Hi all,
My hands-on experience with the junk rig is nil. All I know is from reading and talking. I attended a rally once in 1997 I think. I started sailing on optimist 40 years ago and I think I know how to sail a boat.
I have a renewed interest for the junk rig and I have been doing a lot of reading recently, mostly in the fora, but also in the technical files. For sure I am not done yet.
My plan is to junk rig a Shark 24 http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=44, sort of J24 of the 6os.
The original bermudan rig carries 240 sqft of sail on a fairly short mast. I want to have at least that area.
It is a racing boat and there are big fleets in Ontario and in the German speaking countries.
But several copies have been sailed across the Atlantic and Pacific short handed and many regularly cruise the Med and the Baltic.
It is a slender boat and probably displacement-wise (1 ton) more comparable to a 21 footer.
It may not be the typical boat you would junk rig but it is available and has other advantages for me, e.g. speed, trailer-ability, price, non-cored construction, transom hung rudder.
I will be sailing mostly hard on the wind in less than 10 knots (force 3). That's what happens when you daysail because you have to come back.
I want it to perform upwind in 3 knots of wind at least as well as the bermudan version.
I now have at least 5 broad choices and all variations in between:
Slieve's split sail
Arne's quilted sail
David's fanned sail
Kurt's flat sail (Hasler McLeod) with some fanning in the upper panels and some cambering in the lower panels
Paul's wishboned sail
I like the split rig because of the balance it offers downwind.
The quilted sail seems to perform well and is easy to make.
I love the look of the fanned sail, it's a low aspect ratio and develops some camber through form.
The modified flat sail as advocated by Kurt is close to the original HML (Hasler McLeod) design.
I am intrigued by the wishbone design.
I am pretty sure that I don't want to experiment too much though I am sure that I will create a model before embarking on the full scale project.
The 3 first mentioned choices offer good support to make the rig.
I am hoping with this new topic that the proponents will help find my rig and discuss my intended boat platform in conjunction with the rig. I am also hoping that this will help others to choose their rig.
Thanks for your input,
Thierry