Designing a rig to work with an enclosed cockpit

Hello,
I am trying to design a rig that will be able to be single handed and work with an enclosed cockpit. I have a smaller boat, 1971 Columbia 26 mkii, so I want to enclose the cockpit to increase stowage for long voyages, as well as making the boat water tight. I have designed a variation of the junk rigged inspired by Paul McKays aerojunk which I feel will work easily with the enclosed cockpit. I currently have a Sloop Bermudian rig with decent standing rigging and a good stick so it would be a shame to throw away my windward performance. I was thinking about a self taking jib reef-able working jib with a drifter I can hoist on a retractable bow sprit. Any ideas on how to make a Bermudian sloop easy to short hand with an enclosed cockpit would be helpful.

 

I'm not a rig expert, but some of the designer's claims are simply wrong. He refers to "mast interference" as if it would occur on a bermudan rig, but here on BDA we have experts who have demonstrated that there is not really any significant interference in a conventional rig. Old theories about such "interference" appear to be incorrect; masts can actually provide a more effective leading edge than in sails without a mast.

Secondly, the creator states that "the ‘slot’...accelerates air past the main". Aerodynamic experts say that the slot actually slows the air going past the main; the flow is slower than when compared to a boat without a jib.

While a rig designer does not have to get the theory right, it may give one pause to think if they get it wrong.

 

so I want to enclose the cockpit to increase stowage for long voyages, as well as making the boat water tight.

Do you wonder about the loss of stability from the weight of the house and items stored there?

 

Stowage should be kept as low as possible for stability. In a smallish boat like a 26, a roller furler is all you need to make handling easy. You are not going to be racing in a triangle course while duel tacking. A low hard top dodger may work OK. If you build a huge pilot house, the windage and lowered stability will keep you from going upwind, so tacking will become a moot point.

 

I was thinking to cut out the cockpit sole, glass the thrust hulls, and brace the hull, add some shelving up to a counter/ bench. Glass a dodger\ pram hood to keep the boat dry if we hit heavy weather. The sheet and head sail furling line would lead back to the enclosed cockpit. The main sail controls would remain on the mast with the sheet and boom van line led to the cockpit. I would install a roof hatch for easy access to the deck.

 

Inside controls on a masthead sloop aren't hard to accommodate, why the desire to convert to a whole new rig, particularly one not as well of a sailor as a Bermudian sloop?
The Columbia 26 isn't well suited to a traditional pilothouse. The boat's just a bit too small really. Is this the shoal draft version? A soft or rigid dodger could be arranged, without sacrificing the cockpit, besides, you'll need a way to get into this pilothouse, which typically requires at least some sort of footwell aft of it.