Posted by Andrew Craig-Bennett on October 28, 2000 at 08:37:44 from 202.96.54.1:
In Reply to: SY Swallow and SY Amazon - rig. posted by Bruce A Clarke on October 28, 2000 at 08:09:43:
Standing lug rig. Popular for dinghies at the time, but now rarer in 14 foot boats, due to the inefficiencies you mention. Still comon in yacht tenders (I have a 9 footer with this rig) The yard is indeed foul of the mast on one tack and this does impair the set of the sail and reduce the efficiency of the rig on that tack. The sail is not dipped round the mast with each tack - if it were the rig would be a dipping lug. The inefficiency is accepted. It is better than the balance lug which the Victorians had used on small boats.
The shape of the sail is a peaked quadrilateral, rather like a gaff mainsail. Ransome draws it accurately. The yard is hooked to the ring traveller on the mast, to which the halyard is belayed; there is no gooseneck fitting, but the boom is loose and is hauled close to the mast with the downhaul to set the sail, as described in SA.