In article , Thom
Stewart wrote:
Pete,
Not only a good downwind rig but of all rigs there is none that's reefs
easier. Just release halyard tension and the sail reduces to a new sheet
batten and your sailing with less sail.
I like my rig, with full batten main in Lazy jack & self furling 150 but
I do envy the Junks reefing ability.
I also like the junks, and Colvin hulls for their ability to dry out on
the beach for easy repairs.
Pete; A side bar on D. Johnson. I invited him aboard my Pilothouse 29
footer for coffee and a chance to look her over (Like a proud father)
After looking her over Dick asked who designed her. When I had no
answer, he looked at me in discuss. Finished his coffee and left. If you
are in contact with Tom Colvin you can confirm D. Johnson admiration for
his designing ability.
Yeah. Tom was the one who told me that Dick had done over 200K miles on
MIGRANT including a singlehanded trip around Tasmania when he was in
his 70's. Tom has pretty fixed opinions but has the sea miles and
designs to make them worth listening to even if you don't agree. He's
never,
AFAIK, designed racing boats so Doug's ideas of what a boat
needs don't seem to feature too highly.
Not so long ago a guy named Bernie Harberts did a s/h circumnav in a
Colvin Witch named SEABIRD. He passed thru Torres Strait so I didn't
get a chance to look over his boat. It was a ketch rig that he
converted to cutter in NZ. Had nothing but good things to say about it
including the ability to dry out & antifoul when he wanted to.
There are a lot of Gazelle hulls out there. Not so many Witches, about
120 built and if SARA GAMP isn't recovered, that'll be one less afloat
unfortunately. I had an opportunity to buy a Gazelle a couple years
back but decided it was too much money and boat for my needs at the
time. That one had a marconi ketch rig.
If MIGRANT hasn't sold by the time I get back from my next trip I might
go take a look, maybe make a real lowball offer. Malaysia is a nice
place for a holiday and only 8 hours or so flying time away.
PDW