Sybarite
Well-Known Member
The following are three systems which I believe would considerably improve cruising comfort and I am surprised that they are not more widespread. (The descriptions are by interested parties.)
AERORIG
The Aerorig is made up of a mast, a main boom and a fore-boom. The booms are rigidly fixed to the mast. The mast is totally unstayed and is mounted in two bearings - one in the bottom of the hull and one in the deck. These allow the mast - and therefore the whole rig -- to rotate freely. The jib is completely self - tacking on a traveller mounted on the mast.
As long as more sail is set behind the mast than in front of it, the Aerorig will weathercock into wind if left to its own devices. The whole rig can therefore be controlled and the sail angle set by restricting the angle of rotation using a single mainsheet.
This is amazingly easy to manage and trim compared with a conventional rig. Furthermore, the mainsheet loading is only about one third of that on an equivalent stayed rig because the rotational force of the jib offsets that of the mainsail - hence a "balanced" rig.
The Aerorig offers these advantages -:
shorthanded passage making easy
one only control line and low sheet loads - one (smaller) winch.
no standing rigging to maintain
visibility and space on deck are improved,
sailing on a dead without risk of jibing
jibing an Aerorig is easy,
short tacking to windward effortless
save cost of winches and rigging (although aerorig mast is more expensive.)
An independent test was performed by the Woolfson Institute using two Bénéteau 42.7's, one rigged conventionally (93 m²), and one with an Aerorig (78m²). The latter developed more power on all points of sailing - from 10 – 30% more. With the Aerorig 28% of the Centre of Gravity was above the waterline compared with 48% for the conventional rig.
Unfortunately the Aerorig image was tarnished because of a case which received a lot of coverage at the time. A structural fault was detected and, rather than scrap the spar, additional layers were added to strengthen it, resulting in a rig that was twice as heavy as it should have been.
The twistle rig for downwind sailing
(If an Aerorig isn’t considered)
The twistle rig consists of two lightweight poles and a universal joint supported by an up haul from the mast and downhaul to the stem head. The only control necessary for the twin sails is the two sheets. As the two poles are not attached to the mast but are allowed to float with the movement of the yacht this reduces the normal rolling associated with running down wind.
The twistle sails recommended are: -
1. Two sails of 130% hoisted in a twin groove furling system.
2. Twins sail joined at luff and hoisted in single groove furling system.
3. The twin’s sail made of lightweight spinnaker cloth tacked to a furling drum and head swivel independent of existing sails.
To stow
1 Release both sheets and the up-haul supporting the U/V joint.
2 Furl in the sail while running down wind.
3 When all is calm stow the twistle yards and lower the sail.
Advantages
Greatly reduces the rolling.
Reduces the stress on crew and yacht.
Easy to hoist and stow.
No sail chafe.
No collapsing in light airs.
No wrapping around forestay.
Reduces the load on the helm, saving power from battery.
May safely be used at night as one person can furl the twins from the safety of the cockpit”
Dutchman
In the 80’s Bénéteau was proposing these as standard; I wonder why the idea was subsequently dropped?
“The Dutchman Sail Flaking System uses vertical control lines laced through fairleads in the sail. The lines are attached to the topping lift and at the base of the sail, and don’t move.
The sail slides up and down on the lines like a Roman shade. As you drop the sail, the lines guide the main down to alternate sides of the boom. A few seconds straightening, and you’re done. One person can perfectly flake pretty much any size sail in under 20 seconds. Many owners don’t even bother with sail ties.
Offshore sailors particularly like how easy it makes reefing. The system collects the sail on the boom with no need to tie in the intermediate reef points. If you lines are led aft, you can reef entirely from the cockpit.
The "Dutchman" works with conventional or full-batten sails, and can be easily retrofitted to an existing main.
