Can Chinese Junk actually circumnavigate?

Broad and detail of Junk sail and its adventure from......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_(sailing)

Junk (ship)
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A two-masted junk in Halong Bay.
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A two-masted junk in Halong Bay.

A junk is a Chinese sailing vessel. The English name comes from Malay dgong or jong. Junks were originally developed during the Han Dynasty (220 BCE-200 CE) and further evolved to represent one of the most successful ship types in history.

also try this fun site on boat & ship with junk refrence
http://www.abc.se/~pa/bld/shiptype.htm


Contents
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* 1 Design
o 1.1 Sail plan
o 1.2 Hull design
+ 1.2.1 Rudders
+ 1.2.2 Separate compartments
+ 1.2.3 Leeboards & centerboards
* 2 History
o 2.1 2nd century junks (Han Dynasty)
o 2.2 10th-13th century junks (Song Dynasty)
o 2.3 14th century junks (Yuan Dynasty)
o 2.4 15th-17th century junks (Ming Dynasty)
+ 2.4.1 Expedition of Zheng He
+ 2.4.2 Asian trade
+ 2.4.3 Expulsion of the Dutch from Taiwan
o 2.5 19th century junks (Qing Dynasty)
* 3 See also
* 4 References

Design

Junks are efficient and sturdy ships that were traveling across oceans as early as the 2nd century AD. They incorporated numerous technical advances in sail plan and hull designs that were later adopted in Western shipbuilding.

The historian H. Warington Smith considered the junk as one of the most efficient of ship designs:

"As an engine for carrying man and his commerce upon the high and stormy seas as well as on the vast inland waterways, it is doubtful if any class of vessel is more suited or better adapted to its purpose than the Chinese junk, and it is certain that for flatness of sail and handiness, the Chinese rig is unsurpassed." (H. Warington Smith)

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Sail plan

The structure and flexibility of the sails make the junk easy to sail, and fast since the sails are not square rigged, i.e. they can be angled when sailing upwind.

The sails are cut elliptically and slightly curved with bamboo inserts (battens), giving them the shape of an airfoil, and permitting them to sail well on any point of sail. The sails can also be easily reefed and adjusted for fullness, to accommodate various wind strengths. The battens also give the sails added strength, and make them more resistant than traditional sails to holing or rot. Junk sails have much in common with the most aerodynamically efficient sails used today in windsurfers or catamarans, although their design can be traced back as early the 3rd century AD.

The rigging is very simple because bamboo is very strong; thus fewer ropes are needed.

The sail-plan is also spread out between multiple masts, allowing for a powerful sail surface, and a good repartition of efforts, an innovation adopted in the West around 1304. The rig is fore-and-aft, allowing for good sailing into the wind.
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Hull design

Classic junks were built of softwoods – though in Guangdong in teak with multiple compartments accessed by separate hatches and ladders: similar in structure to the interior stem of bamboo. These were not watertight, as is commonly believed, all wrecks so far recovered having limber holes at the base of each bulkhead. The largest junks were built for world exploration in the 1400s, and were around 120 meters in length. (See Zheng He)
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Rudders
The world's oldest depiction of a rudder. Pottery model of a junk, 1st Century of the Common Era. Kuangchow National Museum (drawing).
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The world's oldest depiction of a rudder. Pottery model of a junk, 1st Century of the Common Era. Kuangchow National Museum (drawing).

Junks employed stern-mounted rudders centuries before their adoption in the West, though in fact the rudder origin, form and construction was completely different from that adopted in the West. It was an innovation which permitted the steering of large, high-freeboard ships, though the system of mounting was chronically weak and required large numbers of crew to control in strong weather. The world's oldest known depiction of a stern-mounted rudder can be seen on a pottery model of a junk dating from the 1st Century, though some scholars think this may be a steering oar - a possible interpretation given that the model is of a river boat that was probably towed or poled. By contrast, the West's oldest known stern-mounted rudder can be found on church carvings dating to around 1180.

