Short-handed downwind sail options

[Tranona]

Apart from tens of thousands of Chinese type fellas.
Cruising boats in the west copy racing boats in the west. And most rating rules have pushed us towards masthead sloop rig until recently.
We are as a culture, a bit conservative. So alternative rigs get short shrift. Whether it's rotating aero rigs, catboats, whatever.
Just because what we're used to seems to be the best compromise doesn't mean alternatives don't work.
Junk rig is not just for downwind either.

I find it a bit amusing that cruising sailors and most yacht sailors dismiss anything that doesn't look like a 60s IOR boat, while 'no limits' racers (and those restrained by various rule sets) are evolving towards four-sided sails.

If you took an assymetric spinnaker, added some full-length battens and made it reefable, it would be a lot like some junk sails..
The only reason that hasn't happened is that battens in kites are banned under all the rating rules (?...discuss?)

Not sure it is conservatism per se and agree that racing does have an undue influence. It is more about developing boats and rigs that are suitable for our conditions and type of sailing. Junk rigs come from a very different environment and if anything they are more conservative, being unchanged for centuries because they are ideal for the conditions.

You can't avoid the fact that sailing in our waters is dominated by windward work and therefore rig and sail developments have been mainly aimed at improving that type of sailing. on the other hand that is the worst point of sailing for a junk rig so it is hardly surprising it does not attract more support. Its major advantage for leisure sailors is ease of handling and particularly adjusting sail area to suit conditions. However developments in both rigs and sail handling equipment for bermudan rigs has removed much of the difficulties of the past. As this thread shows even the weak points of offwind sailing are being addressed with the type of sails and gear being discussed here.

So, it is difficult to justify massive re-engineering to convert to a rig that has at best only marginal advantages in one area of sailing and significant disadvantages in the most common point of sailing.