Standing lug rig

[snowleopard]

I have an 11 ft tender and a suitable-sized lugsail. I'm now planning to do the conversion and am trying to work out how best to set up the mast. If I use stays the mast is going to need to be a good deal taller to make room for the swing of the yard inside the shrouds. If I go for unstayed I'll need a strong mast, I have a 2" dia x 20 ft spar, tapered to 1" at the top. If the mast is unstayed it will be short enough to stow inside the boat which would be a bonus.

Any pearls of wisdom on offer?

 

[Romeo]

I would not be wanting the hassle of stays on a tender, with a pottering about sail on it. I doubt your sail is of a size to put your mast in danger in the type of conditions that you are likely to use a sail on an 11 foot tender.

Is it a standing lug or a balanced lug? Maybe too late, but for an occasional sail for a tender I would prefer a balanced lug, which is quite a handy sail to use for this purpose.

R

 

[snowleopard]

Very definitely a standing lug. If the tack were forward of the mast the clew would be wrapped round the helmsman's neck!

Any suggestions for a suitable mast material?

 

[Cloven]

I have an 11 ft tender and a suitable-sized lugsail. I'm now planning to do the conversion and am trying to work out how best to set up the mast. If I use stays the mast is going to need to be a good deal taller to make room for the swing of the yard inside the shrouds. If I go for unstayed I'll need a strong mast, I have a 2" dia x 20 ft spar, tapered to 1" at the top. If the mast is unstayed it will be short enough to stow inside the boat which would be a bonus.

Any pearls of wisdom on offer?

I have a 12ft traditional dinghy with a balanced lug rig. It came with an aluminium mast which previous owner had added presumably because the original wooden one was damaged. Aluminium mast was 70mm diameter tube. However, it did not look right on a traditional boat so I have just made a new wooden mast. It is unstayed, 70mm at the base tapering to 50mm at the top. I fitted a mast band at the top to take the uphaul for the yard & also for the jib if used. As you say, the mast easily fits within the length of the dinghy which make trailing very easy.

 

[AndrewB]

The 11' Lymington Scow balanced lug I had many years ago had a Sitka Spruce mast. It was hollow, made in two parts lengthwise and stuck together. Nowadays they all aluminium. I believe this class was originally desgned as a sailing yacht tender.

 

[Lakesailor]

Does this help?

 

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

SnowLeopard, I think you have your terms reversed --it's the balanced lug that projects forward of the mast, as in LakeSailor's lovely dinghy (which I might say I've seen but not sailed). A standing lug would normally have jaws at the forward end of the boom to fit around the mast, so the clew doesn't project past it.

As for material, wood is great, and for an 11' boat, 2" dia at the partners should be fine, tapering by, say, ½" to the masthead. That is to say, the lower half of your 20' spar should be fine., with enough left over for the yard. You won't need stays. This boat (sprit-rigged) carries a mainsail of 100 sq ft and a jib of 20 sq ft on an unstayed 3" mast, and she's a heavy fifteen-footer.

The set-up shown here for stepping the mast is the one I assume you'll be following? This has a step on the keelson to take the mast's foot, and a hole through the mast thwart (or a notch with a gate) for the partners. The mast thwart should be as high up as you can make it, to increase the bury as far as possible. You'll also need to give consideration to the mast's position fore-and-aft in relation to the size of the sail and position of the c/b for your CLR and CE calculations, but I assume you'll know all about this.

Mike