square rig yacht

Square Rigs for Small Boats

An update for an ancient rig

From Issue   October 2015

I ’ve long been fascinated by the ancient square rig. It has been widely acclaimed for its downwind and reaching ability, but the traditional sails were often poor working upwind and required extensive rigging to do so. I wanted to experience what it was like to use the rig, and also to improve on its effectiveness using modern materials and aerodynamic theory. I built several square rigs for canoes and my peapod, and those results were rewarding.

Mike moved his weight aft to steer downwind. A bit of belly or camber in the sail increases its stability, so he has pulled it up against the mast and the clews farther astern, curving the fiberglass batten sewn into the foot.

One simple sail for my canoe was particularly instructive. I made it quickly, just a flat shower curtain with edge reinforcements and a fiberglass bicycle flagpole for a batten, slipped into a sleeve sewn in its foot. It would go downwind and broad-reach as well as the traditional rig’s reputation suggested. My friend Mike tried it out on his beautiful 1937 Peterborough canoe with only a paddle and boat trim for steering.

Downwind, these sails do best when they have some “belly” to contain the wind and minimize eddies curling around, destructively, to the front of the sail. We achieved this by pulling the battened foot of the sail up against the mast, then creating the belly by pulling the sheets further to the rear. We also found that we could pull one corner of the sail snug against the mast, and downward; when we did so the sail could be pulled fore-and-aft and would point higher.

Mike  moved forward to depress the bow and steer closer to the wind, and he  has pulled the leading edge of the sail down and fairly taut. The batten in the foot maintains the shape of the sail. In this mode he can sail downwind through about 150 degrees with only a paddle for steering and lateral plane. The sail now functions as a standing lug. On my sailing canoe with leeboard and rudder,that angle increases to over 180 degrees, depending on wind strength. A more refined sail with a strong downhaul could prove even better.

Encouraged, I later built a bigger, carefully designed sail rig for my Gartside Riff catboat, ROSE. I used 4-oz Dacron sailcloth and gave it a lower spar to tension its foot, avoiding the complex rigging of historic ships. ROSE’s unstayed mast lets the sail rotate easily without being hindered by shrouds and stays. This sail is a rectangle slightly wider than it is tall. (Square rig sails came in many shapes and were only occasionally square; the name comes from the sail being hung perpendicular—square—to the mast.) I designed this sail as I would a contemporary balanced lug, with a loose foot, vertical panels, head and foot round, and broad-seamed to make the middle fuller than the top and bottom. The starboard edge is perfectly straight and built to withstand high tension while serving as a lugsail’s luff, while the port edge is hollowed a tiny bit to prevent it stretching and flapping when it’s serving as a lugsail’s leech. I also moved the deepest draft from center to 5 percent toward the starboard edge to give better control in fore-and-aft mode. The loose foot can be tightened for upwind work and loosened for downwind, creating the desired belly. When loosened, the effective center of effort moves back toward the middle of the sail.

The sail operates in two distinctive modes: across and down wind, with the yard square to the mast, and upwind, with the sail hauled fore-and aft. Going downwind in the square mode, the sail is docile and easy to handle. In the upwind mode, the rig can also work across and downwind, but downwind steering is, as you’d expect of a sail set well outboard to one side of the hull, much more demanding of the skipper.

Reaching in a wind blowing at about 12 mph, with whitecaps beginning to form, it will soon be time to reef. The upper yard is suspended from a pair of ‘lifts’ that spread load on the spar and also raise the pivot point. The downhaul next to the mast can tension the lower spar as needed and transfers sail thrust to the hull, reducing strain on the pair of sheets attached to the lower corners.

A 4:1 downhaul is attached to the center of the lower spar for the square-sail mode, or near the starboard/front edge for lug-sail mode. Either way, this allows the edges to be tensioned, which is essential as it lets the sail develop aerodynamic lift and point higher. The leading-edge tension in fore-and-aft mode is much higher, creating the taut luff that is the key to best upwind performance.

Headed upwind in lug mode.

In square mode I can run and beam-reach through a downwind arc of 190 degrees and more. When I take a couple of minutes to change mode to fore-and-aft, I move the downhaul point and change the sheets. The sail is now rigged like a balanced lug, and in this mode I can tack reliably and point as close as 55 compass degrees to the wind. Not too bad for a lugsail, let alone a square sail! With almost 30 percent of the sail forward of the mast in lug mode, one must tack rather decisively to keep from being backwinded, and this takes a bit of practice.

The lifts have allowed the center of effort of the sail to move rearward, matching that of the designers lug sail. The downwind sheets are disconnected, the downhaul moved to near the front of the spar, and a 4:1 mainsheet attached to the spar. The diagonal creases— called girts—will disappear in stronger winds.

I am quite satisfied with my new sail. It performs better upwind than I expected, given its low aspect ratio. The current rigging gets the job done, but there remains room for new thinking on the arrangements: I’d like to make the transition between modes quicker and easier to do without going forward.

Bob Cavenagh grew up in a navy family and lived in seaports and around ships and boats from infancy. At the age of five he built his first boat; it sank immediately. After college, Army, and grad school he began an academic career, bought his first sailboat and canoe in 1975, and has been an enthusiastic sailor ever since. For the last three decades he has pursued a particular interest in rigs and sailmaking.  Now retired, he spends summers sailing a small fleet of small boats on a Canadian lake.

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Comments (16)

Lovely idea, sailing down the lake with a shower curtain. I was just thinking of making my own lug sail for my Oughtred Sea Hen and this helps a great deal. Thanks.

Thanks for this, Bob. I have been sailing a bit in a lug-rigged ketch and reading Spritsails and Lugsails by John Leather and have a mind to experiment myself. Your article and drawing are very interesting and timely. I wonder if you could have reefed it down enough to sail in St. Michaels today! (Editor’s note: Bob would have enjoyed attending the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels this weekend, but the event was cancelled as the approach of Hurricane Joaquin brought high winds. At the time of writing, Friday afternoon, the museum’s phone lines are down and heavy rains have put the St. Michaels area on a flood watch.)

Very interesting article, Bob. I am presently building a 14’6″ Viking vessel and have been looking for the perfect looking sail. My first inclination was to develop a balanced lug sail If you get a chance take a look at my blog and tell me what you would do.

That is a nice looking, fascinating and substantial project. In addition to the weighted shallow keel you have added a centerboard. That could help working to windward and reaching, but I haven’t figured out the relative mast location, which will be important. The square sprit sail in the Swedish plan looks right, but since you want a Viking look, that would suggest a square rig perhaps twice as wide as the hull. Unfortunately that would be a low aspect sail and subject to drag when sailing upwind. A more moderate square rig, similar to the one I used for ROSE-the-Riff could work pretty well, since it can convert to a lug format and perhaps work better upwind. At a guess, I’d think you could use 80-100 square feet of sail.

A problem with scaling a Viking longship down is that everything can be reduced in size except the crew, and sheet leads thus can become difficult. I’ll bet you have watched the video, “ Sailing the Test Boats for Draken Harald Hårfagre .” If not, do, and watch the performance of flatter and fatter sails on different points.

The square that I have on my Afjordsfaering is pretty high-aspect ratio. The yard is barely wider than the boat. And the larger 19th-century Norse boats have the same kind of rig. I wonder how that evolved. Mine, of course, has the bowline that runs to the stem and a sail stick onto which the sheet and tack is made fast. This rigging does require two people to sail the boat. It might be interesting to rig a boom for it and see what it does when sailed lug-like.

Hello Ben. The boom proved to be a real game changer. With a modern 4:1 tackle to tension the leading edge, upwind behavior became very gratifying. Downwind, the tackle relieves much of the pressure on the sheets, but as noted below it does require some attention in a sudden gust. With your larger hull, you could probably drop the boom for strictly downwind work.

My sail is cut to perform as a lug.

Does the high-aspect ration require braces to the head of your sail? I am working up a higher aspect sail to try on my tin canoe at Cedar Key in March.

Innovative as ever, Bob, and what lovely testing ground. You’ve gone a far fetch further than the Norse: It appears they reefed by twisting the two clews together to reduce sail.

Just to prove that Bob channels the wisdom of the ancients, I submit this article about a square rig for canoes from 110+ years ago. The author, E.T.Keyser, used stock Rushton canoe hardware but most interesting is the way the mast is added and supported. I’d actually run the mast tackle shown in the article a little differently to get at least a 2:1 advantage.

That is another classically beautiful Cheap Pages reproduction, Craig. I read it 2-3 times while working up the project. Thanks!

Fascinating. I hadn’t guessed that a square sail could be that versatile.

Bob, very interesting, thank you. I like the idea of the off-the-wind square rig, but I puzzled: How do you de-power quickly? With a lug rig, or indeed any asymmetric, unstayed rig, you can just let go of the mainsheet. But with equal pressure of the wind on both sides of the sail, I presume this doesn’t work?

There are different solutions for the two sails. The foot of the “tanbark” canoe sail is held only by the two sheets, so when headed downwind you can ease both to let the sail rise and spill air or make the faster and more radical solution: letting go of one sheet and hauling the other aft. These options quickly become instinctive. Since the big sail on Rose is tethered to the deck by the downhaul you can release and ease the downhaul, again letting the sail rise. With a 4:1 tackle involved, that may take too long in a violent gust, in which case you release one sheet and haul the other aft rather smartly, spilling air. At that point you can either drop the sail, tie in a reef, or, gust past, you can power it up again. Of course, in lug modes, you treat either sail like any other lug.

Thanks, I think I’ll avoid a central downhaul in that case! I’m playing with the idea of a boomless square sail that can switch on the fly from square to a dipping lug for my Clint Chase Drake . I’d have a double sheet in each lower corner. One would be a conventional sheet, the other would run forward to a ring on the gunwale, and back to my hands: hauling on this would bring the forward corner of the sail to the gunwale, and in doing so tilt the yard from horizontal. (I think that would make that ‘sheet’ a ‘tack-line’?). I might put a cam cleat to hold the tack line. I think the ‘double sheet’ would work best as a continuous loop: tack line from the corner of the sail, through the ring on gunwale, back to hands, plenty of slack and then the same line goes back to the corner of the sail as the sheet. There’d need to be enough slack to let the sail fly if one let go. This would create a shape and set up similar to a dipping lug, which would presumably be pretty powerful across the wind. To jibe, I’d slacken off the tack line while pulling on the other sheet, this would put the sail at right angles to the centerline, then continuing to pull would put the sail back in the dipped position on the other ‘tack’.

I still need to measure things up and see if this might work outside of my head! I imagine this set up would work best as a truncated pyramid rather than actually a square.

I can’t imagine I’m the first person to think of this?

By all means give it a try. You will be approximating the “bowlines” used on historic square rigs—lines from the luff of the sail to points forward. This will indeed approximate a dipping lug. The article describes just two of the square-rig variations I have tried. If you scroll back up to the second canoe picture, you will see the sail functioning as a standing lug. In one variation, I placed a dowel through the mast a bit below the tack location in the picture. I could then hook the forward sheet under it (using a paddle), pull the tack down strongly, and thus improve upwind performance. You don’t mention using a lower spar. That spar on ROSE is the key to achieving windward performance, as my downhaul can tension it anywhere from the middle of the spar (for downwind) to near the tack, achieving the luff tension needed for upwind work. That spar also lets me control the shape of the foot of the sail. Without it, it can be hard to flatten the sail aft. The sheet tension on the small canoe sail can be quite high. The downhaul transfers much of the thrust of the lower half of the sail to the hull.

I don’t find the gradual and urgent techniques to spill air from the sail to be onerous.

Thanks a lot for sharing an excellent development. I’m presently working on my own design of 42′ sail boat. I would love to apply your idea plus some roiling reefing solution. Similar like in Paradox boat. I would appreciate any comments.

Best of luck with the project. I’ve been intrigued by Matt Leyden’s hull and rig designs. The latter reminds me of some older Vietnamese rigs (see the Junk Blue Book , with a more primitive roller arrangement.

I am not sure how well those rigs go to weather. In some ways they seem similar to crab claw sails, but without the tapered point at the tack.

My next square rig will be for a canoe, and it will have higher aspect ratio.

Comments are closed.

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The square-rigged sailing ship has evolved slowly over thousands of years. Every major innovation came after a long period of trial and error which would illuminate certain necessities and point to areas of the ships due for improvement. In the past, various building and rigging methods would appear on water craft due to its area of operation and local climate.

Performance, strength, available materials and traditional methods were factors on how sea-faring cultures built and rigged their vessels. Over time, cross-fertilization of boat-building and rigging techniques passed between trading partners as foreign going ships would visit distant ports. After installation of many of these improvements in equipment and familiarization of their functions, it would have seemed archaic that ships and sailors went so long without them.

It is noteworthy to imagine that each new change to a ship’s design would be met by opposition, sailors trained in their expertise to work a ship “as they were” and masters and ship-owners who welcomed the newer technology as a method to increase safety onboard and reduce costs. We can endeavor to look back at a few of the more effective upgrades, that now seem so sensible but most likely at the time were regarded as revolutionary, and how they accumulated into the perfect sea-going vehicle before they met their end at the hands of the internal-combustion engine and a strategically placed canal.

The mast would be mostly un-stayed but supported while underway by the halyard which would be led aft. When the sail was doused the halyard was simply eased out to lower the entire yard and sail down to the deck.

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Sail Rigs And Types - The Only Guide You Need

Last Updated by

Daniel Wade

June 15, 2022

A well-designed sailboat is a thing of pure beauty. Whether you're a proud owner of one, a guest on one, or a shore-side admirer, you'll fall in love with the gliding sails, the excitement of a race, and the eco-friendly nature of these sophisticated yet magnificent vessels. With good sails, great design, and regular maintenance, sails and rigs are an important part of a sailboat.

If you’re thinking about going sailing, one of the first things you have to understand is the variety of modern sail plans. Unlike old sailboats, modern sailboats don't need huge, overlapping headsails and multiple masts just to get moving. In the past, when sailboats were heavy, keels were long, the only way to get the boat moving was with a massive relative sail area. You needed as much square footage as you could just to get your sailboat moving. But with the invention of fiberglass hulls, aluminum or composite masts, high-tensile but low diameter lines and stats, and more efficient sails, sailboats no longer need to plan for such large sail plans.. Still, there are various rig styles, from the common sloop, to the comfortable cat-rig, to the dual masted ketch and schooner, there are various sail types and rigs to choose from. The most important thing is to know the different types of sails and rigs and how they can make your sailing even more enjoyable.

There are different types of sails and rigs. Most sailboats have one mainsail and one headsail. The mainsail is generally fore-and-aft rigged and is triangular shaped. Various conditions and courses require adjustments to the sails on the boats, and, other than the mainsail, most boats can switch out their secondary sail depending on various conditions.. Do you want to sail upwind or go downwind? You cannot hoist just any sail and use it. It's, therefore, of great importance to understand how and when to use each sail type.

In this in-depth article, we'll look at various sail types and rigs, and how to use them to make your sailing more enjoyable.

Table of contents

Different Sail Types

It is perhaps worth noting that a sailboat is only as good as its sails. The very heart of sailing comes in capturing the wind using artfully trimmed sails and turning that into motion. . Ask any good sailor and he'll tell you that knowing how and when to trim the sails efficiently will not only improve the overall performance of your boat but will elevate your sailing experience. In short, sails are the driving force of sailboats.

As such, it's only natural that you should know the different types of sails and how they work. Let's first highlight different sail types before going into the details.

• Jib - triangular staysail
• Spinnaker - huge balloon-shaped downwind sail for light airs
• Genoa - huge jib that overlaps the mainsail
• Gennaker - a combination of a spinnaker and genoa
• Code zero - reaching genoa for light air 
• Windseeker - tall, narrow, high-clewed, and lightweight jib
• Drifter - versatile light air genoa made from particularly lightweight cloth
• Storm jib - a smaller jib meant for stormy conditions
• Trysail - This is a smaller front-and-aft sail for heavy weather

The mainsail is the principal sail on a boat. It's generally set aft of the mainmast. Working together with the jib, the mainsail is designed to create the lift that drives the sailboat windward. That being said, the mainsail is a very powerful component that must always be kept under control.

As the largest sail, and the geometric center of effort on the boat, the mainsail is tasked with capturing the bulk of the wind that's required to propel the sailboat. The foot, the term for the bottom of any sail, secures to the boom, which allows you to trim the sail to your heading. The luff, the leading edge of the sail, is attached to the mast. An idealized mainsail would be able to swing through trim range of 180°, the full semi-circle aft of the mast, though in reality, most larger boats don’t support this full range of motion, as a fully eased sail can occasionally be unstable in heavy breeze.

. As fully controlling the shape of the mainsail is crucial to sailing performance, there are many different basic mainsail configurations. For instance, you can get a full-batten mainsail, a regular mainsail with short battens, or a two-plus-two mainsail with two full-length battens. Hyper-high performance boats have even begun experimenting with winged sails which are essentially trimmable airplane wings! Moreover, there are numerous sail controls that change the shape by pulling at different points on the sail, boom, or mast. Reefing, for instance, allows you to shorten the sail vertically, reducing the amount of sail area when the boat is overpowered.

Features of a Mainsail

Several features will affect how a particular sail works and performs. Some features will, of course, affect the cost of the sail while others may affect its longevity. All in all, it's essential to decide the type of mainsail that's right for you and your sailing application.

Sail Battens, the Roach, and the Leech

The most difficult part of the sail to control, but also the most important, are the areas we refer to as the leech and the roach. The roach is the part of the sail that extends backwards past the shortest line between the clew, at the end of the boom, and the top of the mast. It makes up roughly the back third of the sail. The leech is the trailing edge of the sail, the backmost curve of the roach. Together, these two components control the flow of the air off the back of the sail, which greatly affects the overall sail performance. If the air stalls off the backside of the sail, you will find a great loss in performance. Many sail controls, including the boom vang, backstay, main halyard, and even the cunningham, to name a few, focus on keeping this curve perfect. 