Also, from sometime in the 13th-15th centuries many junks incorporated "fenestrated rudders" (rudder with holes in them), an innovation adopted in the West in 1901 to decrease the vulnerability of torpedo boats rudders when manoeuvering at high speed. Likewise the Chinese discovery - which probably came about through fortuitous weaknesses in knotted pine - was probably adopted because the reduced stresses helped cope with the weak and vulnerable mountings of junk rudders.
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Separate compartments

Another characteristic of junks, interior compartments, allowed reinforced the ship structure and reduced the rapidity of flooding in case of holing. The compartments were not watertight, as popular belief has it. All wrecks discovered so far have limber holes, probably for the sensible reason that with early Chinese pump technology and heavy tropical rains, multiple watertight compartments would have been impractical. This innovation was misunderstood in the West in the late 18th century and was not adopted at that time. Later in the 19th century a similar system, but beginning with longitudinal bulkheads, was adopted to strengthen early iron ships to counter hogging and sagging.

Benjamin Franklin wrote in a 1787 letter on the project of mail packets between the United States and France:

"As these vessels are not to be laden with goods, their holds may without inconvenience be divided into separate apartments, after the Chinese manner, and each of these apartments caulked tight so as to keep out water" (Benjamin Franklin, 1787).

In 1795, Sir Samuel Bentham, inspector of dockyards of the Royal Navy, and designer of six new sailing ships, argued for the adoption of "partitions contributing to strength, and securing the ship against foundering, as practiced by the Chinese of the present day". His idea was not adopted. Bentham had been in China in 1782, and he acknowledged that he had got the idea of watertight compartments by looking (obviously not too closely) at Chinese junks there. Bentham was a friend of Isambard Brunel, so it is possible that he had some influence on Brunel's adoption of longitudinal, strengthening bulkheads in the lower deck of the SS Great Britain.
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Leeboards & centerboards

Leeboards and centerboards, used to stabilize the junk and to improve its capability to sail upwind are documented from a 759 AD book by Li Chuan, an innovation adopted by Portuguese and Dutch ships around 1570.

Other innovations included the square-pallet bilge pump, which were adopted by the West during the 16th century. Junks also relied on the compass for navigational purposes.
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History

Junks were originally developed during the Han Dynasty (220 BC-200 AD).
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2nd century junks (Han Dynasty)

The 3rd century book "Strange Things of the South" (南州異物志) by Wan Chen (萬震) describes junks capable of carrying 700 people together with 260 tons of cargo ("more than 10,000 "斛"). He explains the ship's design as follows:

"The four sails do not face directly forward, but are set obliquely, and so arranged that they can all be fixed in the same direction, to receive the wind and to spill it. Those sails which are behind the most windward one receiving the pressure of the wind, throw it from one to the other, so that they all profit from its force. If it is violent, (the sailors) diminish or augment the surface of the sails according to the conditions. This oblique rig, which permits the sails to receive from one another the breath of the wind, obviates the anxiety attendant upon having high masts. Thus these ships sail without avoiding strong winds and dashing waves, by the aid of which they can make great speed" ("Strange Things of the South", Wan Chen, from Robert Temple).

Song junk, 13th century.
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Song junk, 13th century.

A 260 AD book by Kang Tai (康泰) also described ships with seven masts, traveling as far as Syria.
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10th-13th century junks (Song Dynasty)

The great trading dynasty of the Song employed junks extensively. The naval strength of the Song, both mercantile and military, became the backbone of the naval power of the following Yuan dynasty. Particular the Mongol invasions of Japan (1274-1284), as well as the Mongol invasion of Java essentially relied on recently acquired Song naval capabilities. The ship to the right's dimensions are 360'x 110'x 120'.
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14th century junks (Yuan Dynasty)

The enormous characteristics of the Chinese ships of the Medieval period is described in Chinese sources, and is confirmed by Western travelers to the East, such as Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta and Niccolo Da Conti. According to Ibn Battuta, who visited China in 1347:
A 16th-17th century Qing Dynasty junk, "Fuchuan"
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A 16th-17th century Qing Dynasty junk, "Fuchuan"

... We stopped in the port of Calicut, in which there were at the time thirteen Chinese vessels, and disembarked. On the China Sea traveling is done in Chinese ships only, so we shall describe their arrangements. The Chinese vessels are of three kinds; large ships called chunks (junks), middle sized ones called zaws (dhows) and the small ones kakams. The large ships have anything from twelve down to three sails, which are made of bamboo rods plaited into mats. They are never lowered, but turned according to the direction of the wind; at anchor they are left floating in the wind.

