Posted by Laurence Monkhouse on July 17, 2003 at 06:35:13 from 217.137.106.23 user Laurence_.
In Reply to: Spar dimensions posted by Alex Forbes on July 16, 2003 at 19:06:07:
My 11' 9" dinghy 'Hebe' (illustrated on 'The Boats of the Swallows and Amazons' Website) has a mast 12' 3" long (just too long to go in the boat) and boom and gaff about 11' 6" long.
None of these were actually designed for the purpose - the mast was originally designed for the boat to be rigged with a gunter lug and the spars were from an old Broads balance lug rig which I picked up second hand. I think that the strength of the standing lug rig is that no dimension is very critical.
What I do think is important is to carry as much sail as the spars will allow - the rig is much more seaworthy than modern rigs. With a less aerodynamic rig you need lots of power to make her go properly - you can always reef, and if it blows too hard you just let go everything and she will stop and lie quietly.
The best book I know on the general subject is John Leather's 'Spritsails and Lugsails' - a vast amount of detail including sail plans, but it gives no specific dimensions. Or you can always get the proportions from Ransome's drawing of 'Scarab' in PM!