As for parts of the sail itself, battens control the overall horizontal shape of the sail. Battens are typically made from fiberglass or wood and are built into batten pockets. They're meant to offer support and tension to maintain the sail shape Depending on the sail technology you want to use, you may find that full battens, which extend from luff to leech, or short battens, just on the trailing edge, are the way to go. Fully battened sails tend to be more expensive, but also higher performance.

Fully Battened Mainsails

They're generally popular on racing multihulls as they give you a nice solid sail shape which is crucial at high speeds. In cruising sailboats , fully battened mainsails have a few benefits such as:

• They prevent the mainsail from ragging. This extends the life of the sail, and makes maneuvers and trimming easier for the crew.
• It provides shape and lift in light-air conditions where short-battened mainsails would collapse.

On the other hand, fully-battened mainsails are often heavier, made out of thicker material, and can chafe against the standing rigging with more force when sailing off the wind.

Short Battens

On the other hand, you can choose a mainsail design that relies mostly on short battens, towards the leech of the sail. This tends to work for lighter cloth sails, as the breeze, the headsail, and the rigging help to shape the sail simply by the tension of the rig and the flow of the wind. The battens on the leech help to preserve the shape of the sail in the crucial area where the air is flowing off the back of the sail, keeping you from stalling out the entire rig.

The only potential downside is that these short battens deal with a little bit of chafe and tension in their pockets, and the sail cloth around these areas ought to be reinforced. If your sails do not have sufficient reinforcement here, or you run into any issues related to batten chafe, a good sail maker should be able to help you extend the life of your sails for much less than the price of a new set.

How to Hoist the Mainsail

Here's how to hoist the mainsail, assuming that it relies on a slab reefing system and lazy jacks and doesn't have an in-mast or in-boom furling system.

• ‍Maintain enough speed for steeragewhile heading up into the wind
• Slacken the mainsheet, boom vang, and cunningham
• Make sure that the lazy jacks do not catch the ends on the battens by pulling the lazy jacks forward.
• Ensure that the reefing runs are free to run and the proper reefs are set if necessary.
• Raise the halyard as far as you can depending on pre-set reefs.
• Tension the halyard to a point where a crease begins to form along the front edge
• Re-set the lazy jacks
• Trim the mainsail properly while heading off to your desired course

So what's Right for You?

Your mainsail will depend on how you like sailing your boat and what you expect in terms of convenience and performance. That being said, first consult the options that the boatbuilder or sailmakers suggest for your rig. When choosing among the various options, consider what you want from the sail, how you like to sail, and how much you're willing to spend on the mainsail.

The headsail is principally the front sail in a fore-and-aft rig. They're commonly triangular and are attached to or serve as the boat’s forestay. They include a jib and a genoa. 

A jib is a triangular sail that is set ahead of the foremost sail. For large boats, the roto-furling jib has become a common and convenient way to rig and store the jib. Often working in shifts with spinnakers, jibs are the main type of headsails on modern sailboats. Jibs take advantage of Bournoulli’s Principle to break the incoming breeze for the mainsail, greatly increasing the speed and point of any boat. By breaking the incoming wind and channeling it through what we call the ‘slot,’ the horizontal gap between the leech of the jib and the luff of the mainsail, the jib drastically increases the efficiency of your mainsail. It additionally balances the helm on your rudder by pulling the bow down, as the mainsail tends to pull the stern down. .

The main aim of the jib is to increase the sail area for a given mast size. It improves the aerodynamics of the mainsails so that your sailboat can catch more wind and thereby sail faster, especially in light air

Using Jibs on Modern Sailboats

In the modern contexts, jib’s mainly serve  increase the performance and overall stability of the mainsail. The jib can also reduce the turbulence of the mainsail on the leeward side.

On Traditional Vessels

Traditional vessels such as schooners have about three jibs. The topmast carried a jib topsail, the main foresail is called the jib, while the innermost jib is known as the staysail. The first two were employed almost exclusively by clipper ships.

How to Rig the Jibs

There are three basic ways to rig the jib.

Track Sheets - A relatively modern approach to the self-tacking jib, this entails placing all the trimming hardware on a sliding track forward of the mast. This means that on each tack, the hardware slides from one side of the boat to the other. This alleviates the need to switch sheets and preserves the trim angle on both sides, though it can be finnicky and introduce friction.

Sheet up the Mast - This is a very popular approach and for a good reason. Hoist the jib sheet up the mast high enough to ensure that there's the right tension through the tack. Whether internally or externally, the sheet returnsto the deck and then back to the cockpit just like the rest of the mast baselines. The fact the hardware doesn't move through the tacks is essential in reducing friction.

Sheet Forward - This method revolves around ensuring that the jib sheet stays under constant pressure so that it does not move through the blocks in the tacks. This is possible if the through-deck block is extremely close to the jib tack. Your only challenge will only be to return the sheet to the cockpit. This is, however, quite challenging and can cause significant friction.

Dual Sheeting - The traditional method, especially on smaller dinghies, though it is not self-tacking. This requires a two ended or two separate sheet system, where one sheet runs to a block on starboard, and the other to port. Whenever you tack or gybe, this means you have to switch which sheet is active and which is slack, which is ok for well crewed boats, but a potential issue on under-crewed boats.

Another important headsail, a genoa is essentially a large jib that usually overlaps the mainsail or extends past the mast, especially when viewed from the other side. In the past, a genoa was known as the overlapping jib and is technically used on twin-mast boats and single-mast sloops such as ketches and yawls. A genoa has a large surface area, which is integral in increasing the speed of the vessel both in moderate and light winds.

Genoas are generally characterized by the percentage they cover. In most cases, sail racing classes stipulate the limit of a genoa size. In other words, genoas are usually classified by coverage.

Top-quality genoa trim is of great importance, especially if the wind is forward of the beam. This is because the wind will first pass over the genoa before the mainsail. As such, a wrongly sheeted genoa can erroneously direct the wind over the mainsail,spelling doom to your sailing escapades. While you can perfectly adjust the shape of a genoa using the mast rake, halyard tension, sheet tension, genoa car positioning, and backstay tension, furling and unfurling a genoa can be very challenging, especially in higher winds.

That being said, here are the crucial steps to always keep in mind.

• Unload and ease the loaded genoa sheet by going to a broad reach
• Do not use the winch; just pull on the furling line
• Keep a very small amount of pressure or tension on the loaded genoa sheet
• Secure the furling line and tighten the genoa sheets
• Get on the proper point of sail
• Have the crew help you and release the lazy genoa sheets
• Maintain a small tension while easing out the furling line
• Pull-on a loaded genoa sheet
• Close or cleat off the rope clutch when the genoa is unfurled
• Trim the genoa

To this end, it's important to note that genoas are popular in some racing classes. This is because they only categorize genoas based on the fore-triangle area covered, which essentially allows a genoa to significantly increase the actual sail area. On the contrary, keep in mind that tacking a genoa is quite a bit harder than a jib, as the overlapping area can get tangled with the mast and shrouds. It's, therefore, important to make sure that the genoa is carefully tended, particularly when tacking.

Downwind Sails

Modern sailboats are a lot easier to maneuver thanks to the fore-and-aft rig. Unfortunately, when sailing downwind they catch less wind, and downwind sails are a great way of reducing this problem. They include the spinnaker and the gennaker.

A spinnaker will, without a doubt, increase your sailing enjoyment. But why are they often buried in the cabin of cruising boats? Well, the first few attempts to rig and set a spinnaker can be difficult without enough help and guidance. Provided a solid background, however, spinnakers are quite straightforward and easy to use and handle with teamwork and enough practice. More importantly, spinnakers can bring a light wind passage to life and can save your engine.

Spinnakers are purposely designed for sailing off the wind; they fill with wind and balloon out in front of your sailboat. Structured with a lightweight fabric such as nylon, the spinnaker is also known as a kite or chute, as they look like parachutes both in structure and appearance. 

A perfectly designed spinnaker should have taut leading edges when filled. This mitigates the risk of lifting and collapsing. A spinnaker should have a smooth curve when filled and devoid of depressions and bubbles that might be caused by the inconsistent stretching of the fabric. The idea here is that anything other than a smooth curve may reduce the lift and thereby reduce performance.

Types of Spinnakers

There are two main types of spinnakers: symmetric spinnakers and asymmetric spinnakers.

Asymmetric Spinnakers

Flown from a spinnaker pole or bowsprit fitted to the bow of the boat, asymmetric spinnakers resemble large jibs and have been around since the 19th century. The concept of asymmetric spinnaker revolves around attaching the tack of the spinnaker at the bow and pulling it around during a gybe.

Asymmetric spinnakers have two sheets just like a jib., These sheets are attached at the clew and never interact directly with the spinnaker pole. This is because the other corner of the spinnaker is fixed to the bowsprit. The asymmetric spinnaker works when you pull in one sheet while releasing the other. This makes it a lot easier to gybe but is less suited to sailing directly downwind. There is the loophole of having the asymmetric spinnaker gybed to the side opposite of the boom, so that the boat is sailing ‘wing-on-wing,’ though this is a more advanced maneuver, generally reserved for certain conditions and tactical racing situations.

On the contrary, the asymmetric spinnaker is perfect for fast planing dinghies. This is because such vessels have speeds that generate apparent wind forward. Because asymmetrics, by nature, prefer to sail shallower downwind angles, this apparent wind at high speeds makes the boat think that it is sailing higher than it really is, allowing you to drive a little lower off the breeze than normal. . In essence, the asymmetric spinnaker is vital if you're looking for easy handling.

Symmetric Spinnakers

Symmetric spinnakers are a classic sail type that has been used for centuries for controlling boats by lines known as a guy and a sheet. The guy, which is a windward line, is attached to the tack of the sail and stabilized by a spinnaker pole. The sheet, which is the leeward line, is attached to the clew of the spinnaker and is essential in controlling the shape of the spinnaker sail.

When set correctly, the leading edges of the symmetric spinnaker should be almost parallel to the wind. This is to ensure that the airflow over the leading edge remains attached. Generally, the spinnaker pole should be at the right angles to the apparent wind and requires a lot of care when packing.

The main disadvantage of this rig is the need to gybe the spinnaker pole whenever you gybe the boat. This is a complicated maneuver, and is one of the most common places for spinnakers to rip or get twisted. If, however, you can master this maneuver, you can sail at almost any angle downwind!

How to Use Spinnaker Effectively

If you decide to include the spinnakers to your sailboat, the sailmaker will want to know the type of boat you have, what kind of sailing you do, and where you sail. As such, the spinnaker that you end up with should be an excellent and all-round sail and should perform effectively off the breeze

The type of boat and where you'll be sailing will hugely influence the weight of your spinnaker cloth. In most cases, cruising spinnakers should be very light, so if you've decided to buy a spinnaker, make sure that it's designed per the type of your sailboat and where you will be sailing. Again, you can choose to go for something lighter and easier to set if you'll be sailing alone or with kids who are too young to help.

Setting up Spinnakers

One of the main reasons why sailors distrust spinnakers is because they don't know how to set them up. That being said, a perfectly working spinnaker starts with how you set it up and this revolves around how you carefully pack it and properly hook it up. You can do this by running the luff tapes and ensuring that the sails are not twisted when packed into the bag. If you are using large spinnakers, the best thing to do is make sure that they're set in stops to prevent the spinnakers from filling up with air before you even hoist them fully.

But even with that, you cannot fully set the spinnaker while sailing upwind. Make sure to bear away and have your pole ready to go as you turn downwind. You should then bear away to a reach before hoisting. Just don't hoist the spinnakers from the bow as this can move the weight of the crew and equipment forward.

Used when sailing downwind, a gennaker is asymmetric sail somewhere between a genoa and a spinnaker. It sets itself apart because it  gennaker is a free-flying asymmetric spinnaker but it is tacked to the bowsprit like the jib.

Let's put it into perspective. Even though the genoa is a great sail for racing and cruising, sailors realized that it was too small to be used in a race or for downwind sail and this is the main reason why the spinnaker was invented. While the spinnakers are large sails that can be used for downwind sail, they are quite difficult to handle especially if you're sailing shorthanded. As such, this is how a gennaker came to be: it gives you the best of both worlds.

Gennakers are stable and easy to fly and will add to your enjoyment and downwind performance.

The Shape of a Gennaker

As we've just noted, the gennaker is asymmetrical. It doesn't attach to the forestay like the genoa but has a permanent fitting from the mast to bow. It is rigged exactly like a spinnaker but its tack is fastened to the bowsprit. This is fundamentally an essential sail if you're looking for something to bridge the gap between a genoa and a spinnaker.

Setting a Gennaker

When cruising, the gennaker is set with the tack line from the bow, a halyard, and a sheet that's led to the aft quarter. Attach the tack to a furling unit and attach it to a fitting on the hull near the very front of the sailboat. You can then attach the halyard that will help in pulling it up to the top of the mast before attaching it to the clew. The halyard can then run back to the winches to make the controlling of the sail shape easier, just like when using the genoa sail.

In essence, a gennaker is a superb sail that will give you the maximum versatility of achieving the best of both a genoa and a spinnaker, especially when sailing downwind. This is particularly of great importance if you're cruising by autopilot or at night.

Light Air Sails

Even though downwind sails can be used as light air sails, not all light air sails can be used for downwind sailing. In other words, there's a level of difference between downwind sails and light air sails. Light air sails include code zero, windseeker, and drifter reacher.

A cross between an asymmetrical spinnaker and a genoa, a code zero is a highly modern sail type that's generally used when sailing close to the wind in light air. Although the initial idea of code zero was to make a larger genoa, it settled on a narrow and flat spinnaker while upholding the shape of a genoa.

Modern boats come with code zero sails that can be used as soon as the sailboat bears off close-hauled even a little bit. It has a nearly straight luff and is designed to be very flat for close reaching. This sail is designed to give your boat extra performance in light winds, especially in boats that do not have overlapping genoas. It also mitigates the problem of loss of power when you are reaching with a non-overlapping headsail. Really, it is closer to a light air jib that sacrifices a little angle for speed.

In many conditions, a code zero sail can go as high as a sailboat with just a jib. By hoisting a code zero, you'll initially have to foot off about 15 degrees to fill it and get the power that you require to heel and move the boat. The boat will not only speed up but will also allow you to put the bow up while also doing the same course as before you set the zero. In essence, code zero can be an efficient way of giving your boat about 30% more speed and this is exactly why it's a vital inventory item in racing sailboats.

When it comes to furling code zero, the best way to do it is through a top-down furling system as this will ensure that you never get a twist in the system.

Generally used when a full size and heavier sail doesn't stay stable or pressurized, a windseeker is a very light sail that's designed for drifting conditions. This is exactly why they're designed with a forgiving cloth to allow them to handle these challenging conditions.

The windseeker should be tacked at the headstay with two sheets on the clew. To help this sail fill in the doldrums, you can heel the boat to whatever the apparent leeward side is and let gravity help you maintain a good sail shape while reaching.The ideal angle of a windseeker should be about 60 degrees.

Though only used in very specific conditions, the windseeker is so good at this one job that it is worth the investment if you plan on a long cruise. Still, you can substitute most off the breeze sails for this in a pinch, with slightly less performance gain, likely with more sacrifices in angle to the breeze. 

Drifter Reacher

Many cruising sailors often get intimidated by the idea of setting and trimming a drifter if it's attached to the rig at only three corners or if it's free-flying. But whether or not a drifter is appropriate for your boat will hugely depend on your boat's rig, as well as other specific details such as your crew's ability to furl and unfurl the drifter and, of course, your intended cruising grounds.

But even with that, the drifter remains a time-honored sail that's handy and very versatile. Unlike other light air sails, the drifter perfectly carries on all points of sails as it allows the boat to sail close-hauled and to tack. It is also very easy to control when it's set and struck. In simpler terms, a drifter is principally a genoa that's built of lightweight fabric such as nylon. Regardless of the material, the drifter is a superb sail if you want to sail off a lee shore without using the genoa.

Generally stronger than other regular sails, stormsails are designed to handle winds of over 45 knots and are great when sailing in stormy conditions. They include a storm jib and a trysail.

If you sail long and far enough, chances are you have or will soon be caught in stormy conditions. Under such conditions, storm jibs can be your insurance and you'll be better off if you have a storm jib that has the following features:

• Robustly constructed using heavyweight sailcloth
• Sized suitably for the boat
• Highly visible even in grey and white seas

That's not all; you should never go out there without a storm jib as this, together with the trysail, is the only sails that will be capable of weathering some of nature's most testing situations.

Storm jibs typically have high clews to give you the flexibility of sheet location. You can raise the sail with a spare halyard until its lead position is closed-hauled in the right position. In essence, storm jib is your insurance policy when out there sailing: you should always have it but always hope that you never have to use it.

Also known as a spencer, a trysail is a small, bright orange, veritably bullet-proof, and triangular sail that's designed to save the boat's mainsail from winds over 45 knots and works in the same way as a storm jib. It is designed to enable you to make progress to windward even in strong and stormy winds.

Trysails generally use the same mast track as the mainsail but you have to introduce the slides into the gate from the head of the trysail.

There are two main types of rigs: the fore-and-aft rig and the square rigg.

Fore-and-aft Rig

This is a sailing rig that chiefly has the sails set along the lines of the keel and not perpendicular to it. It can be divided into three categories: Bermuda rig, Gaff rig, and Lateen rig.

Bermuda Rig - Also known as a Marconi rig, this is the typical configuration of most modern sailboats. It has been used since the 17th century and remains one of the most efficient types of rigs. The rig revolves around setting a triangular sail aft of the mast with the head raised to the top of the mast. The luff should run down the mast and be attached to the entire length.

