an almost cunning plan...

There's a J-29 up in the frozen north that I've been thinking about quite a bit. For those unacquainted with the design it looks something like this...

It, like most of it's J-Boat brethren, is a boat designed and built to be competitive so you may be wondering why the hell am I looking at it?

Well, you might say, I have a sorta/kinda cunning plan for a boat of this ilk.

For starters there's not much of an interior so it would be very easy to do a new performance cruising interior and as long as we're installing a neat little galley we might take the opportunity to do a new mast step while we're at it.

A new VolksCruiserish rig spelled junk or lug would make for a neat testbed and as there are quite a few J-29s about it owned by folks who'd enjoy sailing against a J-29 with a different (some might call it freakish) rig it would be an awesome educational endeavor and I'd enjoy it.

As the boat in question is selling for not very much I'd expect to be able to the needful mods and suchlike to keep the finished boat a kiss less than $10.5K.

The only issue that keeps me from jumping on a plane cash in hand to get is the fact that the J-29 has almost six feet of draft and that's not going to work for my cruising plans.

So it does go.

That said if draft is not a deal breaker for you the J-29 is a pretty great candidate for a performance VolksCruiser and you might want to keep an eye out for a good deal on one.

 

a little heresy...

I've always liked the gaff rig because it's a stout spar that does not require a lot of tension to stand. There's a lot to be said for that.

While I don't think that Tom Colvin's junk rigs were fully evolved they did make a whole lot of sense.Take his Gazelle for instance.

Minimal stays with the ability to carry a jib makes all kinds of sense to me. The masts are lighter and less expensive than free-standing masts. Mast placement tends to be more normal in the sense that they are less radical where the interior is concerned which is no bad thing when dealing with a classic plastic boat. The fact that a jib is a great aid to balancing the sail plan and helps with windward ability is an added bonus. The Colvin rig makes a lot of sense.

Then again, it would make even more sense if it was brought into the current century.

Yep, I'm well aware that most junk rig aficionados tend to be foresail and standing rig phobic but a well designed junk or lug cutter would make all kinds of sense where a bombproof, powerful, and inexpensive rig is what you want.

With the current available tech it would be easy to build a light spar in plywood (see Reuel Parker's) and since textile rigging has become an available affordable alternative it's within the reach of anyone. Take a little extra effort and serve the rigging and you'll have a rig that will last into the next century.

Might be a bit of heretical thinking you should think about.
 

a couple of thoughts on spar building...

When considering changing to a rig like the balanced lug or junk, the first issue is that it requires moving the location of the mast. Finding the location is easy, but it can play hell with the interior. Free-standing masts, while not being as tall as the Bermuda rig, are larger in terms of diameter and a 10-inch diameter spar will create bloody havoc with the accommodation.

Which may be an excellent reason to keep your Bermuda rig if it’s still standing with decent rigging and sails. 

In the future, I’ll be doing an outline on how to locate the mast, build the mast, and otherwise get you through the new rig process for a more-or-less traditional junk or balanced lug rig. 

Here are a couple of things to mull over.

Is the new mast location going to work with the current interior arrangement? If not, peruse accommodations that would work with minimal fuss.

Do you have a place to build a mast?

The current mast on “So It Goes” should have taken me a week to build. The reality was it took a lot longer, and it was a nightmare to build. I was building in a parking lot with zero protection from the elements. I had to stop whenever it rained or seemed like it would rain, which was just about every day. The landlord of the property made the task worse. He really didn’t want me building there, which fostered a very negative workspace. My spar bench was “bumped” regularly in the parking lot, causing me to re-level the bench/molds before getting to the actual work.

I really should have found a better place to build, as it would have saved me both money, aggravation, and with a better built mast to boot.

some lug nut thoughts...

First of all If you have a boat with a working Bermuda rig keep in mind that it seldom makes sense to do a new rig (Lug, Junk,Crab Claw, or whatever). Remember the "Don't fix it if it's not broken" rule.