The Dutchman System has the following advantages over lazy jacks:
The sail can’t get caught on the Dutchman lines is it is raised or lowered. Lazy jacks catch all the time. Lazy jacks were developed for gaff or junk rigs, which the Dutchman can't work with. With such rigs, the leech is always behind the jack lines, so they never catch the sail. Many people find it annoying that lazy jacks always catch the leech as you raise and lower a modern sail, even if you're head to wind. Imagine hoisting the sail between a web of lines about one foot apart, with the leech moving back and forth. No wonder it catches.
There’s no need to head into the wind to raise, lower, or reef the sail. Just let the sail luff. The Dutchman lines pass through the fairleads in the sail every 2 to 3 feet, so they can’t chafe the sail.
The Dutchman tabs automatically slacken the control lines after the sail is raised. Adjust it once and you’re done. Lazy jacks have to be adjusted or moved forward and back every time you raise and lower the sail.
More importantly, the Dutchman works better with today's stiffer sails. Lazy jacks were fine with the soft sails of 30 years ago that you rolled up, but do not offer enough space between the lines to make nice, big, loose folds with today's stiffer sail fabrics.
The Dutchman is inconspicuous, with no noise, chafe, catching or performance loss. Your sail lasts longer, and it’s only about $200-$300 over the cost of lazy jacks. Not a bad deal. And probably why, after more than 14 years and 20,000 systems, it’s the number one system and growing.
Performance loss is par with adding a flag halyard. The control lines are about 2mm (1/16th inch) in diameter, and the “hole” in the sail is really a vertical slit just wide enough for the control line to pass through.
As the sail is dropped, the Dutchman control lines automatically organize the main onto either side of the boom. Spend a few seconds straightening the sail, and you've got a perfectly flaked main. When you raise the sail, the Dutchman tabs sewn to the base of the sail stand up, lessening the control lines. When the sail is dropped, it pushes down on the tabs, tightening the control lines. There’s no adjusting needed, unlike lazy jacks, which need a lot of messing with.
Use normal slab or jiffy reefing. However, since the Dutchman holds the sail on the boom, you don’t need to tie off the intermediate reef points (the ones in the middle of the sail). Many owners, especially those who sail offshore, comment on how much easier this makes the reefing. Of course, it helps that the sail is not flogging itself all over the deck!”
John
AERORIG
The Aerorig is made up of a mast, a main boom and a fore-boom. The booms are rigidly fixed to the mast. The mast is totally unstayed and is mounted in two bearings - one in the bottom of the hull and one in the deck. These allow the mast - and therefore the whole rig -- to rotate freely. The jib is completely self - tacking on a traveller mounted on the mast.
As long as more sail is set behind the mast than in front of it, the Aerorig will weathercock into wind if left to its own devices. The whole rig can therefore be controlled and the sail angle set by restricting the angle of rotation using a single mainsheet.
This is amazingly easy to manage and trim compared with a conventional rig. Furthermore, the mainsheet loading is only about one third of that on an equivalent stayed rig because the rotational force of the jib offsets that of the mainsail - hence a "balanced" rig.
The Aerorig offers these advantages -:
shorthanded passage making easy
one only control line and low sheet loads - one (smaller) winch.
no standing rigging to maintain
visibility and space on deck are improved,
sailing on a dead without risk of jibing
jibing an Aerorig is easy,
short tacking to windward effortless
save cost of winches and rigging (although aerorig mast is more expensive.)
An independent test was performed by the Woolfson Institute using two Bénéteau 42.7's, one rigged conventionally (93 m²), and one with an Aerorig (78m²). The latter developed more power on all points of sailing - from 10 – 30% more. With the Aerorig 28% of the Centre of Gravity was above the waterline compared with 48% for the conventional rig.
Unfortunately the Aerorig image was tarnished because of a case which received a lot of coverage at the time. A structural fault was detected and, rather than scrap the spar, additional layers were added to strengthen it, resulting in a rig that was twice as heavy as it should have been.
The twistle rig for downwind sailing
(If an Aerorig isn’t considered)
The twistle rig consists of two lightweight poles and a universal joint supported by an up haul from the mast and downhaul to the stem head. The only control necessary for the twin sails is the two sheets. As the two poles are not attached to the mast but are allowed to float with the movement of the yacht this reduces the normal rolling associated with running down wind.
