Conference unifix::sailing

    Is this rig similar to the rig for a windsurfer? If so I believe the
    name for this rig is a Marconi (sp?) rig. Still I believe it's a mast 
    and boom. Correct me if I'm wrong, I could be. I haven't seen the
    picture. 
    
    Geoff
    

>>>  The boom (or what I'm calling the boom) is not located on the foot of 
>>>  the sail. Instead, each boom appears to be one to two feet above the 
>>>  foot and terminates at a vertical spar. The mainsail and mizzen sail 
>>>  are double clewed and the clews attach to the ends of the vertical spar. 
>>>  The question is: what is this spar called? 

It's a sprit.  Sometimes, more commonly, they are angled up to hold the 
highest point of a quadrilateral sail (similar shape to a gaff sail), but 
can also be angled down to hold the clew and provide built-in vanging, as 
with a windsurfer sail.  If you see an ad for Jim Crawford's Melonseed in 
Small Boat Journal or in Messing About In Boats, you'll notice he has 
both sprits mounted on one sail.  Advantages include:  short mast and 
short spars (all fit inside the boat) while allowing decent sail area, 
sheeting control without drastically affecting curvature of the foot 
(efficiency on all points of sail), and simplicity of rigging -- it's all 
done by hand, using small lines called snotters at the inboard sprit ends,
on mast-mounted cleats which are the only hardware involved.

It's not clear to me what you mean by double-clewed; it implies either a 
quadrilateral sail with two distinct clew attachments (unlikely, it seems, 
though they have been made) or a single sail wrapped around the mast so 
that both clews are fixed by a single attachment.  If the latter, I 
presume there's a hole in the sail at the mast where the sprit is attached 
to it by means of the snotter.

Can you provide the name or type of the boat, or any information about it
from the calendar?  Some noters may know the rig just from the type. 

J.

re .2

Thanks for the help. Based on your answer, what I think I'm looking at is the
double-clewed quadrilateral sail that you indicated were uncommon. The
mainsail actually appears to be a fairly high aspect sail, just cut off
vertically at the aft end. The benefit appears to be a shorter boom allowing
the second mast to be moved forward with greater total sail area. This 
particular canoe is carrying four to six hiking planks and eight crew.

The following is a crude drawing of the rig:

	                     |
	                    /|
	                   / |
	                  /  |
                         /   |
	       |        /    | |\
	      /|       /     | | \
	     / |      /      | |  \
	    /  |     /       | |   \
	   /   |    /        | |    \
	  /    |   /         | |     \
	 /     |  /          | |      \
	|      | |           | |       \
	==boom== ====boom====| |        \
	|      | |           | |         \
	 ------|  -----------   ----------
	       |             |      
        ____________________________--------
       |                           /
        --------------------------

Unfortunately the calendar does not identify boats or sailing waters. That was 
the first place I went for help and was surprised not to find it.

- Bob

re .3

Aha!  It sounds, and looks, like some form of sailing log canoe from the 
Chesapeake Bay area, around the 1880's.  (They were called log canoes
because the originals were constructed of three logs hewn to shape and
fastened lengthwise to form the hull.)  The sailplan you describe was
probably transported up to Connecticut where it also appeared on some New
Haven Sharpies before the turn of the century. 

	                     |
	                    /|
	                   / |
	                  /  |
                         /   |
	       |        /    | |\
	      /|       /     | | \
	     / |      /      | |  \
	    /  |     /       | |   \
	   /   |    /        | |    \
	  /    |   /         | |     \
	 /     |  /          | |      \
>>>	|      | |           | |       \
>>>	==boom== ====boom====| |        \
>>>	|      | |           | |         \
	 ------|  -----------   ----------
	       |             |      
        ____________________________--------
       |                           /
        --------------------------

In fact the double clew functions as a single clew, by virtue of a vertical 
batten (called a club) attached along the aft edge of the sail between the
clews where it looks cut off in appearance.  The sprit attached near the
middle of this club, and was positioned about horizontally once the 
snotter was drawn tight.

Those few of you (one, two?) interested in chasing this further can find 
similar sailplans in Chapelle's "American Small Sailing Craft", pp. 103 
(fig.37), 119 (fig.42), and 123 (fig.44), with some interesting variations
on pp. 125 (fig.45) and 130 (fig.48).  An extreme Chesapeake Bay racing
log canoe, with this sailplan shown as described, is on p. 308 (fig.109). 

J.

Another sailing canoe that has appeared in several calendars and Books,is the
Vesper canoe, owned and sailed by Bob LaVertue.- Its rig is similar to this, but
it has multiple booms- 3 0r 4 per sail as I recall. This was supposed to make
reefing quick and easy. The sail winds up looing a bit like a junk rig.

This boat is also notable for having a radix centerboard- a bronze affair,
with multiple leaves, somewhat like a folding fan.

Its also notable for being capsized frequently by hot shot sailors. Bob likes to
let others try it at events like the Small Craft Workshop at Mystic in June.

Bob and I are now working on a pair of Steam Powered canoes, but thats another
subject...

The boat I've been asking about is definitely a Chesapeake Bay racing log
canoe. My new issue of SAIL includes a labelled picture of an almost identical
canoe. The one difference however, is in the way the sail attaches to the
sprit. In the SAIL version, the sail appears to attach over the full length of
the sprit, presumably using a bolt rope groove. In the calendar version, the
sail attaches to the sprit only at its ends. 

Thx agn, Bob