A ship carries a complement of a thousand men, six hundred of whom are sailors and four hundred men-at-arms, including archers, men with shields and crossbows, who throw naphtha. Three smaller ones, the "half", the "third" and the "quarter", accompany each large vessel. These vessels are built in the towns of Zaytun (a.k.a Zaitun; today's Quanzhou; 刺桐) and Sin-Kalan. The vessel has four decks and contains rooms, cabins, and saloons for merchants; a cabin has chambers and a lavatory, and can be locked by its occupants.

Depiction of a Chinese junk, Atlantic ship and Mediterranean ship in the 1459 Fra Mauro map. These drawings indicate that Europeans had some knowledge of Chinese junk designs even before they first rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1487
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Depiction of a Chinese junk, Atlantic ship and Mediterranean ship in the 1459 Fra Mauro map. These drawings indicate that Europeans had some knowledge of Chinese junk designs even before they first rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1487

This is the manner after which they are made; two (parallel) walls of very thick wooden (planking) are raised and across the space between them are placed very thick planks (the bulkheads) secured longitudinally and transversely by means of large nails, each three ells in length. When these walls have thus been built the lower deck is fitted in and the ship is launched before the upper works are finished. (Ibn Battuta).

Niccolo Da Conti in his relations of his travels in Asia between 1419 and 1444, matter-of-factly describes huge junks of about 2,000 tons, more than four times the size of 16th century Western galleons:

They make ships larger than ours, about 2,000 tons in size, with five sails and as many masts. The lower part is made of three decks, so as to better resist storms, which occur frequently. These ships are separated into several compartments, so that if one is touched during a storm, the others remain intact." (Niccolo Da Conti)

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15th-17th century junks (Ming Dynasty)
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Expedition of Zheng He
Early 17th century Chinese woodblock print, thought to represent Zheng He's ships
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Early 17th century Chinese woodblock print, thought to represent Zheng He's ships

The largest junks ever built were probably those of Admiral Zheng He, for his expeditions in the Indian Ocean. According to Chinese sources, the fleet comprised 30,000 men and over 300 ships at its height.

The 1405 expedition consisted of 27,000 men and 317 ships, composed of:

* "Treasure ships", used by the commander of the fleet and his deputies (Nine-masted junks, about 400 feet long and 160 feet wide).
* "Horse ships", carrying tribute goods and repair material for the fleet(Eight-masted junks, about 339 feet long and 138 feet wide)
* "Supply ships", containing food-staple for the crew (Seven-masted junks, about 257 feet long and 115 feet wide).
* "Troop transports" (Six-masted junks, about 220 feet long and 83 feet wide).
* "Fuchuan warships" (Five-masted junks, about 165 feet long).
* "Patrol boats" (Eight-oared, about 120 feet long).
* "Water tankers", with 1 month supply of fresh water and sustainability.

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Asian trade
A Chinese junk in Japan, at the beginning of the Sakoku period (1644-1648 Japanese woodblock print)
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A Chinese junk in Japan, at the beginning of the Sakoku period (1644-1648 Japanese woodblock print)

Chinese junks were used extensively in Asian trade during the 16th and 17th century, especially to Japan, where they competed with Japanese Red Seal Ships, Portuguese carracks and Dutch galleons, and to Southeast Asia. Richard Cocks, the head of the English trading factory in Hirado, Japan, recorded that 50 to 60 Chinese junks visited Nagasaki in 1612 alone.

