Hi everyone,
after beeing fascinated by the junk rig for a couple of years now, I finally acquired a boat which is small enough for me to start junk rig experiments: a Maxi 77. Being subscribed to the JRA for a year or two now, it feels like the right time to really start that project.
I've been looking to a lot of files in the archives, and it is absolutely stunning! There is so much information, a really lot of interesting stuff. I already want to say a huge thank you to everyone contributing. With those information at hand, it should really be doable.
To me: I am a shipbuilding engineer at just about 30, located in Kiel, Northern Germany (please excuse my english...). A few years ago, me and my girlfriend took our ancient two-masted Beneteau Evasion 32 for a year to discover the french canals and sail through Denmark. Having worked a lot in fluid dynamics and some basic yacht design, I now kind of get the point why this moving air around me is drawing my boat forward...
Saying that, I absolutely feel drawn to the split junk. It just makes sense from an aerodynamic view. Probably best being combined with camber. However, I feel a bit reluctant to start my "junk rig career" with one of the most modern, high-tech designs. Maybe start with a simple junk first, there will be still enough to learn on the way. Cambered panels might be a good compromise... don't know yet, still have to decide which way to go.
Though I am fully convinced of the junk, it will be a good idea to actually having sailed a junk rig befor digging into such a huge project. Therefore, I am hoping to get to know junk rig enthusiasts around the german northern coasts. Maybe there will be an option to join on an evening sail or something. An hour or so would be absolutely enough, just to get a feeling :) I am in good contact with Ingo with his "Atropos" in Kiel, but he is quite busy right now. Same for "Vertue 2" of Lübeck... Some five years ago there was an aluminium Reinke called "Fledermaus", two-masted junk rig, located in Flensburg, but she was sold (to whom?).
When my junk project proceeds, I am pretty sure that more questions will arise. Also, I am trying to give some update now and then. But for now, I would be really happy if someone could help me out with a sailing contact around here.
So long,
Paul