Re: Solent Lug Question
Andy
I tried a solent lug once. No gaff jaws and like the other replies
have said you do need to lower the sail all the way down to tie in a
reef and re-position the halyard. Positioning of the halyard was
important: it needed to be above the center of the yard or raising
the sail became a real mess with the lower end of the yard wanting to
go up first.
Since I make poly-tarp sails I eventually abandoned the solent lug
rig. The stretchiness of the fabric meant I couldn't keep the
tension necessary to keep the yard straight up.
In the Oct 1 issue of MAIB George Fulk writes about his CS Skiff with
the solent lug rig. It says "The rig is not so handy. Setting it up
takes some time and fiddling around. When you strike it, you've got
so much sail and rope in the boat you can hardly move. It is almost
impossible to take in a reef when out on the lake. You have to
strike the sail, re-tie the main halyard to a different place on the
yard, roll up the foot of the sail, re-tie the clew to boom and tack
to mast, adjust the snotter, then re-set the sails. The advantage of
the rig is you can get a lot of sail up on a short spars." He does
say the boat is quite fast.
I wish you good luck with it.
Reed Smith
I tried a solent lug once. No gaff jaws and like the other replies
have said you do need to lower the sail all the way down to tie in a
reef and re-position the halyard. Positioning of the halyard was
important: it needed to be above the center of the yard or raising
the sail became a real mess with the lower end of the yard wanting to
go up first.
Since I make poly-tarp sails I eventually abandoned the solent lug
rig. The stretchiness of the fabric meant I couldn't keep the
tension necessary to keep the yard straight up.
In the Oct 1 issue of MAIB George Fulk writes about his CS Skiff with
the solent lug rig. It says "The rig is not so handy. Setting it up
takes some time and fiddling around. When you strike it, you've got
so much sail and rope in the boat you can hardly move. It is almost
impossible to take in a reef when out on the lake. You have to
strike the sail, re-tie the main halyard to a different place on the
yard, roll up the foot of the sail, re-tie the clew to boom and tack
to mast, adjust the snotter, then re-set the sails. The advantage of
the rig is you can get a lot of sail up on a short spars." He does
say the boat is quite fast.
I wish you good luck with it.
Reed Smith
The solent lug is described in Phil's book "100 Small Boat Rigs",
which I guess has now been replaced with "103 Small Boat Rigs". He
says no jaws or parrels are needed, but I'd think they both may offer
some advantages that may justify the extra bit of rigging annoyance.
And yes, the halyard attachment point does need to be moved higher on
the yard for reefing, so the yard is held tightly against the
masthead when the sail is set. So with a single halyard, completely
lowering the sail is required in order to put in a reef, so the
attachment location can be shifted. Since the sail probably needs to
be laced along the yard, an elegant sliding spliced loop cum
thumbcleat system wouldn't work. What I'd do is drill a hole (no
wider than necessary) through the yard at each location. Then I'd
just pass the whipped end of the halyard through the correct hole
(fore to aft) and tie a figure eight knot. Easily accomplished, low
tech, and nothing to get between the mast and yard to prevent a snug
connection. If you can live with just a single reef in your sail,
your two halyard idea would probably be workable too. You'd have
that extra halyard to contend with each time you rigged the boat, but
you wouldn't have to completely lower the yard during the reefing
operation. Not worth the tradeoff to me.
-- johannes
which I guess has now been replaced with "103 Small Boat Rigs". He
says no jaws or parrels are needed, but I'd think they both may offer
some advantages that may justify the extra bit of rigging annoyance.
And yes, the halyard attachment point does need to be moved higher on
the yard for reefing, so the yard is held tightly against the
masthead when the sail is set. So with a single halyard, completely
lowering the sail is required in order to put in a reef, so the
attachment location can be shifted. Since the sail probably needs to
be laced along the yard, an elegant sliding spliced loop cum
thumbcleat system wouldn't work. What I'd do is drill a hole (no
wider than necessary) through the yard at each location. Then I'd
just pass the whipped end of the halyard through the correct hole
(fore to aft) and tie a figure eight knot. Easily accomplished, low
tech, and nothing to get between the mast and yard to prevent a snug
connection. If you can live with just a single reef in your sail,
your two halyard idea would probably be workable too. You'd have
that extra halyard to contend with each time you rigged the boat, but
you wouldn't have to completely lower the yard during the reefing
operation. Not worth the tradeoff to me.
-- johannes
--- In bolger@y..., "Andy Farquhar" <pongo19050@y...> wrote:
> I'm rigging the mainsail on my Oldshoe as a solent lug. Do I need
> gaff jaws on the yard (sounds like an oxymoron)? Do I need to
shift
> the halyard attachment to the yard to a point higher on the yard
when
> reefed? If so, how do I do this or do I just rig with two
halyards -
> one for when reefed and one when not?
>
> Regards
>
> Andy Farquhar
I offer the following answers, based on ignorance:
Probably, depending on the original position.
If so, how do I do this or do I just rig with two halyards -
Peter
> Do I need gaff jaws on the yard?No. That is the basic difference between a Solent lug and a gunter.
> Do I need to shiftwhen reefed?
> the halyard attachment to the yard to a point higher on the yard
Probably, depending on the original position.
If so, how do I do this or do I just rig with two halyards -
> one for when reefed and one when not?Owner's option.
Peter
I'm rigging the mainsail on my Oldshoe as a solent lug. Do I need
gaff jaws on the yard (sounds like an oxymoron)? Do I need to shift
the halyard attachment to the yard to a point higher on the yard when
reefed? If so, how do I do this or do I just rig with two halyards -
one for when reefed and one when not?
Regards
Andy Farquhar
gaff jaws on the yard (sounds like an oxymoron)? Do I need to shift
the halyard attachment to the yard to a point higher on the yard when
reefed? If so, how do I do this or do I just rig with two halyards -
one for when reefed and one when not?
Regards
Andy Farquhar