Hi Guys,
This looks like an interesting thread and it will be interesting to see how things develop. I'm not trying to rock the boat (sorry) but I would like to make a couple of points purely because the letters SJR have appeared.
Let me explain where I am coming from, but first the stats. on some dinghies I will refer to.
Boat |
LOA m |
LOA Feet |
Beam m |
Beam Feet |
SailArea sq.m |
Sail Area sq.ft |
Weight Lbs |
Length/ Beam |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wayfarer |
4.827 |
15.84 |
1.855 |
6'1” |
11.61 |
125 |
373 |
2.60 |
Wanderer |
4.3 |
14'0” |
1.8 |
5'11” |
10.7 |
115 |
291 |
2.39 |
Enterprise |
4.04 |
13'3” |
1.6 |
5'3” |
10.7 |
115 |
|
2.53 |
SibLim 4m |
4 |
13'1” |
1.22 |
4'0” |
5.9 |
63.5 |
|
3.28 |
Golden bay |
3.9 |
12'9” |
1.3 |
4'4” |
6.9 |
74.3 |
|
3.00 |
Mirror Dinghy |
3.3 |
10'10” |
1.39 |
4'7” |
6.5 |
70 |
100 |
2.37 |
Bumble Bee |
|
8'5” |
|
4' |
|
|
~ 60 |
2.10 |
Optimist |
2.36 |
7'9” |
1.12 |
3'8” |
2.26 |
35 |
|
2.11 |
The Wayfarer is a much respected cruising dinghy, and the Wanderer was designed as a lighter version for the same job. The Mirror Dinghy is another popular boat that is sometimes used for dinghy cruising, and all three get mentions by the Dinghy Cruising Association. All three of these have good static stability. The Enterprise is a design I raced for a number of years and will mention below. The Optimist is the baby of the list, but the rig is of interest. The Jack Holt Bumble Bee will be mentioned later.
Looking back over a life time of falling into and out of dinghies I cannot remember ever taking a reef in one. Taking the Enterprise which is a competitive one design class but not overly high performance boat, but it is remarkably similar to the two boats above it but just a little less stable. We raced it is conditions from, 'Are we moving?' to 'Are we totally mad?' and all with the full standard main/ jib rig.
In a keel boat in the extreme conditions we would reef, but in a crew ballasted boat it is the movable ballast that keeps the boat upright, and I mean upright. As the wind gets stronger it is more important to keep the hull directly below the mast or a capsize will be staring you in the face. When the wind is too strong for the crew weight to keep it upright then it is up to the helmsman to play the sheet and spill wind and continue to drive the boat. Dead runs are not on so tacking down wind is the order of the day. The windy gybe is fine, as long as it is not attempted exactly at the gybe mark, but by taking a sweeping turn it can be done with completely slack sheet when the boat is at maximum speed in a lull rather than when the boat is at lower speed from a lull and the wind has gusted up again, and the pressure on the rig is much higher.
I know this is teaching granny about eggs, but it is not the wind strength that causes the problems in a dinghy. It is the gusts that catch a dinghy out. If it is a strong wind day then a cruising dinghy can set out with a reduced rig if desired, but the gusts have to be handled by shifting the crew weight and easing the sheet quickly. It is unlikely that reefs would be adjusted frequently in a dinghy.
The one boat in the list above that could reduce sail easily would probably be the Optimist, where the sprit could be dropped to let the top half of the sail collapse quickly. A two line system could be rigged to release the peak and pull it down towards the tack.
What I'm suggesting here is that it would seem unwise to sail a small crew ballasted boat in windy conditions with a main sheet that would not let fly immediately, and I feel a junk sheeting system might be too slow in a small dinghy.
I fully recognise the interest in trying a small junk rig, but before I bought Poppy I had already started to install the free standing mast into a Mirror dinghy when I realised this, and that there would be far too much sewing required for a 70 sq.ft rig. The Mirror is a very stable design, but if capsized it can be exhausting to get up and climb back on board (single handed).
I included the Jack Holt Bumble Bee above because of its rig. You could describe it as a one panel SJR. The jib is simply barrel cut with no broadseam built into the corners, but either way there seemed to be little drive from the jib when I saw one sailing. I reckon a simple balanced lug would be more practical, with a simple main sheet. It will be interesting to see what Arne comes up with if he plays with a cambered panel and varies the balance.
I've listed the length/beam ratio above simply because this ratio tends to reduce as LOA decreases. Simply scaling a design down tends to result is a narrower boat than desired. With only human ballast and quick sheeting to keep a dinghy upright then extra bean just might make it easier for a light non-energetic crew to keep the boat on its feet. The Mirror Dinghy is a remarkably practical dinghy, and at 100 lb could be loaded on the roofrack of a Renault 5 by one person (when I was younger). With a LOA/Beam of 2.37 I found it a remarkable boat, and I wish I had one now.
Please note that I'm only offering these as points to ponder.
Cheers, Slieve.