The twistle sails recommended are: -
1. Two sails of 130% hoisted in a twin groove furling system.
2. Twins sail joined at luff and hoisted in single groove furling system.
3. The twin’s sail made of lightweight spinnaker cloth tacked to a furling drum and head swivel independent of existing sails.
To stow
1 Release both sheets and the up-haul supporting the U/V joint.
2 Furl in the sail while running down wind.
3 When all is calm stow the twistle yards and lower the sail.
Advantages
Greatly reduces the rolling.
Reduces the stress on crew and yacht.
Easy to hoist and stow.
No sail chafe.
No collapsing in light airs.
No wrapping around forestay.
Reduces the load on the helm, saving power from battery.
May safely be used at night as one person can furl the twins from the safety of the cockpit”
Dutchman
In the 80’s Bénéteau was proposing these as standard; I wonder why the idea was subsequently dropped?
“The Dutchman Sail Flaking System uses vertical control lines laced through fairleads in the sail. The lines are attached to the topping lift and at the base of the sail, and don’t move.
The sail slides up and down on the lines like a Roman shade. As you drop the sail, the lines guide the main down to alternate sides of the boom. A few seconds straightening, and you’re done. One person can perfectly flake pretty much any size sail in under 20 seconds. Many owners don’t even bother with sail ties.
Offshore sailors particularly like how easy it makes reefing. The system collects the sail on the boom with no need to tie in the intermediate reef points. If you lines are led aft, you can reef entirely from the cockpit.
The "Dutchman" works with conventional or full-batten sails, and can be easily retrofitted to an existing main.
The Dutchman System has the following advantages over lazy jacks:
The sail can’t get caught on the Dutchman lines is it is raised or lowered. Lazy jacks catch all the time. Lazy jacks were developed for gaff or junk rigs, which the Dutchman can't work with. With such rigs, the leech is always behind the jack lines, so they never catch the sail. Many people find it annoying that lazy jacks always catch the leech as you raise and lower a modern sail, even if you're head to wind. Imagine hoisting the sail between a web of lines about one foot apart, with the leech moving back and forth. No wonder it catches.
There’s no need to head into the wind to raise, lower, or reef the sail. Just let the sail luff. The Dutchman lines pass through the fairleads in the sail every 2 to 3 feet, so they can’t chafe the sail.
The Dutchman tabs automatically slacken the control lines after the sail is raised. Adjust it once and you’re done. Lazy jacks have to be adjusted or moved forward and back every time you raise and lower the sail.
More importantly, the Dutchman works better with today's stiffer sails. Lazy jacks were fine with the soft sails of 30 years ago that you rolled up, but do not offer enough space between the lines to make nice, big, loose folds with today's stiffer sail fabrics.
The Dutchman is inconspicuous, with no noise, chafe, catching or performance loss. Your sail lasts longer, and it’s only about $200-$300 over the cost of lazy jacks. Not a bad deal. And probably why, after more than 14 years and 20,000 systems, it’s the number one system and growing.
Performance loss is par with adding a flag halyard. The control lines are about 2mm (1/16th inch) in diameter, and the “hole” in the sail is really a vertical slit just wide enough for the control line to pass through.
As the sail is dropped, the Dutchman control lines automatically organize the main onto either side of the boom. Spend a few seconds straightening the sail, and you've got a perfectly flaked main. When you raise the sail, the Dutchman tabs sewn to the base of the sail stand up, lessening the control lines. When the sail is dropped, it pushes down on the tabs, tightening the control lines. There’s no adjusting needed, unlike lazy jacks, which need a lot of messing with.
Use normal slab or jiffy reefing. However, since the Dutchman holds the sail on the boom, you don’t need to tie off the intermediate reef points (the ones in the middle of the sail). Many owners, especially those who sail offshore, comment on how much easier this makes the reefing. Of course, it helps that the sail is not flogging itself all over the deck!”
John
