Thank you for this research, John. Especially for finding the "Nautilus rig" plate in Baden Powell's Canoe Travelling

Certainly some inspiration for trailerable boats.

I especially like the quick release fitting!

You may be interested in Kevin's article "The Earliest Known Junks in the UK and Ireland" in Issue 95 of the JRA magazine (July 2024) and there will be a follow up with a bit more in the next issue (March 2025).

There are aspects of this Nautilus rig (let us call it the "batten-lug" rig) which will look familiar to modern day junkies. The lifts (which Kemp and Baden Powell refer to as "brails") being a case in point. The debate about whether or not the rig is a true Chinese junk rig becomes less relevant. 

It is clear that Baden Powell and Kemp were both quite familiar with Chinese sheeting, Kemp gives a good description of it, but both seem to consider it unnecessary on a small boat or canoe.

What I find interesting is that despite these authors being familiar with all the elements of a true Chinese rig, and for the most part turn them to their own advantage, neither of them seems to refer to the Chinese system of reefing nor appreciate the value and convenience of it in a small boat. The reefing systems shown in Kemp make use of the battens, and are ingenious - quite suitable and convenient for a small boat, I think.

Here is Kemp's batten-lug system of reefing, making use of the battens, but not the sheeting system (p417 Manual)

... but it is not as suitable and convenient as the Chinese system, in my opinion.

You might also be interested in two photographs taken from that period, of expatriates in China sailing in small boats - with similar plan forms - one with "batten-lug" reefing and the other evidently with true Chinese sheeting.

(The first photo shows an advantage of the batten-lug reefing on a small boat: it can reef "upwards" and provide deck clearance and better visibility)

The first is Dr James Laidlaw Maxwell, a missionary in Taiwan, with his canoe, reefed in batten-lug fashion. The other is also a missionary, Dr. John Otte, in Xiamen (then known by its colonial name Amoy) in his clinker dinghy with Chinese junk rig.

(Photos from a collection [Historic Chinese Photos] at Bristol University).

PS regarding Kemp's Manual, and Baden Powell's Canoeing, I have the PDFs (they can be downloaded from the links you provided - there is a PRF option). But not the missing plates - would need an original for that. I'll have a look at clipping out the relevant bits.