These junks were usually three masted, and averaging between 200 and 800 tons in size, the largest ones having around 130 sailors, 130 traders and a sometimes hundreds of passengers.
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Expulsion of the Dutch from Taiwan

In 1661, a naval fleet of 400 junks and 25.000 men led by the Ming loyalist Zheng Chenggong (Cheng Ch'eng-kung in Wade-Giles, known in the West as Koxinga), arrived in Taiwan to oust the Dutch from Zeelandia. Following a nine month siege, Cheng captured the Dutch fortress Fort Zeelandia. A peace treaty between Koxinga and the Dutch Government was signed at Castle Zeelandia on February 1st 1662, and Taiwan became Koxinga's base for the Kingdom of Tungning.
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19th century junks (Qing Dynasty)
Junk Keying travelled from China to the United States and England between 1846 to 1848.
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Junk Keying travelled from China to the United States and England between 1846 to 1848.

Junks remained considerable in size and played a key role in Asian trade until the 19th century. One of these junks, Keying, sailed from China around the Cape of Good Hope to the United States and England between 1846 and 1848. She testifies to the power of Chinese shipping and shipbuilding at the time of the beginning of industrialization in the West.

The Keying was praised by the English as excellent in sea-worthiness, and practically superior to their own:

"She proved herself an excellent sea-boat; and her powers of weathering a storm equal, if not surpass, those of vessels of British build." (Illustrated London News, 1848)

She was also fast, sailing between Boston and England in 21 days:

"The Keying next visited Boston, whence she sailed direct for London on the 17th of February last, and arrived in St Aubin's Bay, Jersey, on the 15th March, having performed the voyage, from land to land, in 21 days - a short period even for the American packet-ships." (Illustrated London News, 1848)


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Pottery model of a junk, with the world's first known depiction of a rudder. 1st century CE. Kuangchow Historical Museum (Canton).

Personal drawing, 2005. Released in the Public Domain.

 

Why mess with a proven concept that was developed over thousands of years? Is it just a need to tinker?

 

Uhh..?

Actually Chinese hull consist of two type of hull.1.The round bottom with keel 2. the flat bottom without keel. Both type had been develop all over the world to so advance a level..A flat bottom barge..round bottom, both end sharp Phinisi..add in cutter and tea clipper bow..overhang stern..Asia..the melting pot of all culture..The sail is different story..only the material had change..the principal is still the same.Previously in Malaysia the sail are made from woven Pandanus leave - Tikar in Malay.

Builders in Malaysia did not built original Chinese hull..They built the more advance level..the result of the melting pot..Thats the type I'am building. The sail will be different. It will be unstayed mast like the type design by Eric Sponberg couple with Chinese soft skin wingsail. Anyway my motor sailor( KLM) will be equip with Yanmar or Mitsubishi engine with 10-15 metric ton fuel capacity. Hopefully should be able to circumnavigate with no refuelling. The bulk of the fuel is for the generators. Madam's want all the comfort on boards..

 

your're right but................... thinking out of the box?

yes, sort of finding the old design and history, then think something new that is Junk yet make it different. I am confused......... also confucian

 

I think we can salvage the deck, front and back design and work mainly on the lower hull. It would be fun puttin a bit of wake line and make it glide and save more from the drag.......... I have form a talk to local bugis and Australian boat builder........... maybe will give me clearer view what characteristic the ship might have to entirely transform in term of performance and new look.

I am refering to change the original wooden hull not copy fromsomebody.

 

A junk plan name shanghai

Err, Found something of a real junk plan in:

http://www.selway-fisher.com/Yachts2435.htm#SHANGHAI

This yacht was designed a modern interpretation of the junk type for music arranger and composer Mike Hale. She had to be a safe and comfortable cruising yacht with cross channel capability as well as the ability to venture into shallow waters. The hull is of multi-chine shape and is assembled from pre-shaped ply components with fore and aft girders also acting as bunk fronts bilge board cases and locker fronts. She has a large and deep cockpit aft and the cabin is laid out for 2 to live comfortably. The outboard is housed in an aft enclosed well. There are twin bilge boards housed in the bunk/seat fronts so that they do not encroach on the living space. The junk rig may be supplemented with a reacher and all sail controls are led back to the cockpit. LOD 25'5" (7.76m); Beam 8'11" (2.72m); Draft 2'1"/5'4" (0.64/1.62m); Sail Areas - main 244 sq.ft. (22.7 sq.m.), reacher 106 sq.ft. (9.9 sq.m.); Displ. (loaded) 6395 lbs (2900 kg); Ballast 2300 lbs (1043 kg).