Gaff Rig - This is the most popular fore-and-aft rig on vessels such as the schooner and barquentine. It revolves around having the sail four-cornered and controlled at its peak. In other words, the head of the mainsail is guided by a gaff.

Lateen Rig - This is a triangular fore-and-aft rig whereby a triangular sail is configured on a long yard that's mounted at a given angle of the mast while running in a fore-and-aft direction. Lateen rig is commonly used in the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean.

Square Rigged

This is a rig whereby the mainsails are arranged in a horizontal spar so that they're square or vertical to the mast and the keel of the boat. The square rig is highly efficient when sailing downwind and was once very popular with ocean-going sailboats.

Unquestionably, sailing is always pleasurable. Imagine turning off the engine of your boat, hoisting the sails, and filling them with air! This is, without a doubt, a priceless moment that will make your boat keel and jump forward!

But being propelled by the noiseless motion of the wind and against the mighty currents and pounding waves of the seas require that you know various sail types and how to use them not just in propelling your boat but also in ensuring that you enjoy sailing and stay safe. Sails are a gorgeous way of getting forward. They remain the main fascination of sailboats and sea cruising. If anything, sails and boats are inseparable and are your true friends when out there on the water. As such, getting to know different types of sails and how to use them properly is of great importance.

All in all, let's wish you calm seas, fine winds, and a sturdy mast!

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Practical Boat Owner

• Digital edition

Sail boat rigs: the pros and cons of each popular design

• Peter Poland
• July 24, 2023

Peter Poland looks at the history of popular rig designs and how the different types affect boat performance

Annie Hill’s FanShi can be easily reefed, a real benefit of the junk rig when sailing solo. Credit: Annie Hill Credit: Annie Hill

Having once asked yacht designer Andrew Wolstenholme if we could meet to discuss the evolution of modern sail boat rigs – and the continuing popularity of some older designs – we talked about boats in general and gaff rigs in particular, many of which he designs.

“The gaff still has much to recommend it. With stiffer, yet lighter carbon fibre spars , it can offer bigger benefits than it ever did in the past,” said Andrew.

His recent gaff-rigged designs like the new Cornish Crabber 24 MkV and smaller Kite 21 prove this point.

The 45ft barge yacht  Juno  was designed by Andrew Wolstenholme, built by Charlie Ward and launched in 2000. If you fancy a taste of history she can be chartered through  www.sailingbargejuno.com . Credit: Neil Foster

It’s generally accepted that the gaff evolved from the spritsail rig , which in turn evolved from earlier lugsail and – before then – square sail rigs .

The lugsail attaches to a spar that is hoisted at an angle. So part of the spar and sail protrude ahead of the mast, and this leading edge enables a boat to sail upwind.

The evolution of the lugsail started when someone discovered that by setting a square sail at an angle – with one end of the yard pointing down towards the deck – the sail could set closer to the wind.

Upwind advantage

Some say the Chinese junk rig is also descended from square sails as used on Chinese ships before the 12th century.

The junk rig , also known as the Chinese lugsail or sampan rig, evolved with full length battens extending the sail forward of the mast, providing a leading edge to help sail upwind.

The ever-inventive Blondie Hasler designed and built a modern version of the junk rig for his modified Nordic Folkboat, Jester .

He then entered the first single-handed transatlantic race in 1960, helping to initiate the OSTAR and boosting the appeal of long-distance solo sailing in general, and the junk rig in particular.

Blondie Hasler’s Jester helped cement the appeal of the modern junk rig. Credit: Ewen Southby-Tailyour

David Tyler, Annie Hill and Roger Taylor are three leading lights of the Hasler-inspired move to modern junk rigs, and have sailed many thousands of miles between them.

A Sadler 25 was the first of five junk rig boats that David Tyler owned. He and Annie Hill were also founder members of the ever-informative Junk Rig Association .

David told me he “could not contemplate sailing under anything else than a junk rig”, and has a long history of experimenting with and making variations of the junk rig.

David Thomas designed a ply/epoxy 35ft shoal draught junk rig ocean cruiser for David Tyler.

Tystie  with an earlier single mast sail plan. She later converted to a ketch  rig . Credit: Darren Bos

Hedley Bewes built Tystie beside the Hamble to a completed and painted woodwork stage; then Tyler fitted her out with junk rig, engine , electrics , and deck hardware in just three months.

She was launched in August 2000 and ended up in New Zealand, where she was sold – 16 years later – having sailed 85,000 miles.

“I could not possibly have done this under any other rig,” said David.

He then designed a modern cambered junk rig for his Hunter Duette 23, admitting that this “still does not compete with a big genoa to windward but is superior in all other ways – especially if you define efficiency as ‘miles sailed per unit of input of crew effort’. She had a junk rig of my own design first, then a junk rig-based wingsail.”

David concluded that a modern cambered junk rig “can encompass many features: including various sailmaking ways of building 3D camber into each panel with straight battens; or a flat sail with hinged battens; or a flat fanned sail with twist (a fiendishly cunning method found in Hong Kong junks). My favourite sail has slightly cambered panels with hinged battens. This is easier to set without diagonal creases than deeply cambered panels; and has a smoother curved foil shape than a flat sail with hinges.”

Sail boat rigs proven offshore

Annie Hill is another junk rig enthusiast who has sailed many thousands of miles and written books about her voyages.

She’s now based in New Zealand, having built the David Tyler-designed FanShi “from scratch with a small amount of amateur assistance from friends.”

“The best aspect of a junk rig for single-handed sailing is the speed and ease with which you can reef ,” explained Annie. “The sail tacks automatically which helps in close quarters sailing, as does having exactly the right amount of sail for the situation. I find another great advantage is that when I’m sailing off the anchor or a mooring , I can raise three or four panels, so the boat doesn’t go charging off as I walk back to the cockpit. I can then raise the rest of the sail while leaving the anchorage. And of course, I only raise just what I need.”

Annie Hill christens her self-built FanShi on launch day in New Zealand. Credit: Annie Hill

Annie Hill mentions several junk rig benefits: “The junk rig is much easier to handle downwind. It’s reluctant to gybe until you are sailing well by the lee. The sail is fully squared out so that it is working efficiently. And it’s easy to change from running to reaching to beating, without having to handle guys, poles or vangs.

“In short, the junk rig is much easier to sail. The junk sail is intrinsically self-tacking, which makes beating to windward, especially in close quarters, infinitely less work. Ease of reefing – and making sail again – also means you always sail under the correct amount of canvas. This makes for faster passages and ensures the boat is properly underway in the aftermath of a gale.”

And the disadvantages? Most agree that the junk rig is less efficient when s ailing to windward in light airs .

Easy handling

Roger Taylor came upon the junk rig when buying his first Mingming ; one of around 25 factory-built junk rig Corribees.

“The conversion work was to make her more suitable for serious offshore work – unsinkable, watertight bulkheads, reduced cockpit, proper watertight hatch and so on. I bought her specifically to sail in the first Jester Challenge , and so nothing was more appropriate than a junk rig! I had, in any case, been fascinated by Jester herself for many decades.”

Mingming II came next – a standard triple keel Achilles 24 – so Roger replaced her Bermuda rig with a new junk rig.

Roger Taylor has covered many solo miles in his modified Achilles 24, Mingming II and says the junk sail is easy to repair at sea. Credit: Bertie Milne

“The main differences to the Hasler sail on Mingming were higher aspect ratio for speed in the light airs you get in the high Arctic latitudes in summer – so seven panels instead of six. And cambered panels instead of flat-cut, for better windward performance.

“The lower four panels were built separately as I didn’t have enough room in my London flat to sew the sail in one piece. It’s attached to the carbon-fibre battens with a hinge system. I named the sail the HHT – Hybrid Hinged Turbo! The unstayed mast was a cut down municipal lamp post, 8in diameter at the base, tapering to about 3in at the masthead; solid as a rock in all weathers.”

Roger added “I can reef instantaneously from the hatch and do all other sail handling from the safety and shelter of the main hatch. So I am never exposed on deck and am therefore warmer, drier, less stressed, and therefore more likely to make better decisions.”

As well as ease of handling, Roger says it is “a wonderfully relaxed and supple rig, with none of the extreme tensions of its Bermuda cousin.”

“The sensation at sea is quite different; you feel more in harmony with the elements, rather than their adversary. Few junk rig sailors I know would ever revert once they have experienced this. The rig is easy to repair at sea. If a sail panel tears you can take it out of service by lashing two battens together. If a batten breaks you can lash it to its neighbour (I did almost a whole voyage to Iceland and back like this, after breaking a batten in a Force 9 off the Dogger Bank) or fix it with a splint. With a fully battened rig, the sail is evenly supported at all points.”

A classic sail boat rig

Moving on to modern luggers , there are some recent interpretations of this classic rig.

British designer Nigel Irens is famous for his multihulls but also has an eye for the unusual, and in 1994 he came up with a couple of beautiful luggers.

His first was the Roxane , a 29ft yawl-rigged lugger loosely inspired by an old Shetland Island fishing boat.

Fitted with a carbon fibre main mast and yard, she has plenty of modern technology on board.

As an active racing class boat that doubles up as a tender and potterer, the 11ft 4in lug sail scow has many fans. Credit: Will Perritt/Alamy

He followed this with the smaller 22ft Romilly , another yawl-rigged lugger for trailer sailing . Both models were later produced by CoCoBe in Holland.

The songwriter and broadcaster Sir Richard Stilgoe was “immediately beguiled” by the Roxane after sailing her in 1995, and has his own called Ruby II .

“The lightness of the carbon spars undoubtedly makes a difference to stability. The rig works and sails really nicely. But I admit that I and another owner are working with Nigel to investigate a conversion to two Bermuda masts – still unstayed – with fathead sails. I don’t expect to go faster, but I do hope to be able to raise and lower the sails more quickly and easily,” said Sir Richard.

If you fancy trying a very small lugsail boat, the famous 11ft 4in scow has much to offer.

It’s widely sailed in the UK and the best-known example is the Lymington Scow. Fleets can be found along the South Coast.

Originally built in clinker, scows are now moulded in GRP.

Rooted in the past

The spritsail is another rig evolution. It appeared on small Greek craft in the Aegean Sea many centuries ago. The Romans followed suit with spritsail-rigged merchant ships.

The rig became increasingly sophisticated until the luff of the sail sat behind the mast, while the sprit went from the base of the mast to the peak of the sail.

The luff became long and straight and the boat could sail closer to the wind, especially with leeboards to reduce sideways drift and a foresail to increase sail area: both said to be Dutch innovations.

The most famous spritsail rigged workhorses were the large, flat-bottomed leeboard Thames barges, which could lower their masts to ‘shoot’ bridges before unloading their cargo.

The Optimist was designed as low cost started boats to children. Credit: Getty

There aren’t many new spritsail-rigged craft around these days, apart from thousands of Optimist dinghies sailed by children as starter-boats.

The Optimist was designed in 1947 by American Clark Mills to offer low-cost sailing for young people.

He drew a simple pram that could be built from three sheets of plywood, then the design was slightly modified and introduced in Europe by Axel Damsgaard.

There are now more than 160,000 Optimists sailed in around 120 countries.

At the 2020 Olympics, at least 75% of medallist skippers were former Optimist champions: the spritsail remains a cornerstone of sailing.

Working boat designs

The gaff rig – extensively used on workboats of all sorts – was a logical progression.

The sprit was replaced by a gaff that slid up the mast so two sides of the mainsail were attached to solid spars.

The later addition of a boom improved performance, but made lowering and raising the rig trickier when shooting bridges.

Some builders solved this problem by attaching the boom gooseneck to the top of a tall tabernacle in which the mast hinged, so the lowered mast, gaff and sail could still stack on top of the boom.

Continues below…

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David Harding looks at some of the latest developments in junk rig and meets the owners of different types of…

The gaff rig improved the versatility of workboats; the ability to sail to windward diluted sailors’ dread of a lee shore.

The gaff rig held sway on small to medium sized working craft and on growing numbers of leisure yachts until the Bermuda rig arrived.

Originally developed in Bermuda for smaller vessels then adapted to the larger ocean-going Bermuda sloop, this rig features a triangular mainsail hoisted to the top of the mast. Marconi’s invention of wire rigging to hold up tall radio masts soon spread to sailboats.

Performance-oriented designers borrowed Marconi’s idea and hoisted large three-sided mainsails on tall and well-supported masts.

As a result, the mainsail had a long, straight leading edge which optimised windward performance.

Crafted for speed

Predictably, yacht racing encouraged the proliferation of these ‘Marconi’ Bermuda rigs.

Metre boat and ocean racer designers were quick to forsake gaffs and go for large mainsails and smallish headsails set on tall masts.

When the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC)’s rules started influencing the post-war racing scene, masthead Bermuda rigs with smaller mainsails and larger overlapping genoas received favourable racing handicaps and therefore became the norm; masthead rigs with 150% overlapping genoas dominated the scene.

Fortuitously, self-tailing winches were invented (1974 patent) and fitted on race boats. And GRP production family cruisers followed suit.

The Westerly Centaur with a masthead rig and overlapping genoa

From top-selling Beneteaus like the First 30 (1977) to cruising twin keelers like the Westerly Centaur (1969), masthead rigs and overlapping genoas became the norm.

At the same time, the shorter mast, smaller main and standard working jib saved the builder money – and a large genoa went onto the ‘extras’ list!

The Hunter 19 was an example of how the RORC rule encouraged small mains and big genoas.

The National Squib keelboat’s identical hull and keel sports a well-balanced fractional rig with a small jib and a big mainsail.

But when the Squib grew a cabin and coachroof to become a handicap race boat, the rig height and mainsail shrunk while the headsail became a 150% genoa.

And early Hunter 19s won handicap races galore.

Meanwhile, classic 1960s and 70s cruiser-racers such as the Nicholson 32 , Contessa 26 and 32, Twister, Stella, Beneteaus and Jeanneaus et al clung to masthead rigs with small mainsails, working jibs and large genoas; the latter still lurking on the extras list.

The same applied to most of the British bilge- and twin-keel family cruisers .

Fractional sail boat rigs

Impressed by David Thomas’s quarter ton design, Quarto , Hunter was one of the first British builders to beat a path back to fractional rigged cruiser-racers .

Unlike most other quarter tonners at that time, Quarto featured a fractional rig.

In 1975, Hunter asked Thomas to design a GRP cruiser-racer with a similar rig. This became the Sonata, and Hunter never again built a masthead-rigged yacht.

At around the same time, the new International Offshore Rule (IOR) handicap rule – followed later by the Channel Handicap System (CHS) and International Rating Certificate (IRC) rules – treated fractional sail boat rigs more fairly.

Hunter twin keelers, like the Hunter Channel 31, have fractional rigs. Photo: Sven Petersen/Hunter Association

Hunter’s twin keel cruisers also had easily handled fractional rigs, later including self-tacking jibs as standard.

As most sailors moved over to Bermuda rigs, working boats such as fishing smacks and pilot cutters stuck to their four-sided mainsails held aloft on gaffs.

As did several leisure yachts. Why? What are the advantages of these ‘four sided’ mainsails?

While gaff-rig aficionados concede that it’s less close-winded than a Bermuda rig, they reckon it scores off the wind.

Although a gaffer’s mast is shorter, ample sail can be set because the gaff puts more area at the top of a mainsail than you get beneath the diminutive headboard on a Bermuda rig mainsail.

On a reach or a run, gaff rigs provide power aplenty.

Design expert CA Marchaj also said a low aspect ratio mainsail is more efficient than a high aspect ratio equivalent when sailing off the wind.; if you want to pile on more horsepower in light airs, the space above the gaff can also be filled with a topsail.

Ideal for novices

In the 21st century, modern gaffers are still popular, and thousands of novices enjoy sailing in a ubiquitous and simple little gaffer: the Mirror dinghy .

The Mirror’s gunter-rigged gaff slides up parallel to its short mast and offers many benefits.

Sail boat rigs: The Mirror Dinghy originally had a gunter-rigged gaff rig; later the Mirror Class introduced a Bermuda rig option. Credit: Getty

The mast and gaff are much shorter than a one-piece Bermuda rig mast, so are easy to handle and transport when the boat is trailed.

Yet windward performance is good, thanks to the straight luff that continues from the tack of the mainsail to its head on the ‘gunter’ gaff.

The Mirror Class later introduced a Bermuda rig option.

Modern gaffers

Designer Andrew Wolstenholme attributes much of the credit for the popularity of the gaff rig in cruising yachts to Cornish Crabbers.

These boats have sold in large numbers since Roger Dongray designed the original Cornish Crabber.

Her smaller sister, the 19ft Cornish Shrimper, sports a nicely balanced gaff rig with a sizable roller genoa tacked to a bowsprit.

Over 1,000 have been sold and she’s still in production. Wolstenholme has recently designed a new Cornish Crabber 24 MkV with a lightweight carbon mast which also simplifies trailer-sailing.

Sail boat rigs: The gaff-rigged Cornish Crabber 24, with a lightweight carbon mast. Credit: David Harding

Wolstenholme’s Kite 21 is another modern gaffer to take advantage of new materials.

“My aim is to keep her light and simple… the sail plan is generous and set on lightweight carbon spars. I want her to sail well in light and moderate winds – not just in a blow. I want to tow her behind a normal 1.8 litre saloon – not some gas guzzling 4×4.”

The Old Gaffers Association aims to encourage interest in the traditional gaff rig, but also welcomes the development of the rig.

