On Mon, 01 Aug 2005 21:47:47 -0700, Evan Gatehouse
wrote:


Seriously, 95% of the boats out there are sloops or perhaps
cutters, so why worry about it?

With all respect, 95% of the personal cars on the road are not very
efficient gasoline-engine driven models. The current popularity of the
Bermudan/Marconi rig is not an indication that it is the most
efficient all-around rig, or that it is the best choice by default.

A subset of that thinking gave us extreme IOR designs with stability
issues in the '70s. Sail rigs and the thinking about them is still
evolving: much of the popularity of the Bermudan rig is, I suspect,
due to its extreme simplicity, particularly when roller-furling is
involved.

And yet committed/experienced offshore cruisers still choose cutters,
cutter-ketches, gaff-rigs and even junk-rigs. Of course, the Bermudan
rig is popular with that crowd, too, but more experienced sailors
understand the trade-offs and benefits of exploring "minority opinion"
rigs and set-ups.

Just throwing it out there. I have an IOR-derived cruiser racer with a
15 foot J on a 33 1/2 LOA, which means it points high and works
excellently to windward, but the tall narrow main is not great
downwind. That's why I advocate not any particular design, but a
flexibility appropriate to the application.

Having said that, I have seen very, very few schooner rigs
commissioned lately.

R.