EBM says the needful, a timely toon, and some graphs that tell a story…
There’s a very interesting thread on the JRA forum you might want to check out. Of course, it had me instantly when I saw it was about converting a Harlé-designed Sangria to junk. The Sangria being a favorite design of mine.
The suggested adaptation is what most would consider a proper junk conversion. However, it’s not the junk conversion that I see in my head.
A couple of things bother me. The mast being as tall the original rig and the new mast location impacts the interior.
Back in the day, one of the so-called benefits of a junk rig was that a lower mast would bring the center of effort down, therefore reducing heeling. In my mind this is an important factor and, I expect the new rig as drawn, would tend to sail on its ear.
Moving a mast on just about any sailboat is going to cause havoc interior wise. With a cat-rigged junk, moving the mast is needful but why not keep the mast where it was? While it may brand me as a heretic, the idea of a small blade jib would allow one to keep the center of effort pretty much where we’d want it.
Since I’ve already established my heretical bono fides, I’ll leave you with a suggestion…
Let’s add some standing rigging to the mix. Minimal rigging it would cut the cost of the mast greatly as well as having less impact on the interior. Add that the mast would be a lot lighter and some might think it would be a win/win situation.
Admittedly, it’s not a new idea. Colvin has already designed a lot of East-meets-West hybrid junks. So has Reuel Parker, except now we have a lot more materials to play with in the current century.
Anyway, it might be something to think about and I expect there will be more to share on the subject in the future.
Oh yeah, there’s a great write up on the Sangria within the thread but in case you missed it here it is.
Arne did say that for ocean work he would take a lower sail. I much prefer a junk/balanced lug, that can be slung 60-40 either side of the mast off wind as in can really reduce helm loads. Some junks are so close to a Gaff that the extra weight and off-wind helm imbalance makes them an odd (to me) choice.
I wont own a boat now that requires a crane or boatyard to drop or move the mast, either i have become economically poorer, or my spending choices have narrowed, perhaps both.