Rig--Designing and Building Your Own" by Derek Van Loan (Epoch Press PO Box 3047 San Rafael CA USA 94912). The graphic above is from page #3 of his book. There is an informative article by Brain Platt "The Chinese Sail" in the Nov. 1 2001 & Nov. 15 2001 issue of 'Messing about in Boats' a magazine published by Mr. Bob Hicks (address on the net). Brian's explanation of the multi sheeting system terminating at the 'euphroe', with associated sheet block, is most enlighting. Another good source for looking at all kinds of sailing rigs is "100 Small Boat Rigs" by Philip C Bolger. As to a Gaff Main, I think it has more complications than the simple Bermuda Main you have now...
Finally, you may be best advised to seek local counsel for a change as large as this to the little boat's sailing dynamics... Personally, I would engineer a bunch of small changes, by degrees, to make the handling of the Bermuda Rig a bit more efficient for a single person. But mainly I would just go and enjoy the sailing fun...!
Hope this is a bit helpful, let us know how the old girl sails!
I brought "The Chinese Sailing Rig--Designing and Building Your Own" by Derek Van Loan and found it very basic. After the rccomendations I had read I was disapointed.It is easy to read, took me about 2 hours and a good deal of that was re-reading to make sure I hadnt missed something.
It might be a good starting point for a beginner, but I didnt think it was good value for money.
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