What Ever Happened to Bigboys?

[Emjaytoo]

Just been thumbing through an old sailing book:

The Complete Book of Sailing - Peter Cook & Barbara Webb (Published in 1977)

and there are lots of pictures of yachts flying spinnakers and bigboys .

Do you still get bigboys? If not, what ever happened to them? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[sailorman]

possibly due the demise of the IOR rule

 

[savageseadog]

Lot's of women are asking that question (but not when I'm around)

 

[claymore]

They are probably sat somewhere chewing the breeze with a load of bloopers

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

and being a bit frightened by the ghosters

 

[rudolph_hart]

They worked very well on 1970's masthead rigs with small mainsails, as they caught a fair amount of wind on a dead run. They were also a help in reducing the dreaded 'Death Roll' to which pinched-stern IOR boats were prone. The sail kept 2 crew fully occupied for ages, trimming sheet and halyard, and is quite 'posey' because it attracts the photographers - no doubt waiting for a monumental cock-up!

I raced a 70's 3/4 Tonner between 1987 and 1994, and used the Big Boy or Blooper a fair bit.

Channel Handicap (now IRC) didn't penalise them initially, but later they rated them as a headsail, and because they have a very long luff, the rating penalty killed them off.