My obsession

[dainw]

I'm toying around with an idea for a sailboat with a single mast, unstayed, and keel stepped near the bow, raked back at about a 25% angle. The sail set would be a 'main-jib', with a track for the jibsheet block at the stern rail, and another track on the cabin roof near the mast for the foot of the jib. The concept would provide flexibility on setting the sail angle, somewhat like a lateen, while providing a dead-simple method for trimming and reefing, as the jib would be roller furled. For materials, I am thinking aluminum, full keel, with a small cat-boat sort of cuddy cabin forward, a flush deck with high rails to stern and bow, with a keel-hung rudder and tiller. For downwind, a spinnaker pole could be attached to a padeye on the bow, and a whisker pole could be attached to a stern padeye to boom the main jib out. For upwind, the angle of the sail could be set in a horizontal, or cross-plain manner across the centerline of the boat, to make use of light winds, or spill heavy winds and adjust for weather helm. Inboard of the stern would be an engine well with a hatch cover, and an outboard motor mounted inside. The use of an 'inboard' outboard motor is to prevent any through-hull leak, protecting the motor from the elements, and providing an easy method to repower the boat and maintain the motor as needed.

Ok, having said all that - - and not sure if any of it makes sense - - I am not a boat designer, and other than having a little catalina 22 (that I love, and grew up sailing on) I am really nothing more than a dreamer. This concept has intrigued me to the point where I am going to try and build a model to see what this sort of a sail plan might do, and of course, I have fixated and doodled literally hundreds of pictures of this boat, to the point of obsession. (Maybe some of you can relate...)

Any advice, thoughts, comments welcome... Will it work? Will she go?

[Gilbert]

By all means build your model and try it out. There is no better way to find out how well your ideas work. Don't forget to try out how it behaves in the wind at anchor as well as sailing.

[Frosty]

Theres a couple of cats round here with masts raked back at horrendous angles. I would think more than 25 degrees or there abouts.