Ideal yacht for single-handing?

please note I did not say "will not have to use and engine" such an absolute statement is indeed suspect but "may not have to use an engine" is more conditional. I merely wanted to emphasise the obvious - that if your sails are easy to handle you will use your engine less even to the extent of complete voyages without its use - like the excellent one described by Christophercolumbas.

Now regarding "magical properties" - the second paragraph of my earlier post listed five (there are far more) things you can do in a junk which often would be more difficult, perhaps impossible in a bermudan equivalent. If you accept these properties then it follows that manoeuvering/handling options are extended perhaps?

Finally in answer to another post the real experts and a wealth of exceelllent information can be found on the junk rig yahoo group.
 
Slow_boat said:
I'm begining to wonder if the ideal cruising boat is a junk rigged catamaran.......
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Well Pete Hill, ex of Annie Hill, is sailing a junk rigged cat. IIRR a mast on each hull forward and a smaller mizzen (for balance?) on the aft crossbeam. Looks to be a Warram derivative.
A
 
If junk rig seems a bit too radical try a standing or balanced lug rig ( yes I know junk rig is effectively a fully battened balanced lug but they were developed totally seperately). My old boat had standing and latterly dipping lug rig and I have found that the bermudian rig I now have requires the use of the engine far more often than even the dipping lug when mooring etc. and I never before had to have an autohelm which I now use quite a lot!
 
Mike- not sure if you used this technique on your dipping lug, but on the ones I sail we quite often partially lower the sail as a method of depowering, and very effective it is too. We use this quite often for coming alongside, picking up a mooring, or in MOB drills, if conditions are apprpriate.
 
Stavanger, Thu

Hello there
Being a new member to this YBW forum, I have just browsed through this thread. I can well understand the scepticism to the junk rig (JR) expressed in some of the postings above. Since the dominating number of British junks still sails with flat sails, their performance to windward will never shine whatever boat is put under the rig.

In 1990 I installed the first flat junk sail on my 23ft ‘Malena’. I soon found the rig disappointing to windward with a tacking angle between 100° and 110°, and this despite having given the boat a healthy sail area. To cut a long story short, since 1994 I have used junk sails with cambered panels in them between straight battens. The camber has been achieved by cutting each batten panel to a barrel shape, with the rounding along the battens. This way I get about 8% camber/chord.

In my town, Stavanger, there are now 5 JR boats, ranging from 18’ to 49’, all with cambered panel sails. They are all performing well and they certainly suffer no reputation of being slow. My own present boat, the 29ft ‘Johanna’ generally tacks through 90 – 95° and we have given many Bermudan-rigged boats stiff competition.

As for crew requirements I use to say (and I mean it):

I don’t need a crew, but I can always use some company.

Conclusion:
To improve the not-too-good reputation of the JR in British waters, their owners have to speed up the process of improving their sails from flat to cambered (either with jointed battens or with cambered panels) sails. Unfortunately, the junk sails seem to last forever so it is tempting to hang on to the old sails for just another year...


Regards
Arne Kverneland

PS:
Those of you with good memory may recall that I wrote a reader’s letter about this to YM a couple of years ago as a comment to an article on JR.
 
chrisedwards said:
I could go on and on - fantastic visibility, no noise etc etc. One final point however is that women love it right from the start - why is this?
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I used to think the Coromandel looked a bit odd - now I think they look great, and if I was ever in the market for a boat that size it's what I would go for.
 
kristifercolumnbus said:
I'm afraid never having to use your engine is a false claim,why should that be any different to a conventionally rigged boat?
I use my boat as a sailing boat as much as possible & have even left my mooring under sail.Sailed round the isle of Wight stopping off in several places & sailed back to my mooring all without ever starting the engine once but that is just not possible nowadays in places like Portsmouth where using an engine to get through the Harbour entrance is now mandatory (at least while the harbour militia are around)......I can see no reason why a junk rigged boat should give you magical property's that no other boat has.....& I am far from convinced that a junk rigged boat has any advantages except ease of use when you are old & crippled with arthritis.