One of these exotic ‘new’ gaffers is the Simon Rogers-designed Alice III. Chris Spencer-Chapman, whose company McKillop Classic Sails was involved in the rig and sail plan, says the “combination of the light carbon spars and hydraulic lifting deep fin and bulb keel allows an enormous sail area which would not be possible with a conventional hull and spars. She is exciting in light conditions but the windage can be an issue to windward in heavy conditions. “Off the wind she is always very fast… for easy cruising, the Bermuda rig will win, but there will always be the aficionado who likes the features of traditional rigs. Unless you are a real purist, why not take advantage of modern materials?”

Sail boat rigs: The Kite 21 is a modern gaffer designed to sail well in light and moderate winds. Credit: Peter Chesworth

Stephen Akester, who co-owns Alice III , told me she “is light displacement at 7.5 tonnes. In light airs and no sea she outperforms Bermuda rigs but to windward in a blow she loses out due to windage and not being as close winded. [She has] much less weight aloft and a very different motion to a classic gaff-rigged heavy displacement vessel. We opted for a gaff rig for the fun of it. Further refinements using modern materials mean we can set the rig up for single-handed sailing with headsails and topsail on rollers and boom bags to catch main and mizzen.”

The Nigel Irens-designed 63ft Maggie B was another dramatic ‘modern gaffer’.

Builder Covey Island Boatworks called her a ‘fusion’ yacht because she fused modern materials with traditional ideas.

Her schooner rig featured short, high peaked carbon gaffs on Irens’s slippery and almost plumb stemmed shoal draught hull design.

The carbon spars are held up by Vectran fibre shrouds tensioned by special deadeyes.

Reducing weight

Vectran costs more than wire, but the weight reduction is huge – as is the cost saving on fabrications to attach wires to the mast and on rigging screws to tension them.

The weight saving aloft meant that 600kg worth of ballast was saved down below, improving performance and righting moments.

Maggie B was succeeded by Farfarer – another Irens masterpiece featuring an unstayed rig with ‘fathead’ mainsails, with a stiff top batten doing the job of a mini gaff.

Matt Newlands of Swallow Boats also brought gaffs into the modern age; then went further.

“The gunter rig was what we offered, and still do, to customers who prefer having shorter spars making trailer-sailing easier for two reasons – less length to trail and easier to raise the mast. But in my opinion, it has been made almost obsolete by two developments. One is carbon fibre masts, and the other is fathead mainsails.

The mast on the BayRaider 20 is only 1m longer than the boat; the ‘fathead’ mainsail improves the lift and drag ratio and maintains sail area. Credit: David Harding

“Carbon masts on trailer-sailer sized boats are so light that it’s easy to raise a full-length mast if the base is hinged. The mast length problem is cured by using a ‘fathead’ mainsail, reducing mast length (on our boats by as much as 1m) while maintaining the same sail area and improving lift/drag ratio.

“On our popular BayRaider 20 this results in a mast that is only 1m longer than the boat. This new rig has many advantages over the gunter, chief among them being ease of reefing. I love quirky rigs, but it’s hard to beat the Bermuda mainsail setup especially with a fathead main on a carbon mast.”

All of which brings us to the Bermuda rigs on today’s production cruisers.

Many have moved on from the old RORC-inspired masthead sail plan. I asked rigging expert Nigel Theadon whether he preferred masthead or fractional sail boat rigs.

“Modern swept-back spreaders provide a ‘safer’ rig without the need for babystay or forward lowers to stabilise the mast’s middle sections… forestays are now higher up the mast than in years gone by, so the modern fractional rig is closer to a masthead than it once was,” he says.

“Fractional rigs are more attractive to look at and do not need expensive and powerful backstay adjusters. When buying a new boat, consider what you want from the rig. When buying a used boat, get a rigger to carry out a mast inspection: because hull surveyors rarely look above eye height.”

Whether you opt for a gaff- or Bermuda-rigged boat, this is sound advice.

Nigel was class champion of the X332; its well-balanced ultra-modern fractional rig works as well for a small cruising crew as it does for keen racers.

But don’t let this put you off a modern gaffer if you enjoy its quirks and character.

Our coastline would be a boring place if we all sailed the same sorts of boats.

Pros and cons of popular sail boat rig designs

Chinese junk rig.

Sail boat rigs: Chinese junk rig. Credit: Darren Bos

Pros: Easy to raise and reef. Easy to tack, gybe and sail single-handed. Easy to control in strong winds.

Cons: Not as close-winded as other rigs. Can be expensive and complicated to build/fit.

Sail boat rigs: Gaff rig. Credit: Neil Foster

Pros: Shorter spars make trailing easier. Modern carbon spars are light and easier to raise/lower. Efficient on a reach or run. Easy on the eye.

Cons: Not as close-winded as modern Bermuda rigs.

Masthead Bermuda rig

Sail boat rigs: Masthead Bermuda rig. Credit: Graham Snook

Pros: Close-winded. Large genoas can be reefed with modern roller furling gear. Modern self-tailing winches make short-tacking easier. Small mainsails easier to control.

Cons: Large genoas can be hard work for cruising.

Fractional Bermuda rig

Sail boat rigs: Fractional Bermuda rig. Credit: Graham Snook/Yachting Monthly

Pros: Very close-winded with tight sheeting angles. Smaller jib is easier to tack, set and trim when shorthanded A large mainsail adds extra off-wind power

Cons: Swept spreaders can chafe mainsails when dead-running.

Enjoyed reading Sail boat rigs: the pros and cons of each popular design?

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Square sail handling

In this issue we have a special section on sail technology, including a piece on how to keep your roller furling gear, both jib and main, in good working order. Roller furling, self-tailing, multispeed winches (some of them electric), rope clutches and more are all part of the sailhandling gear aboard a modern yacht.

Ocean Navigator , however, is also giving seminars aboard the new sail training vessel Oliver Hazard Perry , a 200-foot, full-rigged ship. Perry is a modern steel vessel in every way, except one: sailhandling. Like the other sail training vessels currently afloat, Perry will sail without a single winch — electric or manual — and no hint of mechanical roller furling.

On Oliver Hazard Perry , the idea is to learn to sail a tall ship the traditional way. The crew and the students provide the power to set sail, trim sail and douse (and furl) sail.

On a yacht, raising a Marconi-rigged main is essentially a single line operation: via the halyard. And a jib doesn’t usually even require raising — most voyaging boats have roller furling — you roll out the jib with a sheet.

Square sails, however, are a bit more involved. Take the main topsail, for example. Like the sails on a Marconi-rigged boat, the main topsail also has a halyard. It doesn’t stop there, however. The sail also has two sheets, two braces, two clewlines, four buntlines and two reef tackles. All these lines must be manned as the sail is deployed and the yard raised.

More than anything, sailhandling on a square-rigged vessel requires teamwork. “It takes everyone on board to do it,” said Perry captain, Richard Bailey. As with anything, practice makes the process run more smoothly. A set of general rules also helps. Here are some rules that enable newcomers to become useful members of the sailhandling gang quickly:

1. Listen for orders — it’s essential that you always keep an ear open for the orders being given by the person in charge. When you hear an order, obey it promptly.

2. Do not give orders — the person running the sail evolution is the only person who can give orders.

3. Keep quiet — unless you have something relevant to say, such as “Port main topsail brace is manned,” or “There’s a fire in the forepeak.”

4. Only do things that you have been ordered to do — if you were not ordered to belay a line there is probably a reason, so don’t belay the line.

5. Make absolutely sure that you know which line you are supposed to grab — and make certain that you have in fact grabbed the line. If you are not certain, ask!

6. Have fun, but — bear in mind that this is serious stuff, so don’t have too much fun.      Setting and recovering sails is only part of the picture when it comes to sailing, of course. The other parts are trimming the sails and maneuvering the vessel.

Once they’re set, square sails are generally trimmed via the braces — lines attached to the ends of the square sail yards. The braces control the angle of the yard to the wind. Teamwork comes in here, too. Because the braces have integrated blocks, they have multipart purchase, making them powerful like a winch. The teams adjusting the braces need to act in concert. “If both sides are hauling,” Bailey said, “You could break a yard.” That fact points us back to rule No. 4: “Only do things that you have been ordered to do!”

Maneuvering a square-rigged sailing vessel is different from a fore-and-aft rigged sailboat in a number of ways, but one interesting difference stands out: On a Marconi or gaff-rigged boat, to change tacks the maneuver easiest on the gear and the crew is coming about or putting the bow through the wind. A gybe (putting the stern through the wind), on the other hand, carries with it the possibility of damaging the gooseneck fitting or the standing rigging or a member of the crew, should he or she get struck by the boom. A controlled gybe using the mainsheet or a device like the boom brake is needed to manage the downside of gybing.

On a square-rigged vessel, the preferred maneuvering technique is to put the stern through the wind — it’s called ‘wearing ship’ rather than gybing. Putting the bow through the wind is less favored. “That’s where the risk comes in,” said Bailey.

The reason for this difference is tied to the standing rigging of a square-rigged vessel. The forward half of a square-rigged mast must be free of shrouds so the sails can fly unencumbered. Thus, the shrouds are rigged to steady the masts from astern. When the bow is put through the wind, the foremast is the most vulnerable as it is only supported by the four forestays (the forestay, the inner fore topmast stay, the outer fore topmast stay and the fore t’gallant stay). So, in addition to the danger any sailing vessel faces of not getting the bow around and getting stuck in irons, for a square-rigger there is also the rare possibility of “knocking down the foremast,” as Bailey puts it.

These are just some of the fascinating wrinkles of sailing a square-rigged vessel. You can learn a great deal more on one of Ocean Navigator ’s week-long sailing adventures aboard Oliver Hazard Perry this fall. It’ll be a great opportunity to get some hands-on experience working the sails on a square-rigged ship. And you can learn celestial navigation or marine weather on the trip, too. Check out the ON website or call Tim Queeney at (207) 822-4350 ext. 211 for more information.

By Ocean Navigator

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Analysis Square Rigged Ship Motion

Aloof: Remote, superior in manner. From the sixteenth century (probably derived from luff, "to turn the head of a ship toward the wind''): a boat of superior sailing capability that can stay upwind of other boats. Bosun: Boatswain. From Old English bat or Old Norse beit (both meaning

''boat'') and Old Norse swain (''boy''). Doldrums: Gloominess, stagnation. From Old English dol (''dull''); equatorial latitudes where low winds often becalmed sailing ships . Fathom: A measure of six feet, or to gauge the depth of something—to figure it out. From the Anglo-Saxon faetm (''embrace''), the length of a man's outstretched arms being about 6 ft; also Germanfaden (''thread''). Measuring sea depth with an unmarked line, a sailor might haul in the line and count off 6 ft for each section pulled in.

I have pressed the pause button in my history of sailing ship evolution at a critical stage. By the sixteenth century, sailing vessels of the Atlantic tradition were on course to become the best that the world could produce,* as we will see in chapter 3. These ships were by and large square-rigged. History tells us that such vessels sailed effectively with the wind and were thus particularly well suited to traveling long distances across open ocean, pushed along by trade winds. But history also tells us that the later, more sophisticated square-riggers could also sail at least a

* But were not there yet—recall the Chinese junks of the early fifteenth century.

couple of points into the wind. This capability made them much more useful for getting about the globe and for maneuvering in combat. What is the physics behind the motion of square-rigged sailing ships? Can we understand quantitatively why they performed well and how close to the wind they could sail? These questions are the subject matter of the present chapter, in which I introduce you to the physics behind wind-powered sailing. As stated in the introduction, my emphasis will be on understanding the principles rather than on technical details. The ideas and physical principles established here will be built on and refined in chapter 4, much as designs for square- rigged ships were built on and refined after the Age of Exploration, as we will see.

Continue reading here: Apparent Wind

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Readers' Questions

Can a square rigged boat sail into the wind?

Yes, a square-rigged boat can sail into the wind, but not directly into it. Square-rigged boats are capable of sailing at angles of around 45 degrees to the wind, known as "beating" or "tacking." By using a combination of zigzag maneuvers called tacking, where the boat changes its course back and forth, square-rigged boats can effectively make progress against the wind. However, they cannot sail directly into the wind due to the physics and limitations of their rigging and design.

How square rigged ships sail agains the wing?

Square-rigged ships, also known as square-riggers, are capable of sailing against the wind through a technique called tack or beating to windward. Here's how it works: Close-hauled: To sail against the wind, the square-rigged ship will first adjust its sails to a close-hauled position. This means the sails are trimmed as tightly as possible to point as closely into the wind as they can handle. The ship's crew adjusts the angle of the sails using the lines or sheets attached to the corners of the sails. Side force: Unlike modern fore-and-aft rigged ships which use the shape of their sails to generate lift, square-rigged ships rely on the pressure difference created by the wind passing over the sails. The sails act like wings, with the wind hitting the front surface at a higher pressure than the back surface. This difference in pressure creates a sideways force on the sails, pushing the ship in the desired direction. Forward motion: As the sails generate side force, the ship moves forward while being pushed slightly sideways. This forward motion helps the ship to make progress against the wind. Tacking: Once the ship has made sufficient progress in one direction, it needs to change direction. To do this, the ship undertakes a maneuver called tacking. The crew changes the angle of the sails, turning them to face the other side of the ship. This allows the ship to change its course while maintaining forward momentum. Repeating the process: The ship continues to sail in a zigzag pattern, tacking back and forth, to gradually make progress against the wind. By tacking at a narrow angle to the wind, the ship can sail upwind with the help of the sideways force generated by the square sails. It's important to note that square-rigged ships are not as efficient at sailing against the wind compared to modern fore-and-aft rigged ships. However, with skilled seamanship and well-coordinated crew, square-riggers can still navigate against the wind and reach their desired destination.

How do squarerigged ships navigate headwinds?

Square-rigged ships, also known as sailing ships or tall ships, were designed to navigate headwinds and sail against them. Here are some techniques they used: Tacking: Tacking is a sailing technique used to sail against the wind. The ship would change its course by steering diagonally into the wind. This maneuver is accomplished by turning the bow of the ship through the wind and changing the position of the sails. This allows the ship to take advantage of the wind's force and move forward. Beating: Beating is another term for sailing against the wind. It involves a zigzag pattern where the ship sails at an angle to the wind. By continually adjusting the sails and changing the ship's course, it progresses forward despite the headwind. This technique requires skilled sailors to constantly trim the sails and adjust the ship's position. Use of sail combinations: Square-rigged ships had multiple masts and various types of sails. By adjusting the sails, ship navigators could find the most efficient arrangement for sailing against headwinds. For instance, they may use a combination of lower squaresails, topsails, staysails, or jibs, depending on the intensity of the wind. Reefing: Reefing is the process of reducing the size of a sail to make it more manageable during strong winds. The crew would tie up or fold part of the sail, reducing its area and thereby decreasing the force exerted by the wind. This technique allowed a ship to maintain control and maneuverability during strong headwinds. Utilizing favorable winds aloft: While square-rigged ships struggled to sail directly into headwinds, they could take advantage of favorable winds at different altitudes. If the wind direction changed at higher altitudes, the sailors would try to navigate to those wind paths to make their journey easier. Using auxiliary power: In some instances, when there was little to no wind or the headwind was exceptionally strong, square-rigged ships could resort to auxiliary power sources. These could include oars, towboats, or even being towed by another ship until favorable wind conditions for sailing were met. Overall, navigating headwinds in square-rigged ships required skill, experience, and careful manipulation of the sails and ship's course to take advantage of the wind's force and maintain progress.

How to “Heave To” on a Square Rigger

Square rig manoeuvre’s.

This is a series of FREE tips on manoeuvering  square riggers.

Not many of us will reach the lofty heights of tall ship captain, but it is nice to know what is going on. Here are some of the manoeuvere’s that are markedly different from sailing a ‘fore and aft’ rigged sailing ship.

• Tacking a square rigger
• Wearing Ship (similar to gybing)
• Sailing Away from Anchor
• Heaving To (stopping a square rigger)

 What is ‘Heaving to’?

The act of ‘heaving to’ is a manoeuvre to quickly stop under sail. It can be achieved with many different sail plans, not just square rig. The techniques vary a bit between types of vessel. To reduce speed on a square rigger, you just start taking away sails. If you want to stop more urgently then ‘heaving to’ is really the only sensible option.

How not to stop a square rigger

To do an emergency stop on a schooner you could sail her up into the wind to stop her, although there would be a lot of flapping sails.

On a square rigger sailing into the wind would immediately back the square sails so the wind is pushing on the wrong side and you could risk loosing a mast.

The foremast is particularly vulnerable because all the ‘standing rigging’ is designed mainly for going downwind, plus all the flapping headsails would put more stresses on that mast.

Another problem with going all aback is that it is very hard to get the square sails down, and more dangerous to go aloft and stow them. If you have to stop in a hurry, or just want to pause in the middle of the ocean, then the ‘hove to’ manoeuvre is a good one, because the only mast you back is the main mast.

 How to Hove To a Square Rigger

This is based on the techniques used on barque Europa.

A barque has three masts with square sails on the main and foremast.

1. Clew up the main course

2. Sail up onto a beam reach

3. Brace the main mast square You need a team to brace each yard on the main mast and bring them all square, and possibly a bit sharper until they all back with the wind on the wrong side.

4. Now the Sails Counter Each Other Out The sails on the foremast are pulling normally and trying to sail you forward and away from the wind. The main mast square sails are backed and the wind on them is trying to swing the ship back. The resultant effect is that the forces counter act each other and the ship is stationary with most the sail still set.

6. Ship Comes to a Stop With most your sails still set, it is easier to get going again – in theory!

7. Give it a Go

You can try this technique , with the captains approval, for real on any similarly rigged barque as long as it is not attempted in too strong winds or big seas, because of the strain on the masts. If you have stun’sails up – then it all gets a bit tricky.