It hit me maybe a combo rig of lug sail and other sail will achieve the tear n wear proof of junk sail while retain the fast mast sail of other design

wellydeckhand

 

A junk with japanese name......... ICHIBAN

Larger in size may prove useful, maybe the original junk hull should have a longer LOA?



http://www.tedbrewer.com/sail_aluminum/ichiban.htm

ICHIBAN
A 33' Aluminum Junk Rig
Brewer Design #154

ICHIBAN is a custom yacht and was designed as a permanent retirement home for a couple with occasional guests.

Her radius bilge aluminum hull is strong and requires only low maintenance, ideal for a retired couple. The fin keel/skeg rudder underbody reduces wetted surface and contributes to good light air performance and an easy helm.

The accommodations are comfortable and homelike, as befits a live-aboard yacht. As well, she has very generous stowage for a vessel of her size and this is essential for a full time retirement home afloat.

Ichiban---sailplan.gif (26442 bytes)
click drawing to see larger image

The unusual rig spreads generous sail area yet it is very easily handled. Setting sail, reefing and tacking are all simplified with the fully battened junk rig so she can be single handed with ease when required. Her owner reports that she performs very well indeed and, though she might give away a point to windward, ICHIBAN makes up for it in off wind speed and the ease of tacking.

All in all, ICHIBAN is worth consideration as she is one couple's answer to long term voyaging and they gave a great deal of thought to their needs. They have voyaged to Central America and the Caribbean with no problems and still find that the rig and general design suits their needs to perfection.

 

Warlock 39 Mk II

http://www.boatdesign.com/warlock.htm

 

http://www.mooseislanddesign.com/breeze37.htm


Breeze 37



Length 38’ 4”

Beam: 10’10”

Draft: 5’11”

Displacement: 15,168 lbs.



Breeze is a light displacement, easy to sail family boat. Her shape is designed for speed and comfort. A bulb for ballast is faired into the keel, which is blended into the hull. A smooth transition between these segments helps reduce turbulence, increases the speed of the boat, and creates a stronger structure. Although her cockpit is at the aft one third of the boat, there is still room for an aft cabin, which is small, but sleeps two comfortably on separate berths. There is nearly two-thirds of the boat designated for the main cabin, which can be laid out to the new owner’s preferences. The sail plan shown on Breeze is a two masted unstayed rig. Though unconventional in appearance it has much to offer the cruising enthusiast. No standing rigging means less windage and drag, fewer possible areas for rig problems, and less weight up high. Sail handling is easy with both the sails being on wishbones, and safer with no boom to hit you in an accidental jibe. The masts would pivot along with the rig, keeping the best airflow at all times at the sail-mast interface. Because the mast pivots, and there are no shrouds in the way, you could sail a bit by the lee and not worry about having to jibe at any particular point. The sail shape shown is battened and highly roached for better aerodynamics.


wellydeckhand

P.S. apparently, we can substitute junk sail to the boat well develope design. Personally i loved Moose Island Design

 

Romantic Longpassange of junk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_Keying

The Junk Keying (Chinese: 耆英; Pinyin: qíyīng, literally "Elder". English name is based on Cantonese pronunciation) was a Chinese junk which sailed from China around the Cape of Good Hope to the United States and England between 1846 and 1848. She is of particular interest, since she testifies to the power of Chinese shipping and shipbuilding at the time of the beginning of industrialization in the West.

Keying had been purchased in August 1846 in secrecy by English businessmen, who braved a Chinese law prohibiting the sale of Chinese ships to foreigners. She was manned by 30 Chinese and 12 Englishmen, and commanded by the British captain Kellet during her travel.

