On Wed, 06 Oct 2004 09:42:21 GMT, Morgan Ohlson
wrote:

On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 21:44:48 GMT, Jim Conlin wrote:

I share your appreciation for convenient reliable, fast boats.
TYvek sails on a closet pole don't accomplish any of that.

I think it's an interesting idea, but not for me, not this time... But it
must be very educational to do experiments like that.

Sometimes a little focus is preferred.


Beg, borrow or steal a copy of the book "100 Small Boat Rigs" by Philip C. Bolger, International Marine, 1984 ISBN
087742182X . It's just full of design ideas.

Actualy a librare owned one lays beside me. I think the book is a little
thin thow. Lean on facts one may say.


If there's a one design or manufactured boat whose design you like and whose parts are available, you might well
save a buck or shorten the debugging period by using it.

My thought was that it may, in some way be more difficult to "adopt another
child"... so it could be more difficoult.

But... perhaps that is worth the effort to just buy well proven sails and
rig.

Three dinghies from the 1950s and 1960s, the 5-0-5, Flying Dutchman,
and Contender share a 10-square-meter medium-aspect ratio mainsail.
Any good sailmaker who does dinghy sails will have patterns.

The Finn dinghy also has a 10-sq-mtr sail, but with a lower aspect
ratio. Also known to sailmakers. The Finn has an unstayed mast. The
others have headstay and shrouds, but no backstay.

Like the Finn, the Contender is a cat-rig. The other two are sloops,
but very different from each other.

I would look for an obsolete mast and boom from one of these classes.
If it is no longer competitive it will be cheaper than a new one. Old
FInns had a wooden mast and boom.

Another possibility is an off-the-shelf 10-sq-m windsurfer rig, with
the sail and spars matched to each other. You would have to devise a
mast step to hold it up as an unstayed rig.




But, it's not much use if the prices is sky high for the rig choosen. Are
there reasonable priced gear for all classes?




If you have high expectations for versatility and convenience, and if the boat is big enough to tolerate the
complication, a cat yawl rig has a lot to recommend it. Search for Antonio Dias' 'Harrier' design. Carbon spars
make it briliant.

Two, masts!? No, no... not for me. A plain cat could be, but I think I go
Bermuda sloop.


Morgan O.



Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a


Does one child rape really change Strom Thurmond's lifetime record?
For better or worse?