A Polytarp Junk Rig
Meant to add this link to the post where it was mentioned.
http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/howto/junkrig/index.htm
Of course the ease of reefing adds greatly to performance of what
seems like a very inefficient sail because it allows one to carry more
sail longer and with less hassle than one might normally with a more
conventional sail.
Also the lack of twist aloft holds the sail into a better wing shape
and prevents rolling.
Notice how little heeling there is and how the captain is in an ideal
location to maintain an even keel.Seems almost too easy!
Here are some comments Mike posted at the Michalak group after the
first three times out with his Philsboat.I hope he doesn't mind my
sharing them here.
Re: Philsboat launched
Thanks, everyone.
As far as a full sailing report goes, I don't have that much sailing
experience so can't give a very objective report, but I'll do my best.
I've sailed with between 1 and 5 people and it seems to carry either
load equally well. (I stretched the design out about 10%) I'm sure it
could carry 6 people easily.
The first time out we started with one panel down (on the sail) and
the wind kept rising and we kept dropping panels until we were down
to one panel for a while. It wasn't that extreme really, probably 20-
25 knots, but I was nervous the first time out (and the first time
out this season). And one of my crew was my 90 year old step dad, so I
didn't feel like having things too wild. Seemed to sail on a beam
reach OK deeply reefed like that though.
Second time out 5 of us were in the boat from 10am till 5pm (with a
break). The winds were very light and we ghosted much of the time.
For a while it got up to about 5 or 6 knots and I started tacking and
reading the headings on my GPS and was very pleased to see I was
tacking between about 90 degrees. Of course it would run easier if I
opened it up a little.
This was a pleasant and lazy day for everyone and we were all very
comfortable in the cabin for that amount of time (except for some
sore butts). At the end of the day my wife said to me (about the
boat) "A+"! (You probably thought I was BSing about the tacking and
now this story about my wife is really unbelievable, but honest, it
all happened).
Third time out the wind was just right. At the end of this day my
friend and I rolled the boat over three times (on purpose) and never
got a drop of water in it. It was a little hard to get the boat over
with just two guys; we had to rock it some. With the sail down we
would pop back up when we just moved away from the window a little.
With the full weight of the junk rig up on the mast it took our
combined weight (165lbs and 180lbs) at the bottom of the boat to
bring the sail up out of the water. (The picnickers on shore were
very entertained by all this and my friend was laughing his head off.)
It's very cool inside the cabin as claimed, even with clear windows.
A breeze comes off the sail and blows through the cabin. I made the
mistake of dressing too lightly the first couple of times out as I
thought it would be warmer sheltered in the cabin. Now I dress the
same as if I were in an open boat. I miss feeling the wind on my
face for judging the wind direction.
I was skeptical about the lee board but am really impressed by it
now. What a great design!
I'm sure I'll know a lot more about sailing the boat at the end of
the season but so far it's great.
Mike
Nels
http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/howto/junkrig/index.htm
Of course the ease of reefing adds greatly to performance of what
seems like a very inefficient sail because it allows one to carry more
sail longer and with less hassle than one might normally with a more
conventional sail.
Also the lack of twist aloft holds the sail into a better wing shape
and prevents rolling.
Notice how little heeling there is and how the captain is in an ideal
location to maintain an even keel.Seems almost too easy!
Here are some comments Mike posted at the Michalak group after the
first three times out with his Philsboat.I hope he doesn't mind my
sharing them here.
Re: Philsboat launched
Thanks, everyone.
As far as a full sailing report goes, I don't have that much sailing
experience so can't give a very objective report, but I'll do my best.
I've sailed with between 1 and 5 people and it seems to carry either
load equally well. (I stretched the design out about 10%) I'm sure it
could carry 6 people easily.
The first time out we started with one panel down (on the sail) and
the wind kept rising and we kept dropping panels until we were down
to one panel for a while. It wasn't that extreme really, probably 20-
25 knots, but I was nervous the first time out (and the first time
out this season). And one of my crew was my 90 year old step dad, so I
didn't feel like having things too wild. Seemed to sail on a beam
reach OK deeply reefed like that though.
Second time out 5 of us were in the boat from 10am till 5pm (with a
break). The winds were very light and we ghosted much of the time.
For a while it got up to about 5 or 6 knots and I started tacking and
reading the headings on my GPS and was very pleased to see I was
tacking between about 90 degrees. Of course it would run easier if I
opened it up a little.
This was a pleasant and lazy day for everyone and we were all very
comfortable in the cabin for that amount of time (except for some
sore butts). At the end of the day my wife said to me (about the
boat) "A+"! (You probably thought I was BSing about the tacking and
now this story about my wife is really unbelievable, but honest, it
all happened).
Third time out the wind was just right. At the end of this day my
friend and I rolled the boat over three times (on purpose) and never
got a drop of water in it. It was a little hard to get the boat over
with just two guys; we had to rock it some. With the sail down we
would pop back up when we just moved away from the window a little.
With the full weight of the junk rig up on the mast it took our
combined weight (165lbs and 180lbs) at the bottom of the boat to
bring the sail up out of the water. (The picnickers on shore were
very entertained by all this and my friend was laughing his head off.)
It's very cool inside the cabin as claimed, even with clear windows.
A breeze comes off the sail and blows through the cabin. I made the
mistake of dressing too lightly the first couple of times out as I
thought it would be warmer sheltered in the cabin. Now I dress the
same as if I were in an open boat. I miss feeling the wind on my
face for judging the wind direction.
I was skeptical about the lee board but am really impressed by it
now. What a great design!
I'm sure I'll know a lot more about sailing the boat at the end of
the season but so far it's great.
Mike
Nels