* Junk Keying left Hong Kong in December 1846.
* She rounded the Cape of Good Hope in March 1847.
* She stopped at St Helena in April 1847.
* She was in New York in July 1847.
* She visited Boston in November 1847.
* She then arrived in England in April 1848

New York visit
”The Bay and Harbor of New York” by Samuel Waugh (1814-1885), depicting the Junk Keying moored in New York harbour in 1847 (watercolor on canvas, c. 1853-1855, Museum of the City of New York).
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”The Bay and Harbor of New York” by Samuel Waugh (1814-1885), depicting the Junk Keying moored in New York harbour in 1847 (watercolor on canvas, c. 1853-1855, Museum of the City of New York).

Keying was the first ship from China to visit New York. She moored off the Battery on the southern tip of Manhattan in July 1847, and was received with great fanfare.

The Cantonese crew of Keying were understandably angry as they only signed on for an eight 'month voyage to Singapore and Batavia. Twenty six of them left and at least some of them were 'exhibited' by P.T. Barnum on his version of Keying that he had built in Hoboken (he claimed he had it towed from China).

She stayed several months in New York, and was visited by 4,000 tourists a day, who were paying 25 cents to board the ship and observe its design and crew.

Keying also moored in Boston on November 18th 1847, by the Charles River Bridge, according to the Boston Evening Transcript of 1847. She was visited by many people, with as many as four to five thousand on Thanksgiving


England visit
The medal made for the arrival of the Junk Keying in England.
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The medal made for the arrival of the Junk Keying in England.

The Junk visited England on March 1848, and a medal was made in honour of her arrival. The obverse of the medal gives the following account:

”The first junk that ever rounded the Cape of Good Hope, or appeared in British waters. Her dimensions are length 160ft. Depth of hold: 19ft. Burden: 800 tons Chinese measurement. Rudder 7 1/2 tons, mainsail 9 tons. Mainmast 85ft long from deck. The ship is built of teak wood. She sailed from Hong Kong 6th december 1846, arrived in England 27th March 1848, 477 days from Canton. "Captain Kellet", commander."

Illustrated London News article, April 1, 1848.
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Illustrated London News article, April 1, 1848.
Illustrated London News, 1848, full article.
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Illustrated London News, 1848, full article.

The ship was praised by the English as excellent in sea-worthiness, and practically superior to their own:

"She proved herself an excellent sea-boat; and her powers of weathering a storm equal, if not surpass, those of vessels of British build." (Illustrated London News, 1848)

A storm, occurring on February 28, wrecked her two boats, ripped the foresail, and disabled the hardwood ironbound rudder, which was hung in the Chinese manner without gudgeons or pintles. During the repair of the rudder the second mate drowned.

She was also fast, sailing between Boston and England in 27 days:

"The Keying next visited Boston, whence she sailed direct for London on the 17th of February last, and arrived in St Aubin's Bay, Jersey, on the 15th March, having performed the voyage, from land to land, in 21 days - a short period even for the American packet-ships." (Illustrated London News, 1848)


The Illustrated London News of July 29, 1848 described the visits to the Keying as follows:

"The ROYAL CHINESE JUNK "KEYING" manned by a Chinese Crew. Visitors received by a Mandarin of rank and Chinese Artist of celebrity. Grand Saloon, gorgeously furnished in the most approved style of the Celestial Empire. Collection of Chinese Curiosities, &c. The "Keying" is now open for Exhibition, from Ten to six, in the East India Docks, adjoining the Railway and Steam-boat Pier, Blackwall.—Admission, One Shilling." (The Illustrated London News, 1848)

"ADMISSION, ONE SHILLING.—During the limited period which the ROYAL CHINESE JUNK will remain in London, the charge for admission will be reduced to One Shilling. This most interesting Exhibition, which has been justly called "the greatest novelty in Europe," has been visited by her Majesty the Queen, all the Royal Family, and an immense number of persons, including nearly all the nobility and foreigners of distinction in London. Junk Tickets, including fare and admission, are issued by the Blackwall and Eastern Counties Railways. Omnibuses direct, and conveyance also by Steam-boat from all the Piers between Westminster and Woolwich; fare 4d. Catalogues obtainable only on board, price 6d." (The Illustrated London News, 1848)

Also in The Times:

"There is not a more interesting Exhibition in the vicinity of London than the Chinese Junk: one step across the entrance, and you are in the Chinese world; you have quitted the Thames for the vicinity of Canton." (The Times).

