junk ship.

:?: I have a friend who is starting a project and is thinking of doing it with junk ship sails. Does any one no the benefits or problems with these? Should he do it or not?

 

Is it new or a retrofit?

 

They work great , ON a Junk

That means traveling with the Monsoon , no windward work .

FAST FRED

 

it's new.

 

Does the design have a junk rig? If not it would need to be completely redesigned structurally. The masts are located farther forward. I think it is a type of rig with some advantages. Among them the ease of handling.

 

Ease of handling or junky performance?

The advantages are:

Ease of handling (esp. reefing),
relatively low cost for hardware (can get by with no winches except, perhaps the halyard),
repairable with simple tools,
can sustain considerable damage (rips and holes) and still be useable, and, in my opinion,
looks cool (sticks that finger way up against conformity).

The disadvantages are:

higher center of gravity than a gaff rig (all them battens),
poor performance in windward work (can actually point higher but foots way slower),
lots of little lines, fair leeds, and pulleys (to control all them battens),
needs an unstayed mast, and
sicks that finger way up against conformity (not especially good for resale value)

My advice:

If for cruising and especially cruising far off the beaten path where ease of handling and reliability are more important than performance, use it.
If for even occasional racing, forget it.

Bob

 

Camber

Check a desent camber (over 6%) in your junk sail to have some windward ability. Anyway this one works.

 

Nice boat

 

Freedom rig is just as easy to handle, much lower CG and goes to windward. Sails MUCH cheaper too.

Regards, Andrew.

 

"Sails MUCH cheaper too."

Cheaper than old rice sacks?

FF

 

Sorry, thought we were talking about realistic materials here. I haven't seen a modern junk rig with rice sack sails.

Regards, Andrew.

 

The one above is just cheap white PE tarpaulin.

 

Tyvek is also cheap and strong..

 

Why does the Freedoms rig have a lower CG? because they have carbon masts,thats why,its ridiculous to compare carbon masts to tree trunks,if one were to put carbon masts and battens on a junk rig you would also lower its CG but take away its economy and reliability.Also,the sails would have to be much cheaper for the junk even in dacron,you can sew them yourself as there is no shaping required,they are just a series of flat panels between the battens so no sailmaker with a computer program required,just a competent person with a heavy duty sewing machine.
Steve.