Barques you can sail on with Classic Sailing

 Europa Voyages

 Lord Nelson Voyages

 Tenacious Voyages

Reasons for Heaving to

 Man Overboard (or practice drill)

 To take a pilot on board

 To go for a swim mid ocean

 Launch or recover a ships boat

 Take in a caught fish

 Rescue a trapped turtle

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The Ultimate Guide to Sail Types and Rigs (with Pictures)

What's that sail for? Generally, I don't know. So I've come up with a system. I'll explain you everything there is to know about sails and rigs in this article.

What are the different types of sails? Most sailboats have one mainsail and one headsail. Typically, the mainsail is a fore-and-aft bermuda rig (triangular shaped). A jib or genoa is used for the headsail. Most sailors use additional sails for different conditions: the spinnaker (a common downwind sail), gennaker, code zero (for upwind use), and stormsail.

Each sail has its own use. Want to go downwind fast? Use a spinnaker. But you can't just raise any sail and go for it. It's important to understand when (and how) to use each sail. Your rigging also impacts what sails you can use.

On this page:

Different sail types, the sail plan of a bermuda sloop, mainsail designs, headsail options, specialty sails, complete overview of sail uses, mast configurations and rig types.

This article is part 1 of my series on sails and rig types. Part 2 is all about the different types of rigging. If you want to learn to identify every boat you see quickly, make sure to read it. It really explains the different sail plans and types of rigging clearly.

Guide to Understanding Sail Rig Types (with Pictures)

First I'll give you a quick and dirty overview of sails in this list below. Then, I'll walk you through the details of each sail type, and the sail plan, which is the godfather of sail type selection so to speak.

Click here if you just want to scroll through a bunch of pictures .

Here's a list of different models of sails: (Don't worry if you don't yet understand some of the words, I'll explain all of them in a bit)

• Jib - triangular staysail
• Genoa - large jib that overlaps the mainsail
• Spinnaker - large balloon-shaped downwind sail for light airs
• Gennaker - crossover between a Genoa and Spinnaker
• Code Zero or Screecher - upwind spinnaker
• Drifter or reacher - a large, powerful, hanked on genoa, but made from lightweight fabric
• Windseeker - tall, narrow, high-clewed, and lightweight jib
• Trysail - smaller front-and-aft mainsail for heavy weather
• Storm jib - small jib for heavy weather

I have a big table below that explains the sail types and uses in detail .

I know, I know ... this list is kind of messy, so to understand each sail, let's place them in a system.

The first important distinction between sail types is the placement . The mainsail is placed aft of the mast, which simply means behind. The headsail is in front of the mast.

Generally, we have three sorts of sails on our boat:

• Mainsail: The large sail behind the mast which is attached to the mast and boom
• Headsail: The small sail in front of the mast, attached to the mast and forestay (ie. jib or genoa)
• Specialty sails: Any special utility sails, like spinnakers - large, balloon-shaped sails for downwind use

The second important distinction we need to make is the functionality . Specialty sails (just a name I came up with) each have different functionalities and are used for very specific conditions. So they're not always up, but most sailors carry one or more of these sails.

They are mostly attached in front of the headsail, or used as a headsail replacement.

The specialty sails can be divided into three different categories:

• downwind sails - like a spinnaker
• light air or reacher sails - like a code zero
• storm sails

The parts of any sail

Whether large or small, each sail consists roughly of the same elements. For clarity's sake I've took an image of a sail from the world wide webs and added the different part names to it:

• Head: Top of the sail
• Tack: Lower front corner of the sail
• Foot: Bottom of the sail
• Luff: Forward edge of the sail
• Leech: Back edge of the sail
• Clew: Bottom back corner of the sail

So now we speak the same language, let's dive into the real nitty gritty.

Basic sail shapes

Roughly speaking, there are actually just two sail shapes, so that's easy enough. You get to choose from:

• square rigged sails
• fore-and-aft rigged sails

I would definitely recommend fore-and-aft rigged sails. Square shaped sails are pretty outdated. The fore-and-aft rig offers unbeatable maneuverability, so that's what most sailing yachts use nowadays.

Square sails were used on Viking longships and are good at sailing downwind. They run from side to side. However, they're pretty useless upwind.

A fore-and-aft sail runs from the front of the mast to the stern. Fore-and-aft literally means 'in front and behind'. Boats with fore-and-aft rigged sails are better at sailing upwind and maneuvering in general. This type of sail was first used on Arabic boats.

As a beginner sailor I confuse the type of sail with rigging all the time. But I should cut myself some slack, because the rigging and sails on a boat are very closely related. They are all part of the sail plan .

A sail plan is made up of:

• Mast configuration - refers to the number of masts and where they are placed
• Sail type - refers to the sail shape and functionality
• Rig type - refers to the way these sails are set up on your boat

There are dozens of sails and hundreds of possible configurations (or sail plans).

For example, depending on your mast configuration, you can have extra headsails (which then are called staysails).

The shape of the sails depends on the rigging, so they overlap a bit. To keep it simple I'll first go over the different sail types based on the most common rig. I'll go over the other rig types later in the article.

Bermuda Sloop: the most common rig

Most modern small and mid-sized sailboats have a Bermuda sloop configuration . The sloop is one-masted and has two sails, which are front-and-aft rigged. This type of rig is also called a Marconi Rig. The Bermuda rig uses a triangular sail, with just one side of the sail attached to the mast.

The mainsail is in use most of the time. It can be reefed down, making it smaller depending on the wind conditions. It can be reefed down completely, which is more common in heavy weather. (If you didn't know already: reefing is skipper terms for rolling or folding down a sail.)

In very strong winds (above 30 knots), most sailors only use the headsail or switch to a trysail.

The headsail powers your bow, the mainsail powers your stern (rear). By having two sails, you can steer by using only your sails (in theory - it requires experience). In any case, two sails gives you better handling than one, but is still easy to operate.

Let's get to the actual sails. The mainsail is attached behind the mast and to the boom, running to the stern. There are multiple designs, but they actually don't differ that much. So the following list is a bit boring. Feel free to skip it or quickly glance over it.

• Square Top racing mainsail - has a high performance profile thanks to the square top, optional reef points
• Racing mainsail - made for speed, optional reef points
• Cruising mainsail - low-maintenance, easy to use, made to last. Generally have one or multiple reef points.
• Full-Batten Cruising mainsail - cruising mainsail with better shape control. Eliminates flogging. Full-length battens means the sail is reinforced over the entire length. Generally have one or multiple reef points.
• High Roach mainsail - crossover between square top racing and cruising mainsail, used mostly on cats and multihulls. Generally have one or multiple reef points.
• Mast Furling mainsail - sails specially made to roll up inside the mast - very convenient but less control; of sail shape. Have no reef points
• Boom Furling mainsail - sails specially made to roll up inside the boom. Have no reef points.

The headsail is the front sail in a front-and-aft rig. The sail is fixed on a stay (rope, wire or rod) which runs forward to the deck or bowsprit. It's almost always triangular (Dutch fishermen are known to use rectangular headsail). A triangular headsail is also called a jib .

Headsails can be attached in two ways:

• using roller furlings - the sail rolls around the headstay
• hank on - fixed attachment

Types of jibs:

Typically a sloop carries a regular jib as its headsail. It can also use a genoa.

• A jib is a triangular staysail set in front of the mast. It's the same size as the fore-triangle.
• A genoa is a large jib that overlaps the mainsail.

What's the purpose of a jib sail? A jib is used to improve handling and to increase sail area on a sailboat. This helps to increase speed. The jib gives control over the bow (front) of the ship, making it easier to maneuver the ship. The mainsail gives control over the stern of the ship. The jib is the headsail (frontsail) on a front-and-aft rig.

The size of the jib is generally indicated by a number - J1, 2, 3, and so on. The number tells us the attachment point. The order of attachment points may differ per sailmaker, so sometimes J1 is the largest jib (on the longest stay) and sometimes it's the smallest (on the shortest stay). Typically the J1 jib is the largest - and the J3 jib the smallest.

Most jibs are roller furling jibs: this means they are attached to a stay and can be reefed down single-handedly. If you have a roller furling you can reef down the jib to all three positions and don't need to carry different sizes.

Originally called the 'overlapping jib', the leech of the genoa extends aft of the mast. This increases speed in light and moderate winds. A genoa is larger than the total size of the fore-triangle. How large exactly is indicated by a percentage.

• A number 1 genoa is typically 155% (it used to be 180%)
• A number 2 genoa is typically 125-140%

Genoas are typically made from 1.5US/oz polyester spinnaker cloth, or very light laminate.

This is where it gets pretty interesting. You can use all kinds of sails to increase speed, handling, and performance for different weather conditions.

Some rules of thumb:

• Large sails are typically good for downwind use, small sails are good for upwind use.
• Large sails are good for weak winds (light air), small sails are good for strong winds (storms).

Downwind sails

Thanks to the front-and-aft rig sailboats are easier to maneuver, but they catch less wind as well. Downwind sails are used to offset this by using a large sail surface, pulling a sailboat downwind. They can be hanked on when needed and are typically balloon shaped.

Here are the most common downwind sails:

• Big gennaker
• Small gennaker

A free-flying sail that fills up with air, giving it a balloon shape. Spinnakers are generally colorful, which is why they look like kites. This downwind sail has the largest sail area, and it's capable of moving a boat with very light wind. They are amazing to use on trade wind routes, where they can help you make quick progress.

Spinnakers require special rigging. You need a special pole and track on your mast. You attach the sail at three points: in the mast head using a halyard, on a pole, and on a sheet.

The spinnaker is symmetrical, meaning the luff is as long as its leech. It's designed for broad reaching.

Gennaker or cruising spinnaker

The Gennaker is a cross between the genoa and the spinnaker. It has less downwind performance than the spinnaker. It is a bit smaller, making it slower, but also easier to handle - while it remains very capable. The cruising spinnaker is designed for broad reaching.

The gennaker is a smaller, asymmetric spinnaker that's doesn't require a pole or track on the mast. Like the spinnaker, and unlike the genoa, the gennaker is set flying. Asymmetric means its luff is longer than its leech.

You can get big and small gennakers (roughly 75% and 50% the size of a true spinnaker).

Also called ...

• the cruising spinnaker
• cruising chute
• pole-less spinnaker
• SpinDrifter

... it's all the same sail.

Light air sails

There's a bit of overlap between the downwind sails and light air sails. Downwind sails can be used as light air sails, but not all light air sails can be used downwind.

Here are the most common light air sails:

• Spinnaker and gennaker

Drifter reacher

Code zero reacher.

A drifter (also called a reacher) is a lightweight, larger genoa for use in light winds. It's roughly 150-170% the size of a genoa. It's made from very lightweight laminated spinnaker fabric (1.5US/oz).

Thanks to the extra sail area the sail offers better downwind performance than a genoa. It's generally made from lightweight nylon. Thanks to it's genoa characteristics the sail is easier to use than a cruising spinnaker.

The code zero reacher is officially a type of spinnaker, but it looks a lot like a large genoa. And that's exactly what it is: a hybrid cross between the genoa and the asymmetrical spinnaker (gennaker). The code zero however is designed for close reaching, making it much flatter than the spinnaker. It's about twice the size of a non-overlapping jib.

A windseeker is a small, free-flying staysail for super light air. It's tall and thin. It's freestanding, so it's not attached to the headstay. The tack attaches to a deck pad-eye. Use your spinnakers' halyard to raise it and tension the luff.

It's made from nylon or polyester spinnaker cloth (0.75 to 1.5US/oz).

It's designed to guide light air onto the lee side of the main sail, ensuring a more even, smooth flow of air.

Stormsails are stronger than regular sails, and are designed to handle winds of over 45 knots. You carry them to spare the mainsail. Sails

A storm jib is a small triangular staysail for use in heavy weather. If you participate in offshore racing you need a mandatory orange storm jib. It's part of ISAF's requirements.

A trysail is a storm replacement for the mainsail. It's small, triangular, and it uses a permanently attached pennant. This allows it to be set above the gooseneck. It's recommended to have a separate track on your mast for it - you don't want to fiddle around when you actually really need it to be raised ... now.

Why Use Different Sails At All?

You could just get the largest furling genoa and use it on all positions. So why would you actually use different types of sails?

The main answer to that is efficiency . Some situations require other characteristics.

Having a deeply reefed genoa isn't as efficient as having a small J3. The reef creates too much draft in the sail, which increases heeling. A reefed down mainsail in strong winds also increases heeling. So having dedicated (storm) sails is probably a good thing, especially if you're planning more demanding passages or crossings.

But it's not just strong winds, but also light winds that can cause problems. Heavy sails will just flap around like laundry in very light air. So you need more lightweight fabrics to get you moving.

What Are Sails Made Of?

The most used materials for sails nowadays are:

• Dacron - woven polyester
• woven nylon
• laminated fabrics - increasingly popular

Sails used to be made of linen. As you can imagine, this is terrible material on open seas. Sails were rotting due to UV and saltwater. In the 19th century linen was replaced by cotton.

It was only in the 20th century that sails were made from synthetic fibers, which were much stronger and durable. Up until the 1980s most sails were made from Dacron. Nowadays, laminates using yellow aramids, Black Technora, carbon fiber and Spectra yarns are more and more used.

Laminates are as strong as Dacron, but a lot lighter - which matters with sails weighing up to 100 kg (220 pounds).

By the way: we think that Viking sails were made from wool and leather, which is quite impressive if you ask me.

In this section of the article I give you a quick and dirty summary of different sail plans or rig types which will help you to identify boats quickly. But if you want to really understand it clearly, I really recommend you read part 2 of this series, which is all about different rig types.

You can't simply count the number of masts to identify rig type But you can identify any rig type if you know what to look for. We've created an entire system for recognizing rig types. Let us walk you through it. Read all about sail rig types

As I've said earlier, there are two major rig types: square rigged and fore-and-aft. We can divide the fore-and-aft rigs into three groups:

• Bermuda rig (we have talked about this one the whole time) - has a three-sided mainsail
• Gaff rig - has a four-sided mainsail, the head of the mainsail is guided by a gaff
• Lateen rig - has a three-sided mainsail on a long yard

There are roughly four types of boats:

• one masted boats - sloop, cutter
• two masted boats - ketch, schooner, brig
• three masted - barque
• fully rigged or ship rigged - tall ship

Everything with four masts is called a (tall) ship. I think it's outside the scope of this article, but I have written a comprehensive guide to rigging. I'll leave the three and four-masted rigs for now. If you want to know more, I encourage you to read part 2 of this series.

One-masted rigs

Boats with one mast can have either one sail, two sails, or three or more sails.

The 3 most common one-masted rigs are:

• Cat - one mast, one sail
• Sloop - one mast, two sails
• Cutter - one mast, three or more sails

1. Gaff Cat

2. Gaff Sloop

Two-masted rigs

Two-masted boats can have an extra mast in front or behind the main mast. Behind (aft of) the main mast is called a mizzen mast . In front of the main mast is called a foremast .

The 5 most common two-masted rigs are:

• Lugger - two masts (mizzen), with lugsail (cross between gaff rig and lateen rig) on both masts
• Yawl - two masts (mizzen), fore-and-aft rigged on both masts. Main mast much taller than mizzen. Mizzen without mainsail.
• Ketch - two masts (mizzen), fore-and-aft rigged on both masts. Main mast with only slightly smaller mizzen. Mizzen has mainsail.
• Schooner - two masts (foremast), generally gaff rig on both masts. Main mast with only slightly smaller foremast. Sometimes build with three masts, up to seven in the age of sail.
• Brig - two masts (foremast), partially square-rigged. Main mast carries small lateen rigged sail.

4. Schooner

5. Brigantine

This article is part 1 of a series about sails and rig types If you want to read on and learn to identify any sail plans and rig type, we've found a series of questions that will help you do that quickly. Read all about recognizing rig types

Related Questions

What is the difference between a gennaker & spinnaker? Typically, a gennaker is smaller than a spinnaker. Unlike a spinnaker, a gennaker isn't symmetric. It's asymmetric like a genoa. It is however rigged like a spinnaker; it's not attached to the forestay (like a jib or a genoa). It's a downwind sail, and a cross between the genoa and the spinnaker (hence the name).

What is a Yankee sail? A Yankee sail is a jib with a high-cut clew of about 3' above the boom. A higher-clewed jib is good for reaching and is better in high waves, preventing the waves crash into the jibs foot. Yankee jibs are mostly used on traditional sailboats.

How much does a sail weigh? Sails weigh anywhere between 4.5-155 lbs (2-70 kg). The reason is that weight goes up exponentially with size. Small boats carry smaller sails (100 sq. ft.) made from thinner cloth (3.5 oz). Large racing yachts can carry sails of up to 400 sq. ft., made from heavy fabric (14 oz), totaling at 155 lbs (70 kg).

What's the difference between a headsail and a staysail? The headsail is the most forward of the staysails. A boat can only have one headsail, but it can have multiple staysails. Every staysail is attached to a forward running stay. However, not every staysail is located at the bow. A stay can run from the mizzen mast to the main mast as well.

What is a mizzenmast? A mizzenmast is the mast aft of the main mast (behind; at the stern) in a two or three-masted sailing rig. The mizzenmast is shorter than the main mast. It may carry a mainsail, for example with a ketch or lugger. It sometimes doesn't carry a mainsail, for example with a yawl, allowing it to be much shorter.

Special thanks to the following people for letting me use their quality photos: Bill Abbott - True Spinnaker with pole - CC BY-SA 2.0 lotsemann - Volvo Ocean Race Alvimedica and the Code Zero versus SCA and the J1 - CC BY-SA 2.0 Lisa Bat - US Naval Academy Trysail and Storm Jib dry fit - CC BY-SA 2.0 Mike Powell - White gaff cat - CC BY-SA 2.0 Anne Burgess - Lugger The Reaper at Scottish Traditional Boat Festival

Hi, I stumbled upon your page and couldn’t help but notice some mistakes in your description of spinnakers and gennakers. First of all, in the main photo on top of this page the small yacht is sailing a spinnaker, not a gennaker. If you look closely you can see the spinnaker pole standing on the mast, visible between the main and headsail. Further down, the discription of the picture with the two German dinghies is incorrect. They are sailing spinnakers, on a spinnaker pole. In the farthest boat, you can see a small piece of the pole. If needed I can give you the details on the difference between gennakers and spinnakers correctly?

