Gaff or Bermuda?

[nwfoust]

I'm currently building a lumberyard skiff but would like to add a sailing rig. The question is which rig would be best? Its a 14.5' Skiff. Any ideas? I'm new to sailing.

[sharpii2]

Actually, there are a huge number of rigs to chose from.

The real question is where the mast is going to be in relation to the daggerboard or lee boards.

A good place to learn a lot about sail rigs for small boats is www.pdracer.com.

Look under "sails", then check out "local fleets" to see the sails in action.

For your boat, I would go with a leg-o-mutton sail.

It is the simplest and is the traditional rig for sharpies/flatties like the lumber yard skiff.

It is like a Bermudan in that it is triangular, except that it has a spar called a 'sprit' which extends from a sling in front of the mast to the rear corner of the sail. The foot of the sail comes up from the base of the mast in an upward sloping angle which rises to about a third of the total height of the sail. The sprit hangs at about that height, more or less level, so it passes by the sail instead of under it. This neatly keeps you from getting twacked in the head by the boom.

The drawback is that it requires a rather tall mast (like a Bermudan sail does)