Now, if on the other hand, the CAL 29 you're thinking of getting has no sails, the rigging is shot, and your mast has seen better days a change to a simpler rig just might make a lot of sense.

With me so far?

OK, here's what you need to know about lug rigs...

For starters there are three main types of lug sails which are the Dipping lug, Standing lug, and the Balanced lug. While all three are excellent rigs I'm of the considered opinion that the Balanced lug makes the most sense for a cruising boat.

So, what do I like about this Bolger Balanced lug rig?

1. It's simple. All you need is a mast, sail, a halyard, a sheet, and a few blocks. The mast is free standing and requires no rigging or associated hardware.
2. Being a square sail the center of effort is lower than in a Bermuda rig which results in less heeling forces.
3. It's a powerful sail for not a lot of money.
4. The balanced lug rig is self-vanging which makes for docile handling.

What's not to like? 

Well for starters, if you want an affordable free standing mast and the associated boom/yard you'll have to build it yourself. That said, the cost of said mast and spars is a lot less than an aluminum stick and associated wire/hardware needed for the Bermuda rig. Better yet the learning curve for mast building is not so difficult and a rather enjoyable pursuit. Still it is a rather daunting project for a lot of folks.

The Balanced lug rig, while being fairly evolved, could certainly use a bit of improvement to bring it into the current century. Most of which is already in use readily available with a bit of thought and research.

Over the years my thinking about sailing across oceans with a cat rigged boat have evolved somewhat as has my thought process in terms of building free standing spars but we'll get into that in some depth next time.

in search of a simple rig...

Sailboat rigs are a problematic conundrum where VolksCruisers are concerned. For starters, most rigs on classic plastic boats have rigs that have evolved from designs for racing. They’re over-complicated, prone to failure, and expensive, which is not the sort of rig you want when voyaging on a budget.

Adapting rigs to be simpler, more affordable, and less expensive is no simple task, which may cause an extended stay in a room with padded walls. While it can be done, the easier route is where you build a new rig.

While there are many varied rigs to consider, I’ll just mention four.

The various permutations of the lug rig are a good place to start. In particular, I’ll opine that the balanced lug rig is a great voyaging rig. It’s as simple as you can get and uses hardly any hardware. On our Bolger Jessie Cooper, it only needed two lines (halyard and sheet), required no winches and only one block. The sail was powerful, easily pushing Loose Moose above hull speed. Better yet, the entire rig was repairable with materials available anywhere.

Then there’s the junk rig, which is really just a balanced lug with a lot of battens and cordage added to the equation. It’s not as powerful as the balanced lug, but it’s easier to reef, which is the principal attraction for most of the junk aficionados I know.

The gaff rig is more complicated than the various lug rigs, but it’s a simple and powerful low stress rig based on old-tech that has a lot of advantages.

Last, I’ll throw the Simplicity rig into the hat. It’s simple, powerful, and even looks like what people actually expect a modern sailboat rig to look like. It’s what we have on “So It Goes” and it makes sense in the world of evolved rig designs of the simple sort..

 

The big issue with simple voyaging rigs is that they seldom exist on boats that are for sale. If you want one, you’ll have to build it yourself.

Of course, if you’re like me and cheap, you’ll find the idea of either hassling with the sale of the existing rig or throwing the rig away to be counter-productive to your mental health. Which is why, for me at least, the perfect boat to buy is one unencumbered by rig and rigging.

The thing is, any of the aforementioned rigs are easy to build, won’t cost a lot of money compared to “modern” mast/sails, and they are easier to maintain in the long haul. They’re also less prone to failure, which makes all the difference in the world.

and in the best rig for a VolkCruiser department...

Yann Quenet showing off a balanced lug roller reefing set up.

A blast from the past on junk rig...

A Freedom cat ketch adapted to junk rig

 I wrote this back in 2008 on Boat Bits but it seems to have held up for the most part...