Hi Shawn, I am living in Utrecht I have an old gulf 32 and I am sailing in merkmeer I find your articles very helpful Thanks

Thank you for helping me under stand all the sails there names and what there functions were and how to use them. I am planning to build a trimaran 30’ what would be the best sails to have I plan to be coastal sailing with it. Thank you

Hey Comrade!

Well done with your master piece blogging. Just a small feedback. “The jib gives control over the bow of the ship, making it easier to maneuver the ship. The mainsail gives control over the stern of the ship.” Can you please first tell the different part of a sail boat earlier and then talk about bow and stern later in the paragraph. A reader has no clue on the newly introduced terms. It helps to keep laser focused and not forget main concepts.

Shawn, I am currently reading How to sail around the World” by Hal Roth. Yes, I want to sail around the world. His book is truly grounded in real world experience but like a lot of very knowledgable people discussing their area of expertise, Hal uses a lot of terms that I probably should have known but didn’t, until now. I am now off to read your second article. Thank You for this very enlightening article on Sail types and their uses.

Shawn Buckles

HI CVB, that’s a cool plan. Thanks, I really love to hear that. I’m happy that it was helpful to you and I hope you are of to a great start for your new adventure!

Hi GOWTHAM, thanks for the tip, I sometimes forget I haven’t specified the new term. I’ve added it to the article.

Nice article and video; however, you’re mixing up the spinnaker and the gennaker.

A started out with a question. What distinguishes a brig from a schooner? Which in turn led to follow-up questions: I know there are Bermuda rigs and Latin rig, are there more? Which in turn led to further questions, and further, and further… This site answers them all. Wonderful work. Thank you.

Great post and video! One thing was I was surprised how little you mentioned the Ketch here and not at all in the video or chart, and your sample image is a large ship with many sails. Some may think Ketch’s are uncommon, old fashioned or only for large boats. Actually Ketch’s are quite common for cruisers and live-aboards, especially since they often result in a center cockpit layout which makes for a very nice aft stateroom inside. These are almost exclusively the boats we are looking at, so I was surprised you glossed over them.

Love the article and am finding it quite informative.

While I know it may seem obvious to 99% of your readers, I wish you had defined the terms “upwind” and “downwind.” I’m in the 1% that isn’t sure which one means “with the wind” (or in the direction the wind is blowing) and which one means “against the wind” (or opposite to the way the wind is blowing.)

paul adriaan kleimeer

like in all fields of syntax and terminology the terms are colouual meaning local and then spead as the technology spread so an history lesson gives a floral bouque its colour and in the case of notical terms span culture and history adds an detail that bring reverence to the study simply more memorable.

Hi, I have a small yacht sail which was left in my lock-up over 30 years ago I basically know nothing about sails and wondered if you could spread any light as to the make and use of said sail. Someone said it was probably originally from a Wayfayer wooden yacht but wasn’t sure. Any info would be must appreciated and indeed if would be of any use to your followers? I can provide pics but don’t see how to include them at present

kind regards

Leave a comment

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The definitive guide to sailing yacht rigging

Related articles, superyacht directory.

Do you know your Bermudan rig from your DynaRig or wingsails? And which is best? BOAT explains it all...

Take a look at a modern racing yacht from above, beating to windward and heeled to the breeze, and you can see at a glance why Bermudan rigs have stood the test of time. With its fore and aft sails bladed into efficient aerodynamic shapes, a modern yacht can slice close to the wind and be driven hard. Such a sight would have been outlandish a century ago. Then, a typical trading barquentine could set 18 sails to catch light airs, but it needed a large crew to battle with canvas far out on the yards. In a modern miracle as incredible in its way as flight, today’s racing yachts can sail faster than the speed of the wind – in some cases several times faster.

A mainsail set on a single spar is an age-old concept but only in the 19th century was it adapted as the Bermudan or Marconi rig. A one-piece mainsail set on a mast without a gaff, hoisted with one halyard and controlled by one sheet, was simpler and more efficient. This revolution became the power train of pleasure yachting and racing.

But perhaps the time is coming for a re-evaluation of simpler rigs requiring fewer crew – alternatives with lower loads operated by automated systems. In an era of reduced carbon consumption, could more radical sailplans even herald a revival in sail power?

The evergreen Bermudan rig

The Bermudan rig is the all-rounder, able to perform well at all angles of sail. It is efficient upwind, while downwind the sail area can be significantly boosted with a big gennaker or spinnaker. For good reasons, it is the first choice for nearly every modern sailing yacht up to around 60 to 65 metres for cruising and regatta racing alike. At larger sizes, however, things start to become trickier, and the trade-offs get interesting.

Over the last decade, sail handling technology has steadily advanced to allow sloop rigs to grow larger and larger. “But with that comes a highly loaded rig, many tonnes of compression from tension in the rigging, and you have to build structure in the boat to accept that,” explains Paul MacDonald, founder and superyacht sales manager of Southern Spars.

“You have to have a lot of deck gear and captive winches below decks and the machinery for that. But over the years, boom furling systems and MPS [Multi Purpose Sails for downwind angles] stored on a drum, for example, have made sail handling safer.

Bill Tripp is the designer behind the 86-metre Aquijo , which broke new ground in 2015 as the world’s largest Bermudan ketch. Tripp prefers to call the rig a "sketch", a portmanteau word for a rig that is neither a sloop nor a ketch “because the main and mizzen are identical”. Even though the sailplan is divided over two masts, each spar is still a towering 90 metres above the water. Aquijo perfectly illustrates the issues involved with a Bermudan rig when scaled up.

“The sloop is great but I prefer the ‘sketch’ for sailing around the world under full control due to the desirability of a two-masted rig for reaching ability, which dominates passages, and the safety of controllable loads when sailing in all kinds of conditions miles from nowhere,” he says.

Upwind, Aquijo sets a jib, staysail, mainsail and mizzen, all in North Sails 3Di, totalling 3,821 square metres. A furling Code sail for reaching and downwind angles increases that to a vast 5,051 square metres.

While Aquijo has a crew retinue of 17, it can be controlled under sail by six or seven people. With custom winches to handle halyards and sheets, the sails can be hoisted astonishingly quickly for such a large rig. “It takes five minutes to put the main up, on average, and the main and mizzen can go up at the same time,” Tripp says. Aquijo has now sailed 100,000 nautical miles around the world and the owner is planning another circumnavigation through the Northwest Passage.

Tripp is not convinced of the wisdom of a much larger single-masted sloop rig. “If you are day sailing in the Med, a sloop would be awesome, but I am not sure if you had fewer sails you would be able to [reduce canvas] well enough. Also the mast is a windage problem when the keel is up and you are beam-to. If you are on anchor, that’s no problem but you’d have to be able to cope with being on the docks in 70 knots. The windage at 120 metres is not only more but the centre of effort is so much higher, and so the heeling loads all go up.”

However, British designer Malcolm McKeon , the name behind the high-performance, sloop-rigged carbon composite superyachts Missy and Ribelle , is pushing the sloop rig to new heights. His 85-metre design concept Apex, developed with Royal Huisman , would be the largest sloop-rigged yacht in the world. “The loads are enormous,” he admits, “but it is all scalable.”

“The big disadvantage is sail handling. The downwind sails are pretty complicated once you start hoisting and retrieving, even with drum and reel systems. It is not straightforward.” But, he adds, “I think we know the advantages of a sloop: if you want all-round performance you can’t beat it, even at the top end.”

Advantages of a clipper rig

The DynaRig has been around as a concept since the 1960s when German engineer Wilhelm Prölss devised these free-standing, rotating rigs as a fuel-saving solution for large commercial vessels. The idea was ahead of its time, so much so that its first realisation came nearly 40 years later when American owner Tom Perkins bought the residual technology and commissioned Dykstra Naval Architects to create a three-masted DynaRig for Maltese Falcon , his 88-metre Perini Navi.

The DynaRig is not as efficient upwind as the Bermudan rig, and is probably not the best solution for a yacht smaller than around 65 metres, suggests Jeroen de Vos of Dykstra. “We wouldn’t advise putting a DynaRig on a small yacht because there are other ways to manage sail handling. But on a larger yacht the DynaRig becomes an alternative because there is no rigging, no highly loaded sheets, low-tech [small] sails and no big winches.”

The beauty of the DynaRig is that its automatic systems can be handled by one or two people and, notes de Vos, “you don’t have to get out of your chair to go sailing. Maltese Falcon can sail on and off the anchor and can set 2,400 square metres of sail in six minutes. On other boats it takes six minutes to get the sail cover off.”

Damon Roberts of Magma Structures, which built the rigs for Maltese Falcon and the only other DynaRig yacht to date, the 106-metre Black Pearl , says: “You can do any manoeuvre easily; it’s like sailing a dinghy. There are no highly loaded sheets or ropes or flogging lines. You can luff up, bear away, tack and gybe at  any time and really enjoy sailing the boat without any apparent fuss.”

So with all these advantages, why has the DynaRig been chosen for only two sailing superyachts? For some designers, such as Malcolm McKeon, it is partly to do with compromises imposed by the large mast tubes and bearing diameters on the internal structure and layout, “particularly in the cockpit area,” he says. He also points out that the clipper ship look is not to every owner’s taste. “Sloops are more conventional looking,” he says.

Damon Roberts says there is still development work to be done. He has teamed up with Southern Spars and, with their additional resources, expects evolution with several new projects. “These include two at the moment that are twin-masted DynaRigs,” he says. “We did quite a lot of wind tunnel work early on as we felt that was really the sweet spot for it, and people will be stunned at how efficient these are.”

The future of the wingsail

Wingsails have been around for decades too, but with their adoption by the last two America’s Cups and the confluence with foiling technology, they have undergone rapid and revolutionary development.

To date, there is no proven solution for reefing a wing that would be suitable for offshore cruising or ocean passages. As the pronounced aerodynamic “nose” at the leading edge of a wing can develop force in strong winds, they could potentially make a large yacht uncontrollable in port as well.

“How do you get rid of sail and how does [a boat] handle when caught out in heavy wind conditions – which you will be? How do you keep the angle of attack all the way up the rig and how do you handle squalls?” Roberts asks. “A mechanism to reduce sail might be easy to sketch out but it is difficult to engineer.”

Jeroen de Vos says: “The wingsails are more developed towards performance and I wouldn’t say that they are as practical as soft sails or would ever make handling easier. But if somebody wants that, why not? Reefable soft sails, wings that are inflated, hoisted panels, possibly these are applicable. The development of this area is happening very rapidly.”

Paul MacDonald of Southern Spars agrees that the time is not here yet but thinks it will come. “In reality we are in the early days of wings. For the America’s Cup, they are the most efficient way of sailing by a long shot, but with them comes handling issues, which the industry hasn’t resolved yet. But I am sure they will be in 10 years’ time. Designers such as VPLP are starting to [work on concepts] and we are going to see something that is usable and efficient and suitable for ocean work eventually,” he says. “And whatever the solution is, you imagine that it will scale.”

Looking to the future

A drive for greener superyachts could present an opportunity for sail, but perhaps it needs to be less daunting.

“There is this intimidation of sheets and backstays, and sailing is a language you don’t learn in a year,” Tripp says. “But we have a project we are doing now with a yard with some new rig technology and some soft wings that we think is going to be viable.

“We can uncomplicate sailing more. If we can win people over from motorboats it will help, but we are only winning these battles one or two at a time. We need [more] projects like Sailing Yacht A , which are something really different, and do more things better with less energy. We as architects need to elicit change.”

McKeon also sees change coming. “People are more and more concerned about keeping their image green and sails are the way to do that,” he says. “Simpler sailing systems are needed. The current generation is used to Bermudan sloops. In years to come, the traditionalists will all be gone, and maybe new people will be more accepting of [different ideas]. I think in the future we will certainly have wings.”

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Home ● World’s Largest Square-Rigged Sailing Ship

World’s Largest Square-Rigged Sailing Ship

World’s Largest Square-Rigged Sailing Ship Begins Inaugural Season From May 2021 With Voyages From The Uk 

The world’s largest square-rigged sailing ship, Golden Horizon, will start offering ex-UK voyages from May to August 2021. 

The luxurious ship will carry up to 272 passengers and operate, under charter, to the new brand Tradewind Voyages. Golden Horizon is a near replica of the 1913-built ocean vessel France II and will retain its historic charm. 

A highlight of the first season will be a British Maritime voyage, with the ship anchoring off Cowes for the traditional Regatta fireworks display. 

In total, nine voyages will be offered from the UK with seven departures from Harwich and two from Glasgow. Northern European itineraries will feature Denmark, Iceland, the Norwegian Fjords and the Baltics. 

In September 2021, Golden Horizon will sail to the other side of the world, taking guests on an adventure that will include some beautiful and rarely visited islands along with unique and iconic destinations. 

Initially, she will travel east through the Suez Canal and follow the historic Maritime Silk Route to Jakarta, and on to Bali. Itineraries in late 2021 and into 2022 will feature Australia, the Indian Ocean, Japan, Alaska, the Americas and the Pacific Islands. 

Golden Horizon will allow guests to explore the world and the oceans in a more sustainable way. Uniquely, all her voyages are planned on the basis of the prevailing winds and currents around the world, often following the traditional trading routes; a real maritime experience.

The ship will offer outstanding food and service and will appeal to active adults who want to travel the world in a new way. There will be a sophisticated enrichment and wellbeing programme and, for those who wish, the opportunity to take advantage of various complementary water sports available from its marina.

Tradewind Voyages’ programme will go on sale in September 2020 and is backed by a formidable team. 

Chief executive officer Stuart McQuaker had a successful career in the Royal Navy and the cruise industry. Sales and marketing director Jeremy McKenna, head of marketing and distribution Amanda Norey and product director Oliver Hammerer have all held numerous key positions in well-known and luxury cruise companies.

“The team is hugely excited by the opportunity to operate this fabulous ship,” said McQuaker. 

“We are looking forward to her introductory season in the UK and then taking her to some unique parts of the world, on itineraries that are planned to ensure we use the prevailing winds and currents to capitalise on her sailing credentials.” 

McKenna added “We are looking forward to working with our trade partners to give our mutual guests a true sailing experience on board this stunning ship as part of an unforgettable holiday.” 

Tradewind Voyages is planning to add further newly designed sailing ships to its fleet over the coming years, with the design process underway.

Golden Horizon: Vital Numbers 

• Length overall: 162 metres
• Width overall: 18.50 metres
• Maximum draught: 6.40 metres
• Displacement: 8440 tonnes
• Sail area: 6300 square metres
• Speed: 10 to 17 knots
• Cabins: 140
• Guests: 272
• Crew: 159 

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Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Climbing a square rigger mast in the heart of a storm

• Tom Cunliffe
• March 28, 2023

Majestic square riggers require a fearsome head for heights, as Will Sofrin discovers in this extract from All Hands on Deck, introduced by Tom Cunliffe

The world of square riggers is obscure to the vast majority of sailors today. Yet nautical literature is rich in fine works describing the minutiae of what went on – and still can go on – aboard a real sailing ship. Anyone with a genuine thirst for knowledge in this regard would do no better than scour the internet for a copy of Eric Newby’s The Last Grain Race , an insightful and often hilarious read.

Where this genus of book differs from Will Sofrin’s new volume about sailing Rose , the replica of a Nelsonian frigate, is in the way the tale is told. Rose ‘s crew are a very different bunch from the eclectic mix of volunteers and pressed men on HMS Surprise in the days of Patrick O’Brian’s Jack Aubrey.

The interaction of Sofrin’s shipmates with each other and the ship’s officers is explored in some depth, making this a very modern book. Where Newby takes going aloft more or less in a day’s work, Sofrin gives us the full drama. In this account he makes his first acquaintance with the alarming reality of tackling a problem up on the yards under the caring eye of the chief mate.

Extract from All Hands on Deck

Around 1030, the starboard side of the fores’l started to come loose. It didn’t take more than a few seconds for the sail to begin flailing around like a bedsheet on a clothes line in a tornado. It was evident that if left alone, the sail would shred itself to pieces and possibly cause a dismasting.

The wind had eased a bit and was hovering between 35 and 50 knots and gusting past 60 knots. We were in between squall lines, which offered us a brief opportunity to contain the sail before the wind picked back up. The only option was to climb aloft and shimmy out to the end of the yard to wrestle the sail into obedience. For some reason, Tony grabbed me and told me to go aloft with him.

I followed Tony forward to the base of the foremast shrouds. The sail was 50ft up in the air. The waves we were climbing were still topping out at 20 to 30ft. Falling from where we needed to get to could end up being a drop of 70 to 80ft. I read somewhere that window cleaners know falling from a height above five stories, or 50ft, is fatal.

As far as I knew, only one person had ever fallen from the rig of Rose, and it happened at the dock in New York Harbour. The chief mate, who was on deck, saw it happen and broke her fall by body-checking her into the water before she could hit the deck. She fell from a height of 50ft and cracked some ribs and a wrist but lived.

Before sailing on Rose , any work I performed aloft was always done from a bosun’s chair, which is generally how people go up a mast today. A bosun’s chair is a seat-like harness that is usually suspended from a halyard for the purpose of doing work aloft in the rig. Modern sailors don’t climb aloft to set or strike sail; in fact, most modern boats don’t have any means to climb the rig. That’s because free-climbing up a mast in the middle of the ocean in the middle of a storm is a horrible idea.

