Graham wrote:Ah yes, of course, Annie.  That is a very good reason, though as you say, perhaps irrelevant today.  For the same reason it always used to be said one should have the galley on the port side of a vessel, so it would be to leeward when you were hove-to on the starboard tack.  Irrelevant or not, I like staying in touch with tradition.  Thank you.

I've never really understood the idea that it's better to lean against the counter rather than to sit comfortably in the galley strap - unless, of course, your cooker is fore and aft, in which case you are in the direct line of fire should a pot spill.  I've always found it quite uncomfortable to spend an hour leaning against my hip or my stomach when I'm cooking at sea.

I like keeping in touch with these traditions, too - they add an extra dimension for me.

It sounds like there are two reasons to stop thinking about this.  

1)  Doesn't really matter in terms of sailing or handling.  

2) Doesn't really matter in terms of cockpit usability. 

A decision without a consequence.  My favorite type!

I'll keep it on the port side simply because that's the way I've been visualizing it for so long that switching will nearly guarantee reversal errors when I start making it.

Bill F. wrote:

I always assumed that lug sails were generally hung on the port side of the mast so the right handed majority could work at the mast more easily while holding the sheet in their left hand. It's certainly why my sail is on the port side of the mast.

Most of us, in the JRA, lead everything back to the cockpit or control hatch, so don't need to go near the mast.  The main reason that Jock and Blondie put the sail on the port side of the mast was so that if you needed to work on the rig while at sea, you could heave to on the starboard tack and have access to the battens etc.  You would then have right of way over all other vessels.

Of course, this was in the day when both those on ships and those on yachts knew what 'heave to' and 'starboard tack' meant and knew the Rules for the Prevention of Collision at Sea.  I wouldn't bet on either of them understanding any of the above these days, so the concept is probably irrelevant.

Scott, it really doesn't matter which side of the mast you rig the sail bundle.  If you were going to do a tradewind circumnavigation of the world, the stbd side might be better than the port, since the squared-out sail (running in the trades) would be to leeward of the mast for 75% of the circumnavigation, making it easier to reef downwind.  I often wonder if the PJR preference for rigging it on the port side is a northern hemisphere thing?  Rig it whatever side you wish!  It is true, as Arne points out, that the sail bundle does not need to lie fore and aft.  I always put mine out to the side, with a foreguy to hold it out and tensioned against the sheet, to stop the bundle moving and squeaking against the mast.  Very annoying when you are trying to sleep!  The main reason I swing it out though is because I have solar panels on my cockpit roof.

Makes sense.