I suppose the minute you say lug rig that everyone assumes you are talking about the "Junk" rig which is certainly a type of lug rig but somewhat outside the mainstream lugs...so we might just get the whole junk rig thing out of the way and as good as any place to start.

Colvin...Hasler...Van Loan..Mcleod important names for Lug nuts as all were big proponents of the junk rig in the early days and for a host of very good reasons you would be safe to follow their lead...The Junk rig certainly makes a lot of sense for a lot of people who sail.

The big thing about the junk rig is of course it is a docile rig... Stress free if you will...Its an easy rig to sail (but a very easy rig to sail badly and it is important to know the difference between the two) and there is a rather steep learning curve if you actually want to get the performance possible with the rig. Make no mistake this is not a Bermudan rig and if you try to sail it like one you will find that it will behave just like all of its detractors say it will...BADLY.

Its also a cheap rig and DIY safe on all levels so building it from mast to sails is well within even the most ham fisted tyros reach! Sounds perfect for folks like me...and did I mention CHEAP?

Of course you hear a lot of bad stuff about junk rigs and almost all of it from people who have never sailed a junk rig and many who have never even seen a junk rig sailing...This is not an unimportant fact when you consider that 95% of the information you receive via word of mouth on things junk is in fact pretty bogus. Luckily we have access to a lot of excellent information from those who really know what they speak of...

Which brings us back to the names Colvin, Hasler, Mcleod, and Van Loan who all were nice enough to sit down and write excellent books on the subject so we would not have to figure it out all by ourselves.

Thomas Colvin has written a slew of books on sailing, cruising and building boats and anything he says you can pretty much take to the bank. Not a man who feels the need to follow the herd or bend to market pressure he is very much the real deal and unlike so many Naval Architects has actually built boats, lived aboard and cruised which in my book puts him way at the front of the herd and when he says something you can take it for granted that it's based on real experience. Sadly Tom Colvin is no longer with us and a lot of his books are now out of print but I believe are available used if you put in the effort to find them. A visit to Abe's books might be in order to chase down a copy of "Sailmaking: Making Chinese and other sails : Sailing Chinese Junks and Junk-rigged vessels" .

McLeod / Hasler wrote the most excellent "Practical Junk Rig" which is a thing of beauty almost a Coffee Table book on the subject and again written by a couple of guys who walk the talk and a tome that is needful to anyone considering or sailing the junk rig.

My favorite though is the very simple, Tract like and easily understood "The Chinese Sailing Rig - Design and Build Your Own Junk Rig" by Eric Van Loan which is short and very much to the point. Just what you need if you have a CAL 28 ( or whatever) and decide you want to design and build a junk rig for it that will WORK!

While the Van Loan book is my favorite (I do love simple!) and would be my choice if I were limited to one source, to be honest if you are going to do the Junk rig thing right you really need all three as they together pretty much contain all available information in book form on the rig and it is all needful information.

I should add at this point that there is the excellent Junk Rig Association which which is the best source of cutting edge development in what is trending in junk rig development.

While not really about the junk rig Annie Hills book "Voyaging on a Small Income" just might be the best book to read and get you started on the Junk express as it has a lot of Junk content and gives you a very good view of what sailing with a Junk Rig is all about...Annie Hill shows just what can be done with a simple Benford designed plywood boat called Badger and a junk rig on a budget. If you ever need a good example to throw in the face of someone who is going on about junk rigs being not a viable option just bring out the Badger card ...Works every time!

Some junk rig evolution of note...

The current JRA Newsletter (#85) has a very interesting article on building a junk sail by Paul McKay that has me thinking long and hard in terms of rigs for VolkCruisers.

 

For me, the concept of a VolksCruiser is really all about simplicity in all of its various forms. Lug rigs in general are simple to use, simple to rig, have simple hardware requirements, and only require a minimal sail inventory. Even better is that lug rigs can be doused or reefed easily and, being so simple, there is bugger all to go wrong. 