PS:Sorry this is what I am disputing..... Originally Posted by chrisedwards View Post
... You may never have to use your engine for a start - very satisfying. The range of situations you can sail in is extended.
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I have responded earlier to this post however I must admit that kristofercolumbas is right - I did make a "false claim". Not the one he referred to but the one implying that the most advanced junk rigs may be inferior to windward in some conditions. Having completed the Round the Island race in the only junk rigged entry - a Westerly Longbow battletank circa 1973 it appears that they are pretty much equal - we came halfway down our class - 31 out of 60 handicapped as a bermudan. we raced tack to tack and beat rival 34's, Moody 28/27,30's,Contessa 28, legend 280,westerly Merlin and Tempest, sadler29, Dufour 28, Hunter 26 and 31, Halberg rassy 29 to name a few. Please look at the website for more details.

I would love to take some credit for this but alas all must go to the owner who pioneered the rig and commanded the ship.
 
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It's good to hear from an evangelist for something different. Personally I'm not convinced that many of the benefits listed really are significant - for example ease of reefing is certainly not a major issue. Its very rare that I find myself having to reef / unreef during a sail. But I do like the idea of unstayed masts with the only disadvantage I see being the cost of making the carbon / epoxy tubes involved.

I guess I will sit up and take more notice when the guys to whom sailing efficiency really matters big time - the pro racers - start using junk rig. As long as they continue using Bermudian sloops, I will be confident that that is the most effective approach to sail propulsion even if it isnt the most single hander friendly system.
 
Bosun Higgs said:
As long as they continue using Bermudian sloops, I will be confident that that is the most effective approach to sail propulsion.....
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The Bermudan rig is probably the most effective way of racing a three point course (for those that can't afford Amercias Cup style wing sails).

I'm not sure that translates into effective passage making.
 
My top priority would be a boat that sails well for the majority of the time you are on the boat. When single handing I would accept a degree of difficulty or challenge in sail handling hassle, if the trade off is more enjoyment when out sailing for hours (or days). My preference is a 3/4 or maybe 7/8's fractional rig with a single lines to cockpit slab reefing main. which to me is not any difficulty at all. Cutters and ketches mean more ropes to tend. All mounted on a yacht hull that sails reasonable well to windward, with a tiller helm, and a keel depth of around 1 to 1.5m. A shallower keel means you can get in close, which means don't need to manhandle an outboard on a dinghy to get ashore. Self tacking jib could be good as well, but never tried one so cannot comment. Low freeboard is important so you can easily pick up mooring buoys and easy safe step off at marina's. Mine is currently a Cornish Cutter 24 Bermudan, previously was a 3/4 fractional sloop on a catamaran, and many years ago a masthead sloop. On the masthead rig what i remember was the hauling in the genoa sheets on short tacks was a hassle, wheras a small jib and large mainsail are a much easier and safer arrangement for single handing.
 
Bosun Higgs said:
It's good to hear from an evangelist for something different. Personally I'm not convinced that many of the benefits listed really are significant - for example ease of reefing is certainly not a major issue. Its very rare that I find myself having to reef / unreef during a sail. But I do like the idea of unstayed masts with the only disadvantage I see being the cost of making the carbon / epoxy tubes involved.

I guess I will sit up and take more notice when the guys to whom sailing efficiency really matters big time - the pro racers - start using junk rig. As long as they continue using Bermudian sloops, I will be confident that that is the most effective approach to sail propulsion even if it isnt the most single hander friendly system.
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I am stunned that those with so little experience can have such strong opinions. Those putting opinions of junk rigs here have decades of experience in both bermudan and junk - you have not.

Please read the earlier post about the junk rig boat that thrashed so many "faster" boats in the last Round the Island Race - I was crewing on this - - Surely you would agree there is no better test? Look at the official results if you do not believe it. There are ten junk rigged boats in out little muddy creek - people who have seen and tried at length - have you?

I took a couple out in my junk boat who I met at the Beaulieu Boat jumble - they now have one.

Now how about you? - would you like to try? I'm sure you will have the experience to let your jaw drop when you see it do things you could never do or would never do. You talk about ease of reefing not being that much of a deal - Can you not see what being able to drop all sail in less than half a second and then being able to rehoist and use like an accelerator means for close quarters manoeuvering? - or man overboard?

Please give it a fair test and then pass an opinion. - But remember the last Round the Island Race!

My boat is based on the Solent - you are very welcome to try - I would welcome your opinion - then.
 
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