... And what about the lack of drama in all kinds of cases - when you're weighing anchor, when you're wanting to enter harbour slowly, etc. etc - the sails will quietly look after themselves when you don't need them, but will deliver the appropriate amount of drive when you do.
... And what about the way a junk rigged boat is much more easily sailed than a bermudan boat by a short-handed or single-handed crew.
   I've got used to sailing past bermudan rigged boats downwind, because it's too much trouble for them to pole out the foresail.
   I've got used to being the only boat sailing in difficult, variable conditions, because it's easier to turn the engine key than it is to turn the genoa winch handle.
   No, you're not ranting, Annie, just reminding us of what we fortunate junk rig sailors tend to take for granted.

Stavanger, Saturday

I am glad to see that the Hasler-McLoed (HM) rig has been moved into the "Sailplans – in current use". In fact one could have shown 3 - 4 such sailplans side by side with raising aspect ratios (AR) from the shown diagram and up to "Badger"s hi-AR sails. That is one fine thing with the HM rig; it is so easy to adjust the AR to fit the needs of different boats.

I regard Johanna’s rig to be nothing but a HM rig, quite similar to the "Sumner" rig (see PJR) with its 3 top panels and 70° yard. Hasler and McLeod here made a very clever cross between the horizontal panel sails and the fully fanned sails that both could be seen in China.

My sloop "Johanna" is so generously rigged than in a F6 she will be down at 4 panels and in a F7 she only carries 3 panels. In these conditions her sail has been transformed into a fully fanned sail with very moderate camber – and she performs very well. The yard is still peaked to 70° producing an effective luff. Only in "light" winds, F5 and below, will the parallel batten panels come into serious use. In other words; the lower panels become my "genoa 1" while the fanned top section becomes the "storm sail". It’s a paradox, but it works.

Arne

Graham Cox wrote: I agree with the sentiment that the Hasler Mcleod rig should not be relegated to rigs of the past.  I refer in particular to the final stage of development by the Hasler Mcleod partnership, with a flat sail and minimum control lines. Later developments of this rig with cambered panels or hinged battens take it into a different realm, one that Blondie Hasler may have ventured, as David suggests, given his innovative mind.  He actually pondered cambered sails in PJR, then commented that the implications of this development remained to be tested.  What his opinion of those implications would have been is open to conjecture.  Without a doubt, the developments of the rig post-Hasler have resulted in rigs with much improved windward ability.  Just how important that improved windward ability is to you is something for you to ponder.  It may well depend on what type of sailing you do, what sort of hull design you are sailing and perhaps even on your philosophy.  For me, the flat Hasler Mcleod sail still has a lot of charm.  It is possible to set it up with just four control lines, halyard, yard hauling parrel, luff hauling parrel and sheet.  Because of the diagonal tension in the flat sail, the battens always have positive stagger.  Given that minimising chafe of the sail is one of the challenges of junk sails, especially for offshore cruising, there is likely to be less chafe on a flat sail since the topping lifts, mast lifts etc do not press into it as much as they do with a cambered sail.  Hinged battens remove this argument but require proper engineering to be reliable.  The flat sail is also cheaper to build using less material and labour.  I am of the opinion that it may be easier to manage when reefing and unreefing on a dark and windy night.  As Michael Richey said, one has to ask oneself what the word "improvement" means to you.  I am a cruising sailor and have sailed most of my life on the sort of heavy, bluff-bowed boats that Joshua Slocum would have understood.  Sailing these boats to weather in the open sea is best done on a close reach, where the flat junk sail is at no particular disadvantage.  Even with the powerful bermudian rig on my current boat, I am unable to make much progress if I come up more that about 60 degrees.  When sailing to weather offshore, I just keep the boat moving, paying more attention to hull speed than course. Usually the wind changes after a day or two anyway. When offshore, I also tend to choose routes that give me predominantly fair winds.  For example, I once sailed 4000 miles from New Zealand to Tahiti, despite a rhumb line distance of 2500 miles, but never had the wind forward of the beam. On the Queensland coast, where I am currently cruising, I will motorsail if I need to make serious progress to windward.  Usually I seek an anchorage and relax.  I tend to sail north with the SE trades behind me in the autumn and south again with the northerlies in the spring.  Simplicity, less maintenance and low cost mean more to me than windward ability.  If I sailed with my local racing fleet I am sure I would choose differently.  If I was cruising on a windward flier I could be tempted by the new generation rigs too, though I am unlikely to make that choice.  I like my solid, bulletproof, comfortable boat and am willing to pay the price that choice entails, namely slowness to windward.  It is fast and powerful off the wind.  I also like the flat Hasler Mcleod sail and am willing to pay the price for that too.   I salute the innovators and watch their projects with avid interest.  However, for me, given the type of boat I sail, the way I cruise and my personal philosophy, honed on the "knee" of Slocum, Pidgeon, Moitessier, et al, the rugged simplicity and reliability of the flat Hasler Mcleod rig remains a valid choice.  If I had to write the description of the rig for the JRA website, I would say something like this:  This rig represents the ultimate development by the Hasler Mcleod partnership.  Later developments have resulted in rigs that have much improved windward efficiency, but some cruising sailors still prefer this rig, valuing simplicity and low cost over ultimate windward performance.