Throw in the fact that all of that simplicity makes lug rigs very inexpensive and DIY friendly and you've got a pretty compelling reason in favor of a lug rig.

Now, in general, I've favored balanced and dipping lug sails over junk rigs mostly because they're simpler (all those battens, lots of line, and various blocks/euphroes) and develop more power than junk rigs. However the evolution of junk rigs into cambered sails of late has made the modern junk rig more powerful than its flat panel counterpart and while still less powerful than a balanced or dipping lug the difference is less of a factor now.

So, here's the thing about the Origami Rig article in the JRA Newsletter that has me all excited...

The biggest problem people have in terms of sewing and building a sail is the simple fact that sewing up a 300-400 square foot sail of any kind is no simple task as you need lots of room and the logistics of sewing something that big is at best really really problematic to the max.

Which is why coming across an article on a different way to build a cambered split junk rig sail with a method that makes it both simple and can be used in a small space makes me sit up and pay attention. Not only would a sail made this way be easier to build but it would also be easier to maintain and repair.

Color me very impressed and thinking about designing a more hybrid junk rig that would incorporate my current staysail and jib for a junk cutter of sorts.

Anyway, it's an article you really should read and a great reason to join the JRA so you can get your hands on it.

Color me simplistic...

The other day a friend wrote me complaining that the boat project he was thinking of building was getting scary expensive and he used winches as an example. The winches spec'd out for his design, even with a deep discount added up to somewhere just shy of $7K.

Quite an "ouch" factor for a small boat less than thirty feet...

Of course, being an aficionado of alternative rigs, I was quick to point out that it would be easy to adapt the design to balanced lug and dispense with the winches entirely. This would also get rid of the not insubstantial cost of standing rigging as well.

In his case I'd still fly a small blade jib set flying because it's a big help with balance but mostly because a small jib does wonders for the balanced lugs windward performance with the only downside being the addition of a forestay and running backs.

Not that I expect him to go with the balanced lug but it does give you an idea that if you want to save serious money on a boat it makes all kinds of sense to think simple...

Where's Spock when you need him...

Logic is a funny thing...

Especially when it's connected with boats. For instance, a friend recently wrote about changing a gaff cat rigged boat into a junk schooner. His reasons for such a conversion were listed as the single sail was too big to be easily handled, possibly better balance of the schooner rig, and the ease of reefing the junk sails.

I sorta/kinda agree... It's logical in fact.

The problem is, it's logical in a sorta/kinda way.

Take the smaller sized sails of the schooner rig in place of the big gaff rig sail. If you were replacing it with a reasonable facsimile schooner rig it would work in your favor. However, if you were replacing it with two smaller junk sails you'd more than likely find yourself with two sails that each weigh as much or more as the bigger gaff cat sail. The big single sail would make it easier to handle and weigh less than two smaller sails. Me, being cheap and all, I tend to focus on the fact that you'll also wind up more than doubling the cost of your rig...

Which is not to say I don't really like the junk rig or think it makes all kinds of sense. It is a great rig. The problem comes in when you don't think a rig through to it's logical conclusion. Keep in mind that anything you do in terms of boat design/redesign is always going to be a compromise and have a downside somewhere in the mix. Most people's boat logic tend to exclude the compromise and downside part and include a lot of rose colored views.

Another issue is that the schooner rig is going to play havoc with the boats interior, result in some expensive modifications, and actually add to the boats complexity and make it more difficult to balance rather than easier... sadly without a gain in performance for your trouble and expense.

So, we're kind of left with the "junk rig is easier to reef" advantage but there are any number of ways to make the single big gaff easier to reef or alternative rigs that would cost less and work better in the situation...

So, what would logic dictate?

Anyone who knows me knows I really like the junk rig, though I do admit to thinking that the western balanced lug rig is way better on nearly every point (but, that's a conversation we can have later) and I think it makes all kinds of sense especially when you're starting with a boat that is a new build or requires a rig to be replaced.

