I’ve always liked the gaff rig because it’s a stout spar that does not require a lot of tension to stand. There’s a lot to be said for that. While I don’t think that Tom Colvin’s junk rigs were fully evolved they did make a whole lot of sense.Take his Gazelle for instance. Minimal stays …
When considering changing to a rig like the balanced lug or junk, the first issue is that it requires moving the location of the mast. Finding the location is easy, but it can play hell with the interior. Free-standing masts, while not being as tall as the Bermuda rig, are larger in terms of diameter and …
Sailboat rigs are a problematic conundrum where VolksCruisers are concerned. For starters, most rigs on classic plastic boats have rigs that have evolved from designs for racing. They’re over-complicated, prone to failure, and expensive, which is not the sort of rig you want when voyaging on a budget. Adapting rigs to be simpler, more affordable, …
Boats in the VolksCruiser budget zone are going to have problems or issues you’ll have to deal with. Just accept it as part of the territory, which is not always problematic. A sailboat with the right issues could very well be to your advantage. There’s a Catalina 27 with a broken mast that would make …
The other day a reader dropped me a line where the subject of DIY came up and he pointed out that, unlike me, he could afford to hire folks to do work for him and if you had to DIY you might want to consider something other than yachting as a lifestyle decision… Not the …
A Freedom cat ketch adapted to junk rig I wrote this back in 2008 on Boat Bits but it seems to have held up for the most part… I suppose the minute you say lug rig that everyone assumes you are talking about the “Junk” rig which is certainly a type of lug rig but …
There are a lot of fans of the junk rig who, being fans and all are true believers when it comes to their preference of rigs. The junk rig is superior to all other rigs or in common parlance the junk rig is “the shit”. Me? Well I certainly think that the junk rig is …
The current JRA Newsletter (#85) has a very interesting article on building a junk sail by Paul McKay that has me thinking long and hard in terms of rigs for VolkCruisers. For me, the concept of a VolksCruiser is really all about simplicity in all of its various forms. Lug rigs in general are …
The world falling apart has put the Ranger 26 into VolksCruiser on the back burner for a bit. But, in the meantime, I’ll tease you with a possible variation of how the finished boat might wind up as… …a junk. More. hopefully, soon come. Stay safe.
A VolksCruising, Blue Water TriloBoatBy Dave Zeiger at triloboats.blogspot.com Full disclosure… Anke and my blue water experience is entirely vicarious. I do not recommend a TriloBoat to venture far offshore as I lack blue-water performance data. I can confidently say a TriloBoat hull wouldn’t be the worst choice. A good design, built robustly and competently …
A guest post from Dave Zeiger on a VolksCruising TriloBoat… Read More »
