The Drascombe Lugger

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  • 02 Oct 2026 15:47
    Reply # 13727262 on 13724268
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Richard,
    Let’s have a look at the forces involved at the mast partners and step - building strong enough mast steps and partners for that little rig isn’t rocket science.

    To save time, I start with this known number as a reference:

    In a 10m/s (about 20knots) wind, the dynamic air pressure is about 61Newton/m2 which equals to about 6.2kp/m2.

    Since we know that this pressure varies with the square of the wind strength, we can easily find the dynamic pressure in a 6m/s wind. This is the strongest wind you will sail in before dropping the first panel. The total force in the sail is pressure times sail area (13.2sqm), and thus

    Force F = 6.2kp x / (6/10)2 x 13.2 = 29.5kp (sail force at CE)

    The vertical distance from the CE to the mast step is 3.57m, so the heeling moment will be
    M = 29.5kp  x 3.57m = 105kpm

    To keep the mast from falling over, it is supported at the partners which sit 0.67m above the step.
    This much shorter arm means that the horizontal force at the partners will be

    FP = 105kpm / 0.67m = 157kp.
    The forces at the mast step will be similar.

    Multiply with 3 to get about what a mast partners must stand to be on the safe side:

    157kp x 3 = 471kp. It should not be difficult to make either partners or mast step exceeding this number. Remember, the forces are almost entirely horizontal. Unlike in a stayed Bermuda rig, there is no compression forces to speak of.

    Here is how I rigged my Broremann (in 2009 and 2011). I guess the forces generated by her rig would be 2/3 or ¾ of those in a Drascombe lugger.

    Note: This is a rough calculation. There is no guarantee that the actual CP sits near the geometrical CE. This is why I multiply the needed strength with 3 to be on the safe side. Anyway, the shown partners and mast step in Broremann showed no sign of being stressed...

    Arne


    Last modified: 02 Oct 2026 21:28 | Anonymous member (Administrator)
  • 01 Oct 2026 20:20
    Reply # 13726073 on 13724268

    Arne's sketch is exactly it but with a mizzen to help, together with the centreboard.

    My big big problem lies with strengthening the foot and the partners of a new mast.  There are  rumors that others have rerigged  a Lugger and i crave their hard won experience.  Suggestions so far are to build up the area either side of the current mast socket with hardwood blocks glassed in but what to i do about fore and aft stress.  It has been suggested that I use knees to support the partners but there is no way to the hull without going through lockers.

  • 01 Oct 2026 20:15
    Reply # 13726067 on 13724268

    Arne's sketch is exactly it but with a mizzen to help, together with the centreboard.

    My big big problem lies with strengthening the foot and the partners of a new mast.  There are  rumors that others have rerigged  a Lugger and i crave their hard won experience.  Suggestions so far are to build up the area either side of the current mast socket with hardwood blocks glassed in but what to i do about fore and aft stress.  It has been suggested that I use knees to support the partners but there is no way to the hull without going through lockers.

  • 01 Oct 2026 14:04
    Reply # 13725584 on 13724268
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Something like this?
    (PS: I meant to skip the mizzen. If you look up the full size sailplan, you will see that the CE of the JR sits just a little forward of the original yawl rig.)

    Arne


    (full size drawing under Arne's sketches, section 9-23)


    Last modified: 03 Oct 2026 19:17 | Anonymous member (Administrator)
  • 30 Sep 2026 23:00
    Reply # 13724731 on 13724268
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    I think you could do it.

    There are two reasons why it is normally not possible to put a junk rig onto an existing bermudan (or gunter) mast.

    The first is that the mast itself will probably not be suitable. A junk rig really needs a free-standing mast, not necessarily as tall as a bermudan, but larger in diameter, capable of standing without the support of rigging, and generally mounted on the keel, supported by suitable deck structure, partners etc. A mast designed for standing rigging is usually not strong enough without it. That is an engineering problem, which you would need to solve by finding a suitable mast or tube, and ensuring strong enough partners at deck level. For example, you might be able to make a hybrid mast from a suitable piece of aluminium tube for the lower part, and using your existing short gunter mast, for the upper part. There is plenty of information available on this site, on the subject of hybrid masts. There are also other solutions for a home-made free standing mast.

