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banking remains in the UK we are run by an increasingly international Committee via the Internet. A number of posts become vacant every year, at the AGM, so if you choose to join you could also put your name forward to help run the 'club'. It doesn't run itself. Our membership is now more than 50% outside the UK. Click the chart for detail.
August 2020 Applecross
by Martin Roberts
Applecross was hand-built in Arnside, her name a reminder
of the builder's honeymoon. An almost textbook example of a Phil Bolger “Micro”, her original rig was a yawl, using two leg-o’mutton sails. She always sailed well, but reefing was a weak point with the already low boom descending to head-removing heights.
I’d read several books in the library about different rigs before coming across Practical Junk Rig. I was smitten: I had a solid boat that could be transformed and Bolger had even drawn his version of the rig for an articles. I’d exchanged letters with the great man and now set about creating a junk rig by stepping the mainmast further into the hull. To get the most out of her 15’6” length, Phil had put the mainmast right in the bows, with a small mizzen on the stern rail, offset to starboard to accommodate the engine. Although small, the boat has two 6’6” bunks, built-in buoyancy, and a cockpit. All the modifications made for junk rig, were designed to be reversible, but it was unnecessary, because she sails well. The extra panel I added gave me light air performance benefits over her original rig.
One of the most amazing things about the Micro is how easy she is to balance. I got so used to sailing without holding the tiller, that when sailing on other boats, I kept letting go! Her party trick of being able to tack simply by my moving gently around the deck still makes me smile. Nor does she heel, when you stand on one side, although I’ve heard if she goes right over on her side, she will stay like that for a while. I haven’t experimented! The small mizzen allows you to adjust course by tightening or loosening the sheet.
Her new, blue sail was a £12 builders’ tarpaulin. I protected it with a canvas cover: with hindsight I should have just made the sail out of the canvas. Making the sail to Hasler’s design took a few weeks. I used wooden battens that ended up being too bendy, which I rectified by adding bundles of garden canes, using cable ties, which allowed me to put the flexibility where I wanted it.
The sail is completely flat, but the light 'sail-cloth' allowed for some billowing and the twist of the sail always looked amazing. Of course, reefing was now simple, and the trips to Bradwell for the JRA rallies were a highlight.
For the last few seasons, Applecross has been stored ashore, while I sail a Wharram cat, but I still hanker for the safe feeling of instantaneous reefing and the way she sailed.
Applecross looks strange with her slab sides and her mongrel rig, but the design is still up there with the best. Phil Bolger’s death was a great loss to the sailing community.
