March 2, 2003
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JUNK RIGS
I’m working on a Sailing Display for our local Free Library. I intended to put up some America’s Cup 2003 stuff — which by the way, Alinghi, a Swiss boat, won. This is the first time a team from Europe has won.
Anyway, so I’m also building tiny models of sailboats so I can demonstrate the different types of rigs. And I find these wonderful websites with beautiful pictures of Junk Rigs. I have never seen a Junk Rigged boat in person, but they look just gorgeous. I wondered why you don’t see more of them here in the U.S. They seem to be mostly in Asia and the Hong Kong area.
Some people might say, “Well, junk rigs are slow, and you can’t sail to windward as well as with a Marconi rig.” But I saw a website which discounts that as false….
“The rig will enable a boat to sail as well to windward as the “HULL” will allow. Junk rigged racing yacht hulls usually achieve 35 deg. to windward and efficient cruising hulls 40 deg. However, what often happens is that the rig is fitted on a load carrying hull for long distance cruising and these hulls are very seaworthy, but not sparkling performers when it comes to sailing.”“When off the wind, the junk rig is very efficient, with its large sail area high up and battens that boom out the sail. So you will find a Bermudan rigged boat of equal size will have to hoist a spinnaker (a racing sail!) to keep up with a junk rigged boat of the same length. In addition, the unstayed mast of the junk will also accept a ghoster or cruising shute, to add to the misery of the overtaken Bermudan rigged boat owner off the wind.”
That was from http://electron.atomic.net/~gklimber/jrintro.htm.
Anyway, I would like to sail one for myself to find out just how efficient they are.
The Naga Pelagi