    The second problem is one of geometry. The replacement sail plan must have a geometric centre (CE) which approximately matches the CE of your existing yawl rig. (Otherwise, you will have too much weather helm or too much lee helm). It usually results in having to shift the mast position forward - it is rare to find an existing mast position which suits.

    However, you have some trump cards to play.

    Let us leave aside the mizzen sail for the moment and focus on the gunter sloop rig which would be replaced by the junk rig. You would need to find a junk sail design which would suit that mast position, with a CE matching the CE of your existing mainsail and staysail. I made a rough sketch based on a sailplan I found on the internet, but you would need to make a better drawing with a bit more accuracy. Most junk rigs have a CE through which a vertical line will run approximately through the half way point of the boom. You fit that CE to coincide with the CE of your sloop sail plan – and then observe where the mast lies in relation to the sail.

    Now, here is the tricky bit – the mast will divide the junk sail into two parts. The ratio of sail area forward of the mast centreline, with the area of sail aft of the centreline, is a ratio called the “balance”. Most junk sails have a balance somewhere in the range of 10% to 25% (with some extreme examples outside of this range) and it is this “balance” which will determine what type of junk sail (if any) will fit this mast position. A rough example (as shown here) suggests to me that the “balance” of a junk sail to suit your yawl mainmast position, will need to be at the extreme end of the range – 35% or a little more. Or, to put it another way, most junk sails will end up being too far aft, to suit the geometry of your yawl sail plan.

    Your case is special: because of the mizzen sail, your main mast is further forward than normal.

    One solution is to dispense with the mizzen altogether and design an entirely new single-mast junk rig based on your existing mainmast position. It is my guess that one of Arne’s “Johanna” sail plans would fit perfectly. An accurate drawing would soon prove whether this is or is not the case.

    Another solution, if you want to still have the yawl rig, is to find a junk sail which matches just the gunter (main) part of your rig. That will likely require a sail which has more “balance” ie more sail area forward of the mast, than a conventional Johanna type. It is possible that a “split junk rig” (SJR) would fit. I have superimposed a scaled down version of Slieve’s Amiina SJR sail which has a “balance” of 33 - 35% (the maximum possible). I think it is still likely to be slightly too far aft, but I think it would work if you were to reduce the mizzen sail area a little – or increase the SJR a little. Also, with a dinghy, you do have a little bit of flexibility with the way you deploy your centreboard, and how you trim the boat.

    The Johanna planform and the Amiina planform are both well-tried and proven junk sail types, with documentation available, which people have made themselves. (Junk sails are not necessarily well-understood by ordinary sailmakers - a warning here, do not entrust this job to a sailmaker unless they are experienced at making a junk sail. Most are not.) 

    Those are the broad ideas you need to consider. If you were to respond to this by being a little more explicit about what you want and what you feel capable of, together with a decent drawing of your existing sail plan, preferably with your CE of your existing yawl rig marked on it, my guess is that in your special case a junk rig can be found which matches that existing mainmast position. I happen to rather like the Amiina SJR, though your most straight-forward solution, in my humble opinion, would be one of Arne’s Johanna sails, probably without the mizzen.

    PS a rather delightful junk yawl rig was designed some years ago by an experienced sailmaker in New Zealand (Paul Thompson) using a somewhat different "fanned" junk sail planform. The masts are at each end of the boat. It was very successful, and here is a short video of it sailing home from a junk rig meet - we call these meetings "junkets".Freebie Sails Home

    I am sure you will find a solution.


  • 30 Sep 2026 17:50
    Message # 13724268

    I am here because I get easily bored.  Years ago I had a Moody Eclipse and before that a Halcyon 27 and before that an 18footer. . I learned to sail in the shallow waters of the Thames Estuary and the southern North Sea. Later I wandered about in the Mediterranean. 

    That's all behind me now, only dreams and logbooks remain. I am old and fat and I foolishly like messing about in boats.  Last winter I electrified my Lugger  ( That was an epic given my limited knowledge of electricity). Now why not re rig to a junk. A Junk yawl

    What could be easier. Use the existing masts, take off the shrouds, a little thickening here and there a few blocks. Get the sails made for me and few more years....

    It seems that it may not be as easy as that. I though that adapting a Lugger could be easy, but nobody seems to have done it. There are problems.  The mast while having a firm footing on the keel and a handy thwart to strap it cannot be moved forward or back.  The CLR depends...


    Help, please help. Where do i start?

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