Which sorta/kinda brings us around to the fifth rule of VolksCruisng...

                                          Don't fix it if it ain't broke.

a cheap rig...

So, let's say the guy selling the skipjack were to lower the price by 33% which would make it a whole lot more attractive...

Obviously a cheap boat has issues and needs stuff fixed, replaced, and upgraded and that costs money and that can get seriously nuts. For instance, it's a given that the sails need replacing as well as the running and standing rigging which will run more than what the boat cost new. All of a sudden that cheap fixer-upper is starting to look real expensive.

A sensible approach to such a dilemma is to put a simpler rig on the boat and dispense with all the stuff you don't actually need because the less you need the less it costs.

Now, I've made no secret that my favorite rig is the balanced lug rig because it is the most bang for the buck. In case you're hazy about what it looks like, here a picture of Tad Robert's Harry 2...

Right away we can see there's NO STANDING RIGGING. That's a huge cost savings as there's no wire/turnbuckles/staloks/tangs/chainplates or other expensive rigging bits... Better yet, there is a lot less to fail so it's safer. There's also a lot less running rigging as a halyard and a sheet is all you really need.

This rig also does not need a lot in the way of expensive deck hardware either. No big winches or vangs (the rig is self-vanging) so you're saving money there as well.

The downsides are you'll have to build your own masts which is actually pretty easy but a great number of folks have a fear/phobia of spar building. It's a bit of a head trip for some folks and, as it is a different rig, there is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to actually sailing it.

Just about all of the above can be said for the junk rig which is really the same rig just one that's evolved a little differently and has a lot more running rigging in the mix.

Me, I'm all for the whole less-is-more thing so the western balanced lug makes the most sense to me.

The two books I find indispensable for converting a classic plastic boat to lug rig are "The Chinese Sailing Rig - Design and Build Your Own Junk Rig" by Eric Van Loan and "Practical Junk Rig" by H. G. Hasler and J. K. McLeod. Another couple of needful books that will earn their keep are Thomas Colvin's "Sailmaking: Making Chinese and other sails : Sailing Chinese Junks and Junk-rigged vessels" and "The Sailmaker's Apprentice" by Emiliano Marino.

a simple, effective, and versatile rig...

An excellent article about what just might be the closest thing to a perfect VolksCruiser rig...

VolksCruiser friendly rigs...

The successful VolksCruiser is not just about spending less for stuff. A lot of it has to do with thinking how sailboats work. That said, if you actually suss out how/why sailboats work and act on your findings. It's a pretty safe bet that you'll wind up saving money if you do.

For instance, you'd think that the most commonly used rig in sailing would also be the most logical rig... Common sense right?

As it happens, a while back, someone by the name of Tony Marchaj did a study of how boats work with a special emphasis on rigs and the results were exactly what most people who sail would never dream of. Heresy upon heresy such as the fact that lug and gaff rigs would outpoint a Bahamian sloop (the rig 99% of folks use). No opinions, just plain old scientific method.

Marchaj's book "Aero-Hydrodynamics of Sailing" pretty much spells out the gory details (and is well worth the read) but the reason I mention this is that it proves that not only is it OK to use an alternative rig like junk, balanced lug, or gaff but it really makes sense to do so.

My personal favorite is the balanced lug because it is simple, cheap, and has pretty much zip in the way of things that break or fail. Throw in the fact that it has more power per square foot of sail area than the Bahamian sloop rig at a fraction of the cost, it makes lots of sense for anyone but for someone on a budget, it's pretty much a slam dunk.

Another rig that makes a lot of sense for the VolksCruiser crowd is the junk... Not quite as powerful as the balanced lug but with a slew of advantages that makes it a pretty equal choice when all is said and done. For me, the choice hinges on whether you like to fiddle with line or not... I'm lazy so the balanced lug tends to win out.