It’s like climbing to the top of a telephone pole using a rope ladder that gets smaller the higher you go. It gets to be so tight up near the top that you need to twist your feet so they can fit in the slots above the next ratline.

Most of my experience in a bosun’s chair was on Onawa, and she had a 90ft-tall mast. I went up that mast more times than I can count, spending hours aloft repairing metal tracks and making improvements to the rig. All of that work, however, was at the dock and usually in calm conditions. And for good reason. At the top, even a tiny wave sent the mast oscillating wildly. There was nothing I could hold onto up there, so I would wrap my legs and arms around the slippery varnished wood and hold on until the weather settled back down. I was always so scared the person holding me up would let go of the line and I would fall to my death.

Looking down from Rose’s main fighting-top at the quarterdeck. Photo: Rick Hicks

Now there I was, on the Rose in the middle of a terrible storm, and somehow the idea of free-climbing the rig seemed less terrifying to me than being pulled up a halyard to the top of a varnished mast. At least I felt somewhat in control of my life even if there was no safety line to catch me if I fell while trying to ascend the rig. Clipping in our carabiners could only be done when we got to where we were going, but climbing up or down the rig had to be done freestyle.

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We began our ascent by climbing out and around to the windward side of the foremast shrouds. I was now outside of the boat, standing over the water on the ratlines. I knew time was precious and moving slowly would only worsen the situation. Using the foremast as a line of sight, I started climbing while keeping my eyes locked forward on the mast to prevent me from looking down at the frothy waves below. We were not wearing lifejackets, and the likelihood of successfully being rescued from the water after falling from the rig was almost nonexistent.

The thrashing of the ship was causing the shrouds to tighten and slack quickly and randomly. I carefully put one hand over the other as I climbed, making sure to wrap my arms hard around the shrouds when the ship buried itself into a wave. Those moments made the rig shudder like we were slamming into a brick wall. Then the next wave would pick us back up, and we would surge ahead again until we were thrown back into another trough. We were being absolutely pounded.

The crew of Rose encountered ferocious weather only four days into their passage. Photo: Scott Hamann

Experiencing the violence of the storm from the deck was rough, but it was nothing compared to what it was like up in the rigging. The intensity of the wind grew, as did its roar, sounding like an express subway train rushing past a station.

I could feel the stinging pellets of rain through my foul-weather gear, hitting me harder and harder the higher I climbed. I felt like a target at an air rifle shooting range. On deck, the ship was rolling from one side to the other. From aloft, we were being thrown 60 to 80ft across the sky from side to side, every four to five seconds. The random rolling of the ship was like riding a 50ft-tall metronome that couldn’t keep a rhythm.

Rose sailing as HMS Surprise, the Royal Navy Frigate in the Oscar-winning film Master and Commander. Photo: Jerry Soto

Climbing up the shrouds was the easy part. Getting out to the sail was dodgier because I needed to take a small leap of faith off the rigging to get onto the yard and then out to the sail. Waiting for the right moment, I lunged onto the footrope while grabbing hold of the yard and began shimmying out toward the end.

I was first out on the yard, a situation I had never been in. Walking along a footrope was like using a long jump rope as a bridge. I held on for dear life, balancing my weight so my movements would be in sync with Tony’s when he climbed on behind me. We were standing on the same footrope, and any movement I made was felt by him. Laying on a yard in this kind of weather was the very definition of insanity.

The crew busy reinforcing lashings before nightfall. Photo: Scott Hamann

We reached the flogging sail, and I tried to grasp the task before me. Seeing the sail fighting to be released up close was far different from seeing it from the deck. There was no time to get comfortable. The wet sail was filling with rapid bursts of air and thrashing ferociously. It terrified me.

My plan was to jump onto the sail as if I was trying to take control of an angry bull at a rodeo. If I did it wrong, I could fall, taking Tony with me. The jerk felt by Tony from my lanyard trying to stop my fall to the deck would make it near impossible for him to maintain his footing. We had our safety harnesses clipped to the back rope with the lanyard, but our harnesses were called ‘backbreakers’ for a reason.

I looked over my left shoulder to see Tony just a few feet inboard of my position. I shouted at the top of my lungs, “How should I do this?”

Tony shouted back, “You need to punch it while jumping on it and wrapping yourself around it!” Then, with a second thought, he added, “let’s go back in and switch so I can jump and you can follow!” We shuffled back toward the mast and switched places.

The crew works in unison putting in a harbour furl before arriving in Panama. Photo: Blythe Daly

Tony headed back out as the lead, and I followed. In a blink, he got that violent sail into his arms. I came to take the rear, punching the sail with all my might to knock the wind out of it, and helped him gather and secure the sail, all the while shimmying farther out on the yard. Suddenly we were in control, and it felt great. With no time to celebrate, I started securing the sail so nobody would have to come back up until we were through this storm.

I worked quickly, and Tony told me to get back down to the deck. He didn’t need to tell me twice; the rolling and rocking had got worse. I took my time on the descent, bracing myself whenever the bow buried itself into a wave. Tony stayed up a bit longer, making sure everything was good.

Stepping back onto the deck, I was overcome by an immense wave of exhaustion. The ship’s motions on deck seemed so much milder than they had before going aloft: being on deck felt easy. I staggered back to midship, winded and overwhelmed by the moment. I’d joked about Planet Tall Ship up to then, but being aloft in that storm made me appreciate all I was learning.

We were on only day four of our passage, had travelled only one-tenth of the distance to our destination, and I had already seen more than I could have imagined or planned for. There was no off switch, no time-out, no opportunity to stop and take a break. That moment forever changed my understanding of how to handle adversity. The only way out was through.

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Cape Foulweather

Steel atlantic square rig, dimensions 82' x 20', reduced to $250,000(usd) offers encouraged, stock # ss4680.

• Description

• 1966 Atlantic Marine Built
• 82' x 20' x 7.6'
• Location: Oregon
• Survey: 2014
• Engine: CAT 343 TA diesel 375hp
• Gear: Twin Disc 514
• Ratio: 5:16-1
• Engine hours: 24,000
• Cruising speed: 7 knots
• Full speed: 10 knots
• Fuel tanks: 3, steel, 6600 gallons total
• Shaft: 4 1/2" Steel
• Propeller: 4 blade, stainless steel
• Engine fans
• Keel cooled
• Auxiliary engine: Isuzu 4JBI 20 KW
• Hydraulic pumps: Off main
• Genset: 7 1/2 hp 3 ph auxiliary
• Bilge pumps: 240V, 120V, 12V

Accommodations

• Water tank: Potable, 50 gallon
• Holding tank: 250 gallon
• Decks: Raised wood above steel
• Bow thruster: Tube installed- no unit
• Anchor winch
• Anchor: 500 lbs double fluke

Electronics

• Steering stations: 1
• Passed USCG safety inspection

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This listing is presented by Carl Pearson

Office: 360-332-9526

Contact Carl

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Another World Adventures

Sail around the world as crew on a square rigger.

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• USD ($)
• EUR (€)

Join the crew to sail around the world in a square-rigger and you'll sail to 20+ ports over 30,000 nautical miles on this incredible circumnavigation in 2023/24 where YOU are the crew.

Sailing 30,000 nautical miles and putting into ports like Panama, Pitcairn Island, Tahiti, Fiji, Bali, Cape Town, St. Helena, Grenada and Bermuda, all while becoming an accomplished seafarer and learning seamanship skills hands-on through sailing a square-rigged ship is the ultimate voyage. 

No sailing experience is needed for this voyage.  Through a combination of the hands-on practice you’ll get in daily watch standing and educational workshops, you will develop seamanship skills while working together with your shipmates.

Sign aboard a three-masted barque as a trainee crew member on a voyage around the world.

As you sail, you will learn the skills you need such as:

• to take your turn at the helm
• take your turn on lookout
• handle lines and sails
• assist the cook in the galley
• and help with ship’s maintenance projects.

Everyone aboard is a working crew member.  Climbing aloft in the rigging is optional, participating in duties on deck is not.

While this is primarily a seafaring voyage, you will visit many exotic ports and remote islands in the tropics.  Passages at sea range from a few days in length to a few weeks.

In port, everyone aboard takes turns going ashore and being on duty aboard the ship.  Arriving by sailing ship, having earned your way there, is different than arriving by plane or cruise ship.

The ports you’ll visit range from tiny remote islands populated by just a few dozen people who only receive supplies three or four times a year, to bustling tropical urban cities.

You will have unique access to local culture in many of these ports as crew on a ship that has visited before and built good relationships with the people who live there. At some islands you’ll be welcomed into peoples’ homes, at others you’ll learn the local dance style.  The friendliness extended to you as a crew member will be unparalleled.

At the same time, you will be getting to know your shipmates and working closely together as a team to sail the ship.  A voyage like this often sparks lifelong friendships as crew members share a bond that can only be understood by others who have had that same experience.

You can sign aboard for the full year+ voyage or for leg of the voyage. 

See the other listings for details of each of the legs of the voyage.

Planned Ports and Route, Sail Around the World 2023-2024

Leg 1 lunenburg, nova scotia, canada to papeete, tahiti, french polynesia – april 15, 2023 to august 25, 2023.

• Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Panama Canal
• Panama City, Panama
• Taboga, Panama
• San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands
• Pitcairn Island
• Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia

Leg 2 Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia to Bali, Indonesia – August 26, 2023 to November 26, 2023

• Huahine, French Polynesia
• Vava’u, Tonga
• Malekula, Vanuatu
• Maewo, Vanuatu
• Pentecost, Vanuatu
• Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu
• Bali, Indonesia

Leg 3 Bali, Indonesia to Cape Town, South Africa – November 27, 2023 to February 21, 2024

• Maurtius (island of Mauritius or island of Rodrigues)
• Reunion, France
• Cape Town, South Africa

Leg 4 Cape Town, South Africa to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada – February 22, 2024 to July 13, 2024

• Luderitz, Namibia
• A variety of Caribbean islands, including:
• British Virgin Islands

*Itinerary is subject to change for any reason at any time. Particularly with changing travel restrictions and advisories due to COVID-19, flexibility on the part of the ship and each individual crew member will be required, even more so than usual.

Why you'll love this adventure

• Expand your skill set, learning all about square rig sailing ships and seamanship
• Challenge yourself to complete a big goal over an extended period of time
• Visit remote ports and islands that few others get to see or experience

Sailing around the world in a square-rigger is truly an epic voyage! For the full details please make an enquiry and we'll send them over. Catch the tradewinds on this voyage designed around the best seasonal sailing winds in each of the oceans you'll visit. Starting and ending in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada, ports on the way include Panama, the Galapagos Islands, Pitcairn Island, Takaroa, Tahiti, Huahine, Palmerston Atoll, Niue, Fiji, Vanuatu, Bali, Rodrigues Island, Reunion Island, Cape Town, St. Helena, Grenada, Martinique, Anguilla, St. Barths, British Virgin Islands and Bermuda.

What's included

Accommodations on board

All meals on board

Passage from port to port

Instruction, both through the daily sailing of the ship and through regular workshops

Entry fees/port fees at the various ports of call

Sea Service Certificate that documents the time you’ve spent at sea (useful if you plan to pursue certification following the voyage)

Not included

Travel to and from the port where you will meet the ship

Travel insurance (mandatory, must meet minimum requirements for medical expenses and medical evacuation)

Vaccinations that are required or recommended before signing aboard

Items on the packing list, including foul weather gear (waterproof jacket, pants and boots) and a rigging knife

Any visas you might be required to obtain before signing aboard

Spending money for your days off duty ashore

Accommodation

Accommodations are in upper and lower pilot berths in large compartments.  Each crew member has their own berth that will be assigned to them for the duration of the voyage.  Each berth has a curtain that provides some privacy, a reading light, and a storage space that is either built in below the berth or in a separate locker.  Hooks are provided in each compartment for hanging foul weather gear (waterproof jacket and pants).  Sheets and pillows will be provided, you should bring your own sleeping bag or blanket.

There are four heads (marine toilets) aboard and four fresh water showers (two with both hot and cold water, two with cold water only).  You will be careful about conserving both fresh water and electricity while on board.

There is a cook as part of the ship’s professional crew, trainee crew (that’s you) will take turns assisting the cook in the galley.  Three meals are provided daily, all are offered buffet style and usually eaten casually on deck in good weather.  Some dietary restrictions can be accommodated, please ask.

Meals change as the ship is at sea for longer periods – you may start out eating salads and fresh vegetables but after weeks at sea those are no longer available and we need to rely on dry, canned and frozen goods.  The ship has no refrigeration, but does have many deep freezers.

Because the crew work hard, meals are simple and hearty.  The cook is famous for his fried chicken!

Who is this trip for?

Applications are welcome from individuals of all nationalities and genders, ages 18+.  No couples.

Applicants must be in good health, able to be away from normal shore-based medical care for extended periods of time, and able to do moderately strenuous physical activity.  As part of the application process, a note from your doctor confirming all of the above will be required.

This voyage is open to people of all nationalities and genders, ages 18 and up. No sailing experience is required. You will be part of the working crew of the ship, so prepare to roll up your sleeves and dive in cheerfully!

There are times you will be hot, uncomfortable, tired and sore.  There are time you’ll be content, exhilarated, joyful and relaxed.

There is an application process where your suitability will be assessed.  Ideal candidates are positive, flexible, willing to pitch in, and good company for extended periods of time.

Trainees choose to sail with us for a variety of reasons. Maybe you’re looking for a gap year expedition, either after high school or during or after college or university. Maybe you want to do something unique for your big overseas experience. Perhaps you’re looking to develop seamanship skills to help start a career as a seafarer. Maybe you are already working in a maritime career and want to gain deep-water sea time and square rig experience. Or this is the right time to take a break from your job and life ashore to make the voyage in the tradewinds you’ve always dreamed of. Or maybe you’re retired and want to travel and learn and immerse yourself in a South Seas adventure. Whether you’re seeking adventure or a unique way to travel to exotic, iconic places, a foundation from which to launch a maritime career or an authentic square rig sailing experience on a vessel similar to one in the Great Age of Sail, there is a place for you on board. Sailing aboard is truly a life changing opportunity and the dream of a lifetime.

Whatever your reason, we want to be clear that signing aboard as a trainee crew member is a big commitment. On this voyage there will be long stretches where signing off is simply not possible. We encourage anyone who is interested and curious to make an enquiry so we can connect you with the crew office to discuss the voyage and whether it might be a good fit for you.

There is an application process that starts when you make an enquiry on our site and are shared details on how to make an application online. If you complete the application form the crew office will request a note from your doctor that says you’re in good health and can do moderately strenuous physical activity on a remote, oceangoing voyage. They will also request payment of a deposit which will hold your spot.

On previous voyages they have required applicants to come visit the ship in person for an in-person interview. On this voyage, they’ll save you the time and expense of a trip to Lunenburg and arrange an interview with you by online video conference instead. It’s still important for you to see the ship , including what the accommodations are like, how they eat meals, what the bathroom/shower situation is, what you’ll be doing when you stand a watch, and so on, so they’ll recommend some videos for you to watch that give you the full tour.

Additional notes

This ship, its sail training program and its Captain are highly respected in the sail training industry, winning multiple industry awards.  This will be the ship’s eighth world circumnavigation voyage, so they know the waters and ports intimately.

What is a typical day like at sea like?

The crew are divided into three watches at sea, each of which is on duty for four hours and off duty for eight hours, around the clock.

While you are on duty, you will take your turn at the wheel, take your turn on forward lookout, handle sails and lines as little or as much as is required by the wind and weather, keep the ship clean and tidy, and work on ship’s maintenance projects, which could include everything from sanding and scraping to painting and tarring, mending sails to taking inventory.

While you are off duty, you will sleep, eat meals, participate in educational workshops if they happen during your off watch time, read books, work on personal projects or watch the world float by.

Trainees take turns being on galley duty, meaning that instead of standing your regular watch you will be assigned to assist the cook.  You will wash dishes, set up for meals, and assist with basic food preparation.

What is a typical day on duty in port like?

When the ship reaches port, the crew will be divided into two or three watches, so you will have one day on duty for one or two days off duty.

When you’re on duty in port, you will do a full day of ship’s maintenance projects, including things like oiling the decks, painting the topsides, or running the ship’s boat to ferry people from ship to shore.

Because the ship is never left unattended, you will stand a night watch of approximately an hour where you will be paired up with an experienced crew member to monitor the ship overnight.

What is a typical day off duty in port like?

Your days off duty in port are what you make them!  You are welcome to go ashore and explore on your own.  The ship does not arrange activities ashore, but before arriving in each port there will be an orientation that includes suggestions for what to do.

There are a few ports, usually the more remote and less populated ports, where there may be some activities planned that you are welcome to join in or not.

The ship visits so many beautiful, amazing places.  You will be encouraged to venture beyond the marina or wharf where the ship’s boat will drop you off.

What should I bring?

A packing list will be provided to all accepted trainees.

What will my shipmates be like?

Your shipmates will come from many different countries, it’s a real international mix.  Most will be under 35 years old, some will be older.  Usually the crew is about half women and half men.  All of them will be adventurous souls who are passionate about this particular voyage.

Tour operator

This three-masted tall ship based in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada is best known for adventurous international long distance sail training voyages. Anyone can become a trainee crew member, no experience required, just a desire to become part of the crew that sails the ship. With the guidance of the professional crew, you'll literally learn the ropes.

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Ancient Sailing Techniques

Text copyright Canbooks.

Picture copyright is held by their perspective owners

Introduction

In this short paper I would like to outline the basic skills that were necessary for sailing in ancient days. First I will compare the use of the square sail and the lateen sail, and end with a look at the various techniques that were used by the ancient Arabs for navigation, both in the desert and on the sea.

