Club Racing Lug Rigged Viola Canoe vs Lasers and RS Aeros
We have some real information about relative performance of a Balance Lug Rigged Viola Canoe vs Lasers and RS Aeros.
We have some real information about relative performance of a Balance Lug Rigged Viola Canoe vs Lasers and RS Aeros.
Question was how to stop a freestanding mast from falling out on a small sailboat? A few simple fittings and a neat solution
Controlling sail twist on any boat is critical for performance. Here we describe two methods for getting more performance all round and safer handling downwind.
Why explained. My most popular design is the Goat Island Skiff a light plywood planing sailing dinghy that is devastatingly fast in most conditions – not so surprising when you realise a lot of the development was because of racing dinghy advances but intended to avoid the skyrocketing costs of sailing participation.
Sailing dinghies are the most popular sailing boats, responsive and not expensive – good for sailing basics, fast – good for the experienced, relatively easy to store and available inexpensively second hand or build from plywood from a sailing dinghy plan.
4 Sailing Canoe PLANS. Beautiful and excellent performance. Build from plywood. Or a kit to convert your existing canoe or kayak into an outrigger canoe or simple sailing canoe.
A video comparing Lug Rig Performance with conventional rigs in a real race. A Goat Island Skiff takes part in a regular club race against Fireballs and Lasers. Where will it end up? Does it actually have a “bad tack” where it can’t compete? The answer might challenge your assumptions about sailing rig performance
Discussion of handling light sailboats such as sailing canoes and how some hull design features promote good sailing manners at higher speeds. Taking pressure away from the sailor by making the boats light and predictable despite rough conditions.
The simplicity and light weight of a sailing canoe with the hullshape and stability of a good sailing dinghy. Viola is14ft (4.3m) long and 40 inches wide. The hull is rooftopable at 34kg or 75lbs. A few pounds heavier than an RS Aero and much lighter than a Laser. Same as an Opti!
Assembly of the beautiful BETH Sailing Canoe. Photos of all the major stages.
A particularly beautiful BETH sailing Canoe Kanangra Launched in South Australia. Also some lug sail setup information
All our lug rig information on one page. We have seen the change from the balance lug being almost forgotten to becoming the predominant rig for small self built wooden boat. This was the situation a hundred years ago. We can still use the cheapness and effectiveness of this rig to create boats with very quick and pleasant sailing characteristic.
BETH sailing canoe is design #1. Light enough to cartop and at home in a club fleet of lasers. For mostly experienced dinghy sailors.
The finally famous Goat Island Skiff is the lightest and simplest 16ft sailing boat I could come up with. Simple to Build with Modern Performance. She will sail well and handle impeccably at all times with 4 adults and is fastest with one or two aboard. Plans are extremely detailed and there is an active community of builders on Facebook.
Opinions about capsize and recovery are worthless. “Safe Boats” do no exist unless the crew practices capsize. We cover the design points.
All our boat plans. Sailing Dinghies, Sailing Canoes, Paddling Canoes, Row boats, Fishing boats, Electric Boats as well as live aboard or camp aboard types.
So how does a lug rig boat go in club racing? My designs won’t be outclassed in club racing. I’m really keen to find out how the yardstick (handicap) changes as George and crew get used to the realities of course racing making the boat sail faster. We end up with an estimate of PY – Portsmouth Yardstick for the Goat Island Skiff.
The conservative viewpoint is that traditional rigs are not very efficient. However allied to efficient hulls and set up correctly, lug and sprit rigs can be very efficient indeed – not too much slower than “modern” rigs, particularly when the same lessons are applied to trad sails and way cheaper.
This is a WIKI drawn from the group on the Storerboats forum discussions on setting up lug and sprit rigs for best performance building on the information in my webpage.