The Keying was towed from London to the river Mersey by the steam tug Shannon, arriving May 14, 1853, anchored off Rock Ferry on the Cheshire shore. On September 29, 1853 the junk was preparing to leave for foreign ports in three weeks. It was dismantled "for research" by Redhead, Harling and Brown.

"The Chinese junk once a most popular attractive exhibition,is now rotting neglected and uncared for on the shore at Tranmere Ferry opposite Liverpool" from Plymouth and Devonport weekly journal,Thursday,December 6 1855
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Precedents

Junk Keying may not have been quite the first Chinese sailship to round the Cape of Good Hope, since the Venetian monk and cartographer Fra Mauro describes in his 1457 Fra Mauro map the travels of a huge "junk from India" 2,000 miles (3,000 km) into the Atlantic Ocean in 1420. That boat may have been part of the expeditions of Admiral Zheng He.

 

Yup Naga pelangi is fast and slim can do circumnavigator

http://www.naga-pelangi.de/Naga_2/english/index_e.htm


NAGA PELANGI II




The rebirth of a legend: a new ship

On the east coast of the Malay peninsula, in the estuary of the river Terengganu dwell the most highly skilled shipwrights of Malaysia under the palm trees of the small island Pulau Duyong.

For centuries these seafaring boat builders manufactured magnificent wooden craft here. Amongst other vessels they built two types of junk-schooners, legendary far beyond the borders of Malaysia: the PINIS and the BEDAR:


model of a BEDAR model of a PINIS

The ancestors of the Malays once settled the whole of the SE-Asian archipelago, ventured far to the east, to the furthest Polynesian islands and to the west until Africa (Madagascar). These are areas where their descendants live up till today.

With modern ways spreading, the unequalled boatbuilding techniques still practised today in Duyong are endangered. With this archaic art of building wooden boats vanishing, doom seems spelled for this great nautical tradition of the Malay nation.

In 1980 I had a Bedar constructed in Pulau Duyong (pulau = Malay: island), the Naga Pelangi, (Malay: Rainbow Dragon), which was a seaworthy home for my family and me during our travels.


Junk sailing: Naga Pelangi, in the South China Sea, 1998

Naga Pelangi came to be the first indigenous Malay junk to finish a circumnavigation when we returned to her birthplace in 1997, dropping anchor off Pulau Duyong in Kuala Terengganu. I sold this boat in the year 2000 and in April 2003 I started a new project, one that has not been undertaken in over half of a century:

The building of a "perahu besar" (Malay: big boat),
a PINIS of about 70 feet (21 m) over deck.

This website (see: CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS) is the place, where the latest pictures of the works progress will be published. We will be happy to have you accompany us.
Nice hull can cut the water and wave easy,............. one of the good design for a junk.

WDH

 

Google "Galway Blazer" She went around in the early 70s with Bill King.
Steve

 

Dear Fans of Junk design,

The present thread is on the topic of modern junk boat for personal circumnavigation. Although alot of junk design have been made by the chinese, only few are known to the world, as most these ship concerntrate mainly for trade and cargo carrier. To find the best design for good speed and comfort may take abit of finding and discussion.

I see alot of people success journey with their junk and post in other website seem to invite me to show it within this forum. No matter how small is the group interest, infomation still maybe need exchange and comment..... maybe increase our knowledge in the process.

It seem that many link and webside on this topic have bad connection or simply expired ( outside the forum). My fear that all these information might be scattered, that's why I post the info link with the content , just in case the principal content cant be found.( Good for printing anyway)

Sad it may sound, It seem I will not post in this thread anymore, although I had started it.I think I am not knowledge enough and have not a shread of boating idea to start with.

I will still look at the thread for new exciting info and hope fans of such design still emerge among you to fill and make the thread alive. I have no word to say than say good luck.