Square Rigged Ships

In the ancient world the square sail was employed universally in the Mediterranean on the seagoing ships of the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans. In Hellenistic and Roman times a spritsail was sometimes set on a small raking foremast, known as an artemoon, in order to sail with a beam wind. This was a valuable device, but it was still a square sail. Northern Europe only knew of the square rig until late in the Middle Ages. They were the farthest from Arab influence, and the Vikings of Scandinavia continued using the square sail, long after those on the Mediterranean had started incorporating the advantages of using triangular sails on their ships.

A square rigged Roman trade ship

In India square sails are depicted on coins of the Pallava dynasty (coeval with the Sassanids) and in the Ajanta ship of the seventh century AD.) (Elliot, W., Coins of Southern India, London 1885) An indication that lateens are not native to India is found in their absence today in inland water regions remote from foreign influences.

Ajanta ship

Square rigged sails had the advantage of providing stability on large ships and in heavy seas, and they remained the main type of sail on European vessels until the last days of sail. However, the lateen sail provided greater maneuverability and ability to tack on rivers and in narrow waters. The fore-and-aft sail had an advantage in that it can keep much closer to the wind.

Triangular Rigged Ships

The triangular sail was known as the lateen sail, and has been used in Arab ships from Morocco to Indian, the Persian Gulf to Mozambique. This sail is triangular in shape attached fore and aft, and is very tall and high peaked. In the Indian Ocean the fore angle of the sail was cut off to form a luff. This shape may have been the third of four stages of the evolution of lateen sail.

Apparently most very ancient ships simply used square sails. In time however, the square sail was attached fore and aft, and was tilted down at the fore end. This made a balance-lug. There are drawings of ships of this type from ancient Egypt, showing ships sailing downstream on the Nile against the prevailing north wind. A modern version of this is found in the Sudanese naggar-lug, and in the balanced lugs of Indonesia. These first appeared on bas-reliefs of Boro-Budur in Java, which date from the tenth century. The Javanese proa which survived until recently has a similar style; the sail is much broader than high.

From the balanced-lug it was a natural development to shorten the fore-portion of the sail and raise the back in order to catch more wind. This would have produced the type of lateen sail that is found in the western half on the Indian Ocean.

Maritime historians have often argued over where this sail was developed and how its use may have spread.

There are three possible scenarios. First it may have developed in the Mediterranean, and spread toward the Indian Ocean, or it may have developed in the Indian Ocean and spread towards the Mediterranean. Each of these scenarios has its supporters and it’s problems. A third scenario, which seems more likely, is that the lateen sail was developed on the Red Sea.

There are several things that seem to point in this direction. First, the square sail was obviously the sail of choice in the Mediterranean and in the Far East. These areas of the world contained vast seas that were easily crossed using square sails. The Red Sea, and particularly the Gulf of Aqaba on the other hand were constantly exposed to contrary winds. In order to sail on these seas, sailors had to constantly battle winds that blew against them. In this sort of setting the lateen sail was at its best.

Secondly, the earliest evidence of the existence of lateens on the Mediterranean is in Greek Byzantine manuscripts of the late ninth century which show drawings of lateens. Before this, in antiquity, only the square sail was found in this sea. This would lead us to suspect that the lateen came to the Mediterranean in the wake of the Arab expansion. (Bibliotheque Nationale, MS, grec., no. 510, fols. 3 and 367v,; H.H. Brindley, Early Pictures of Lateen Sails” in Mariner’s Mirror col. xxi, 1926) (Sottas, J., An Early Lateen Sail in the Mediterranean, in Mariner’s Mirror, 1939)

Third, the Italian name mezzana, with it’s French offspring misaine, and English mizzen are derivatives of the Arab word miizaan, meaning balance. These mizzen masts that were found on Italian ships of the later Middle Ages, could have had it’s name borrowed from the Arabic miizaan because it was a supplementary mast balancing the main mast. On the other hand, other scholars have pointed out that the name mezzana mast could have come from the Latin mediana, which means ‘middle.’

It is interesting to notice that in the north of Europe, during the 1400’s, ships were only square rigged and were entirely dependent on a fair wind. They were quite unstable, and were never used to attempt to make headway against an adverse wind and thus were unable to make long journeys to cross oceans.

Then suddenly in the 1500s, lateen sails burst on the scene, and ships developed into three masters with square sails complimented by lateen mizzens. These ships were capable of making long ocean voyages and were used by Columbus, Diaz and Vasco da Gama.

Lastly, it seems that during the Byzantine era, the forepart of the lateen sail was changed to a point, making it a complete triangle. This occurred first in the Mediterranean, but the Arabs of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean kept their old form. The lateen eventually reached North European waters at the end of the Middle Ages, and there developed into every sort of fore-and aft rig.

Likewise, the lateen sail seems to have made its way from the Indian Ocean towards the seas of far south Asia. Since there are drawings from India, which demonstrate the use of the square sail there, and since the Chinese rigged their junks with square sails, it is safe to assume that the lateen sail was an Arab invention that most likely developed on the Red Sea.

The Development of the Lateen Sail

The square sail was employed almost universally in the ancient world. It was only during the early Byzantine period in the eastern Mediterranean that any evidence emerges that triangular sails began to appear on the Mediterranean Sea.

The square sail, though stable on heavy seas, is not very versatile to make much use of any headwinds. Square sails were still used until very recently on the sewn sambugs of Aden as well as lateen sails.

The Lug Sail

Many efforts must have been made to make the square sail better for sailing close to the wind, so it could utilize a head-wind. The simplest way was to set a square sail fore and aft, tilting it downwards at the fore end to make a balance lug illustrated here.

The Arab Lateen or Settee Sai l

From the lugsail it was an east step to shorten the luff (fore part) and heighten the sail aft to lengthen the leech, in order to catch more wind. The Arab lateen or more correctly, the settee sail is a very effective fore-and-aft rig. It was developed in Arab waters well before the coming of Islam, and may have been the type of sailing ship that the Nabataeans would have used to sail on the difficult waters of the Red Sea.

A full description of the dhow with its settee sail is included in the paper The Dhow.

The Fully Developed Lateen

The final step was taken on the Mediterranean before 900 AD, turning the Arab sail into a triangular sail. This type of sail was used on the Mediterranean for small boats for many years.

Sailing Techniques

Sailing Close to the Wind

• The square sail on a keeled ship, (for example a Greco Roman merchantman) can give an angle of 671 ⁄ 2 (6 points) to the line of the wind when fully trimmed and tacking into the wind. The keel provides resistance to the sideward force of the wind.
• A square rig with the help of some fore-and-aft lateen (mizzen) sails as used on European sailing ships from the 15th century to the 19th century allows a 56 1 ⁄ 4 (5 points) to be obtained. An Arab lateen rig gives the same angle when close-hauled but since a greater area of sail catches the wind, it sails more swiftly and efficiently.
• A well-designed Arab lateen could come within 4 points of the wind. One can see why Nabataean and other Arab sailors would desire such a boat for pirate activity against the Greeks and Romans.
• The most efficient design of sail for utilizing a head wind is the complete fore-and-aft rig of a modern yacht. It can usually come within 4 points of the wind, and sometimes even achieves 3.

Tacking and Wearing Around

The methods of sailing an ancient dhow must have been much like those today, since the rig was much the same. In sailing with the wind the Arab lateen functions exactly as a square sail. When steering a course into the wind, the dhow would prefer to ear around, that is, to change tacks by going round stern to wind. Tacking involves bringing the bow around into the wind, and since Arab vessels were built with small rudders it was difficult or impossible to bring the bow across the wind, if the wind was strong. Wearing around means losing way, but it is easier, to wear is to take the line of less resistance. When wearing, as when tacking, the yard must be transferred to the other side of the mast; but when wearing the wind aids this maneuver, whereas when tacking the wind tends to hinder it.

There was no reefing of sails in a strong wind, but the yard could be lowered, as today, and it is probably that a spare yard and sail of smaller size were carried, as in the vessels seen by Colomb in the nineteenth Century. (Colomb, Slave-catching, pp 36-38; Mas’uud Muruj, volume I, page 234, “The great sail”; Muzurg, pp 44-47, 87-88, 16568, ibn-Battutah, vol ic, pp. 185-186)

In my paper, Were the Nabataeans Really Sea Going? I demonstrate how the Nabataean people took to sailing ships. The speed at which they did this might be considered remarkable, if it were not for the fact that navigating in a featureless desert is very similar to navigating on a featureless ocean. Therefore, before the Arabs became seamen they were knowledgeable in navigation skills. In the section below, I will demonstrate the basics of this navigation, whether it be used on the high seas, or in the depth of the Arabian desert.

However, not all Arab tribes knew how to navigate by the stars. Indeed, only a very few had this skill, as even today only the Slayb tribe are known as the trackers and guides in the desert. (See: Where are the Nabataeans Today?) Many early sailors sailed along the coast, always keeping land in site. In this way, they simply harbor-hoped along the coast. One wonders what sea captain would have committed himself to the emptiness of the open sea without a knowledge of navigation by the stars. It would seem a small step however, for desert traveling Nabataean merchants to move on to being ocean traveling merchants, if they had the occasion to own ships and the need to transport goods by them.

Modern navigation includes three aspects. Finding latitude, longitude and accurate time-keeping. By knowing one’s location and the speed of their travel a person can accurately navigate across featureless landscapes.

Before the invention of the compass, watch, and the sextant, the mariner’s main guide was latitude. To obtain their latitude, Arabs measured the altitude above the horizon to a known star, and then deduced from this the altitude of the Pole Star, (since the Pole Star was the one star that did not move in the sky). In some cases ancient navigators measured directly the altitude of the Pole Star. This was the simplest method, and was known as the science of qiyas. The easiest method was to use the width of a finger. When held at arm’s length, the width of four fingers was considered to measure 4 isba’. In a 360 degree circle there were 224 isba’. It was considered that a day’s sailing due north would raise the Pole Star 1 isba’ from the horizon. For those traveling on land, the isba’ was further divided into 8 zam. Thus land distances were often measured in zams.

A more accurate, but still simple instrument was known as a kamal. This was a small parallelogram of horn or wood measuring about one by two inches with a string inserted in the center. On the string were nine knots at measured intervals.

The end of the string was held in the teeth. The lower edge of the horn was placed on the horizon while the horn was moved along the string until the upper edge touched the required star. The knot at which the horn covered the exact distance signified a certain number of isba’ of altitude of the star. The altitude of the Pole Star could then be deduced from the rahmani.

An alternative way of using a kamal was to move the knots through the teeth until the piece of horn or wood covered the required star altitude.

Vasco da Gama’s pilot from Malindi used a kamal, and the Portuguese adopted it and eventually modified the spacing of the knots to measure degrees.

Sometimes Arab and Indian seamen added extra knots marking the latitudes of particular ports of call, or they simply used a kamal on which all the knots indicated particular ports of call.

The astrolabe was developed at a slightly later period. It was a chart was based on the rising and setting of fifteen fixed stars. Later astrolabes also included the addition of North and South. This method probably pre-dated the introduction of the magnetic compass. However, when used on the compass, each star name division came to signify one rhumb or 1 ⁄ 32 division of the compass.

The astrolabe was also known as a windrose, and traditionally it had many Persian names for stars. (eg. qutb al-gaah, mutla’ al-silbaar, khaan (rhumb) etc., which the Arabs must have taken from a Persian windrose. However, many other names are Arabic and in some cases an older Arabic name was displaced by a Persian one. Eg. The Ursa Minor constellation (Ursa Minor and Major) was banaat na’sh before it became qutb al-gaah.

On the astrolabe, latitude was determined by the height of the sun or the pole star, which was measured by the qiyas figure system. Astrolabes were quite difficult to use at sea because of the rolling of the ships, which made it hard to determine the vertical line accurately. However, they could be used on shore, and the latitude of every port and headland must have been recorded in the books of nautical instruction or rahmaanis.

Sun locations

Another very simple navigation method that was used by many early dhow captains was simply the position of the sun or North Star above the boat. By standing on various locations on the boat, they could place the sun or North Star above, right, left or behind the dhow. As long as they kept the stars at a correct position above the rigging they were assured that they would arrive at their destination.

Nautical Manuals

Beside astronomical tables, charts, and latitudes, the rahmaani or nautical manuals contained information about winds, coasts, reefs, and everything that a captain would need to know. Some of these manual became very popular, such as Kitab Ma’din al-asrar fi ‘ilm al-bihar (The Mine of Secrets in the Science of the Seas) by Shaikh Nasr bin ‘Ali al’Haduri. This book contains latitude and longitude tables as well as drawings of the position of the sun above the dhow. (above)

The magnetic needle was known in China from ancient times, but there is little mention of it being used as a nautical instrument before the tenth century. It is likely that the compass was not considered very important in the east, as the skies over the Indian Ocean were usually very clear, especially during the times that the Arab sailors traveled with the monsoons. It was only under the clouds of the North that it was eagerly made use of.

A Chinese spoon compass. A spoon shaped piece of magnetic stone, called a loadstone was placed on a polished bronze board. The spoon turned until it pointed to the North Pole. On the right is an ancient Arabic compass chart

During the 17th century, with the invention of timekeeping instruments, the sextant became much more common as the main instrument for calculating position and speed.

Shore sighting pigeons were also employed in some parts of the Indian Ocean. Pliney mentions them as used by the Singhalese in the first century AD because they had no nautical astronomy. A Chinese source of the ninth century refers to them on Persian ships.

The Trip To India and China

From ancient times ships crossed the Indian Ocean from Arabia to return laden with exotic goods that would bring exorbitant prices in the bazaars and markets of the Middle East. On land the Silk Road was fraught with hazards. Hostile governments, highwaymen and natural disasters awaited those who attempted the long and difficult road between China, India and Europe. That road crossed some of the highest mountains in the world, not to mention some of the most hostile deserts. It required the merchant to pass through many fiefdoms and kingdoms where local lords demanded at least some token tax on the goods that passed through their lands. On top of this, pack animals required fodder and regular rest.

The maritime route to India and China also had its difficulties, but once the ancient Arabs understood them, they could be quite easily passed. The knowledgeable sea captain sailed straight down the middle of the Red Sea, avoiding the pirates that lurked along the shore. He then took on water and supplies in South Arabia and then made straight across the Indian Ocean for India. Using various navigational aids, and a knowledge of the monsoon winds, the industrious Arabs could make a return trip in 18 months to two years.

The advantage that the sea captain had, was that a small crew of ten men and a boat could return laden with twenty to fifty tons of cargo, and they could transport it right up the Red Sea within a few hours caravan journey from Alexandria. Then from Alexandria the merchants on the Mediterranean could carry the cargo of exotic goods to the ports of Greece and Italy where it would be snapped up by the wealthy families of the Roman Empire.

The Monsoons

From an Arab perspective there are three basic monsoon winds. First of all, from April to June, the Kaws wind blows southwest. Later the Dammani SW monsoon blows from August to the middle of October. At this time, the monsoon changes direction, and the Azyab monsoon blows in a NE direction.

Most ships crossing the Indian Ocean planned to leave the east coast of Arabia during the second half of November and the first half of December. Ships leaving the Red Sea would start out the middle of October, so that they could catch the Ayab monsoon across the Indian Ocean, directly to the Malabar cost, reaching Kulam Mali during December. If they were moving on to China they would have to wait for the cyclones of the Azyab to die down in the Bay of Bengal before journeying on in January, crossing from Mulam Mali round the south of India to Kalah Bar in the Malay Peninsula. Arab ships usually did not venture farther than this, as Chinese junks brought their trade goods to the Malay Peninsula, and may to the island of Ceylon. (Sri Lanka) Once the Kaws winds started to blow, the Arab sailors would start for home, laden with their goods.

The chart below illustrates some of the sailing seasons that existed between India, Arabia and Africa. As local conditions such as land breezes would vary along the Arabian coast, the seasons were more complicated for the specific ports shown in the chart. Nevertheless the chart provides a broad outline.

From the table you will notice that the south-west monsoon strikes earlier further south, and lasts longer. As it moves northwards its duration shortens. Hence the Malabar coast of India is a dangerous place to be as early as May and remains so through September. This means that the sailing season in Malabar, India was only seven to eight months long. This affected the Indian vessels more than the Arab ones, for while the Indians must be all the way home before May, Arab vessels must only be clear of the Malabari waters before then. This allowed the Arabs more time to travel since they had a much longer sailing season when traveling from Arabia to India and back. This would help explain why the Arabs, who came from a land without abundant timber, dominated Indian Ocean trade routes for long periods.

Nabataeans and Sea Navigation

Very few Arab tribes knew now to navigate by use of the stars. Ibn Wahsiyah makes it plain to us that this knowledge was known to the Nabataeans from of old. If this were true, then it would have been a small step for the Nabataeans to have adopted their land based navigational skills to the sea.

As mentioned earlier, most sea captains, who had only every traveled along the coast, would never cast off and try and sail across the empty sea. However, if the Nabataeans had visited India and or China via the land route (Petra, known to the Nabataeans as Rekem was recorded in the records of Chang Ch’ien, special envoy to the Chinese Emperor Wu-ti 138-122 BC. It is assumed that Nabataean jugglers and entertainers returned with Chang Ch’ien to China) then they could have produced rough charts of the locations of these countries. This would have given the Nabataeans the knowledge they needed to sail directly across the Indian Ocean from Arabia to India. Is this speculation? More information and proofs are presented in the paper “Who were the ancient Arabs who traded with India?”.

Now you can learn more about the ancient Nabataean trade routes. Discover the people and civilization that used the dhow to explore the world!

Bibliography

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Articles In This Series

History and Construction of the Dhow:

Who were the Ancient Arab Sea Traders?:

Ancient Sailing Techniques:

Parallel Maritime Histories:

The Incense Routes:

Early Dhows in Pre-Islamic Petroglyphs:

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