One of the best ways to get a high performance rig at minimal cost is to buy an old racing dinghy that may be rotting away but still has several thousand dollars worth of stainless steel hardware, aluminium spars and a set of sails. I got lucky and found the rig from a NZ/Aus Javelin racing dinghy for $150. The Javelin is a 14' development class, designed by John Spencer, that's been around since 1961. It can do 25 knots with it's big gennaker. I only got a main and jib, along with a 24' aluminium tapered mast, boom and a big bucket full of hardware.
Racers don't usually have any way to reef, so the first job was to modify the sail for two big slab reefs. The sail also had a boltrope along the luff that fed into a slot on the mast. It's much easier to raise and lower the sail if it has slug slides that fit into the slot, so I put in grommets and slides.
After hoisting the sail for the first time, I was very pleased with the foil shape. My sail is a little older than the one in the first photo and has less of a square head than the newer ones.
Now I have to see if I can keep it right-side up!
Gosh, I hope you get some videos of this.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes. It looks very good. Hope to see some footage of sail trials.
ReplyDeleteNice Gary, I better keep my eye out for one of these, I like the shape.
ReplyDeleteNice Gary, I better keep my eye out for one of these, I like the shape.
ReplyDeleteGary did you find that the taller rig although you had mentioned a little over powered for solo with a single ama, held a better sail shape? More video please for deeper armchair analysis is needed. Great looking design and I can hardly wait for the plans to arrive.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Bruce
The 3D shape was good, but one problem was that it had a longer foot dimension and that gave it a little too much weather helm unless you had the jib unfurled too. The smaller standard rig sails well with or without the jib.
ReplyDeleteOh I see, maybe a down haul added to the original sail to help flatten the leading edge a bit? I also saw when reading the older posts that you incorporated a box on the bottom in anticipation of trying a free standing mast. Will you be testing that out? My idea is a free standing wooden mast with the sail lashed on. I think that would look nice and quicker to set up.
ReplyDeleteSorry Gary, after rereading previous comments I realized that it wasn't the luff but the top of the sail was twisting. Would adding a boom and rerouting the main sheet be the way to control the top of the sail?
ReplyDeleteA boom with a boom vang is the usual way to control twist. I find my setup with the "sheetlets" to be lighter and almost as effective. Eliminating the boom is nice for your head too. Reefing is also quicker with no outhauls to manage.
ReplyDelete