Wellydeckhand

-Junk Rally at August 2006 at Stavanger-

 

Colvin set 3,000 for one trip with junk

Hai,

I am back from the dead, to post on the proud passage of a great person and family on the junk. you can read detail story at:

http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/mfourman/legacy/kft/kft.html

The junk he used and sold was K'ung Fu-tse

other comparation on the colvin junk can be read at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/junkrig/messages/1201?viscount=100
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/junkrig/messages/501?viscount=100

 

Bruce Robert design junk and Junk rig Association

these are word and thought of Bruce Robert N.A.


http://www.bruceroberts.com/public/HTML/JUNK-1.htm

JUNK RIGS (UK, Australia and Europe) LUG RIGS (USA and Canada)
The Chinese have used these rigs on the rivers and for coastal cruising for thousands of years. What is not so well known it that the not so distant past these junks were much larger and used for long distance passage making voyages.

Some 40 odd years ago Englishman Colonel H. G 'Blondie' Hasler developed a simplified and modernized version of the traditional Junk rig and used in on 'Jester' a boat that was to prove the worth of Hasler's Junk rig designs. During the past few years hundreds of cruising sail boats have been equipped with this rig and it has proven to be a viable alternative to the more popular traditional and modern rigs.

Modern junk rigs are capable of creditable windward performance and can often out-reach and out-run boats fitted with more conventional sail plans. Some of the advantages of the junk rig are, easy to reef, low initial and maintenance costs, lack of standing rigging (less to go wrong), and a certain beauty.

SPRAY 40 'PILOT'

Many Bruce Roberts designs, plans and kits are available featuring the junk rig.The Spray 40 Pilot shown on the left is one of many Spray designs that accept this rig. See below for links to several Spray designs that are available with junk rig option.

All Bruce Roberts Junk rigs come with detailed sheet and halyard layout.

The plans for all junk rigs come with special construction and control line (not shown here) plans and drawings.

Here follows a few thoughts from Robin Blain - of the Junk Rig Association:

I think it is worth emphasizing that the "motion" of a boat with the un-stayed masted junk rig is far more relaxed than a boat with a stayed mast. Crews often tell me they feel less tired at the end of a days sail in their junk rigged boat than they did with their previous Bermudan rigged boat which had a shorter sharper motion. Another important advantage is the quietness of the junk rig due to the sail being fully battened and so preventing sail flapping and the lack of tension in the running rigging also prevents noise and chafe.These advantages are not obvious to people who have never sailed junk rigged boats, even if they have read a lot about the rig. Anyone interested would pick up some more advantages from the Junk Association Information Pack.

We are now fitting new battens to old rigs and improving their performance, particularly to windward to the point that they are matching similar Bermudan rigged boats to windward.The offshore junks are going for the GRP tube battens that are selected by a computer program, so that they get stiffer as you go up the sail, depending on their length and the area of sail panel above each batten. The specification can also easily be altered for either coastal or ocean cruising.The jointed battens work well when there is little wind to bend the GRP battens.

We have also found it is advantageous to use what we call Keep battens on the opposite side of the sail to the working battens. We use the cheap, lightweight and very flexible plastic 7/8" OD household water pipe by Osmaweld as they can be lengthened from their standard 4m length by glued joints. These are laced through the sail to the working battens as we have done away with batten pockets, so saving 15% off the sails cost.These Keep battens give an efficient airflow and prevent chafe of the sail from the lazy jacks.

I hope you find all the enclosed information useful, as we feel it is essential to share research and development of the junk rig between all interested parties, to improve the efficiency and consequent enjoyment of the junk rig for all and so give the rig the best possible image to other rig users.

The JUNK RIG (and Advanced Cruising Rig) ASSOCIATION

This association was formed in Britain in 1980 with the aim of furthering the development of the rig in its various forms, and of creating an community of people with an interest in the rig to share their experience and ideas for mutual benefit and enjoyment.A BI-annual newsletter. (Potential members might be interested to know that the JRA has been sponsoring research at a local university into the how and why of the junk rig. As they come in, results are posted in the newsletter.)

JUNK RIG ASSOCIATION BR
373 Hunts Pond Road, Titchfield Common, Fareham, Hants, PO14 4PB, England.

Attention: Robin Blain, Hon.Sec.

Tel: 01329 842 613 ( +44 1329 842613 ) Fax 01 1329 315 232 (+44 1329 315 232 )