Well stated, Graham. You've gathered several cruising priorities into one bundle, so to speak. Best of luck with your conversion project, whatever style of sail. Nice-sized boat for it.

I agree with the sentiment that the Hasler Mcleod rig should not be relegated to rigs of the past.  I refer in particular to the final stage of development by the Hasler Mcleod partnership, with a flat sail and minimum control lines. Later developments of this rig with cambered panels or hinged battens take it into a different realm, one that Blondie Hasler may have ventured, as David suggests, given his innovative mind.  He actually pondered cambered sails in PJR, then commented that the implications of this development remained to be tested.  What his opinion of those implications would have been is open to conjecture.  Without a doubt, the developments of the rig post-Hasler have resulted in rigs with much improved windward ability.  Just how important that improved windward ability is to you is something for you to ponder.  It may well depend on what type of sailing you do, what sort of hull design you are sailing and perhaps even on your philosophy.  For me, the flat Hasler Mcleod sail still has a lot of charm.  It is possible to set it up with just four control lines, halyard, yard hauling parrel, luff hauling parrel and sheet.  Because of the diagonal tension in the flat sail, the battens always have positive stagger.  Given that minimising chafe of the sail is one of the challenges of junk sails, especially for offshore cruising, there is likely to be less chafe on a flat sail since the topping lifts, mast lifts etc do not press into it as much as they do with a cambered sail.  Hinged battens remove this argument but require proper engineering to be reliable.  The flat sail is also cheaper to build using less material and labour.  I am of the opinion that it may be easier to manage when reefing and unreefing on a dark and windy night.  As Michael Richey said, one has to ask oneself what the word "improvement" means to you.  I am a cruising sailor and have sailed most of my life on the sort of heavy, bluff-bowed boats that Joshua Slocum would have understood.  Sailing these boats to weather in the open sea is best done on a close reach, where the flat junk sail is at no particular disadvantage.  Even with the powerful bermudian rig on my current boat, I am unable to make much progress if I come up more that about 60 degrees.  When sailing to weather offshore, I just keep the boat moving, paying more attention to hull speed than course. Usually the wind changes after a day or two anyway. When offshore, I also tend to choose routes that give me predominantly fair winds.  For example, I once sailed 4000 miles from New Zealand to Tahiti, despite a rhumb line distance of 2500 miles, but never had the wind forward of the beam. On the Queensland coast, where I am currently cruising, I will motorsail if I need to make serious progress to windward.  Usually I seek an anchorage and relax.  I tend to sail north with the SE trades behind me in the autumn and south again with the northerlies in the spring.  Simplicity, less maintenance and low cost mean more to me than windward ability.  If I sailed with my local racing fleet I am sure I would choose differently.  If I was cruising on a windward flier I could be tempted by the new generation rigs too, though I am unlikely to make that choice.  I like my solid, bulletproof, comfortable boat and am willing to pay the price that choice entails, namely slowness to windward.  It is fast and powerful off the wind.  I also like the flat Hasler Mcleod sail and am willing to pay the price for that too.   I salute the innovators and watch their projects with avid interest.  However, for me, given the type of boat I sail, the way I cruise and my personal philosophy, honed on the "knee" of Slocum, Pidgeon, Moitessier, et al, the rugged simplicity and reliability of the flat Hasler Mcleod rig remains a valid choice.  If I had to write the description of the rig for the JRA website, I would say something like this:  This rig represents the ultimate development by the Hasler Mcleod partnership.  Later developments have resulted in rigs that have much improved windward efficiency, but some cruising sailors still prefer this rig, valuing simplicity and low cost over ultimate windward performance.

Consider that junk rigs have driven engineless boats for at least seven centuries.  I find it sad and funny that the Hasler-McLeod type of sail is not found in 'Sailplans - in current use' but is relegated to 'Sailplans - the early days' where it nestles in among related designs that are both recent and successful.