Balanced Lug VS. Junk Rig

[John Meyer]

In looking at the balanced lug rig, it seems to share the following
advantages with the junk rig:

1) Easy to make.
2) Low stress on the sail.
3) Significantly shorter mast than a bermuda rig.

Also seems like the balanced lug would be much easier to rig.
(No battens and not nearly so many lines to worry about.)
Granted, you don't have quite as much control without all the extra
lines, and the bermuda may always point higher than either, but
am I missing anything else?

Finally, I've heard somewhere that a balanced lug should be rigged
such that about 10% of the area of the sail is "in front of" the
mast. Anyone know where this magic number comes from?

[ser...@ibm.net]

On Wed, 09 Apr 1997 15:36:27 -0500, John Meyer <me...@presto.net>
wrote:

If the Balanced lug is the rigging found on Roxanne & Romilly from
the British designer Irens (?) I must admit that this is a very nice
looking rig. It is supposed to have many of the advantages of the
Chinese rig.
What it doesn't have is the ease of reefing.
It also needs a better quality sail fabric (can't really use old bed
sheets. You can with chinese ;-).
The induced stress of the sail is also located at the top of the mast.
Chinese is distributed on all the length.

But lug is lighter, simplier and, IMHO, best used for coastal
cruising.

Serge Roy

[Chris Kulczycki]

In article <334BFD...@presto.net>, me...@presto.net says...

>
>In looking at the balanced lug rig, it seems to share the following
>advantages with the junk rig:
>
> 1) Easy to make.
> 2) Low stress on the sail.
> 3) Significantly shorter mast than a bermuda rig.
>
>Also seems like the balanced lug would be much easier to rig.
>(No battens and not nearly so many lines to worry about.)
>Granted, you don't have quite as much control without all the extra
>lines, and the bermuda may always point higher than either, but
>am I missing anything else?
>

We've started fooling with a balanced lug sail here at Chesapeake Light
Craft. The one problem we seem to have is finding local sailmakers
willing to take the time to develop these sails. Most simply have no
experiance with them, and this can be a real disadvantage if you want to
get the most out of the rig.

Chris

[Al Gunther]

In article <5iiq4q$9iq$1...@kronos.crosslink.net>, chri...@crosslink.net
(Chris Kulczycki) wrote:

> We've started fooling with a balanced lug sail here at Chesapeake Light
> Craft. The one problem we seem to have is finding local sailmakers
> willing to take the time to develop these sails. Most simply have no
> experiance with them, and this can be a real disadvantage if you want to
> get the most out of the rig.

You need to find the right sailmaker. I went to one in Seattle to have a
Sprit sail made and he said if I was making my own boat, a sail would be
easy and he'd have to charge me too much to do what I could easily do
myself. I gave him the overall dimensions and he took out a sketch pad and
gave me the camber offsets for each seam, off the top of his head, as well
as the hollow cuts, and sold me the dacron and thread.

The sail performed better than expected. I could actually plane with it in
20 knots of wind, yet there was no boom, and both the mast and sprit were
6" shorter than the length of the boat, so it could be easily shipped
underway.

The basic principles apply to all sails for shape, you need to end up with
a certain percentage of draft at a certain percentage behind the luff at
various heights to get the maximum power up wind. For a downwind sail, it
could be cut flat.
--
Al Gunther, Kingston, WA <---- 47° 52.65'N, 122° 30.95'W
S/V "Corleto" - '81 Catalina 27
Building "Al's 26, a Pilothouse Sloop", Reviewed in WoodenBoat, Dec 1995

[craig o'donnell]

> On Wed, 09 Apr 1997 15:36:27 -0500, John Meyer <me...@presto.net>
> wrote:
>

> >In looking at the balanced lug rig, it seems to share the following
> >advantages with the junk rig:
> >
> > 1) Easy to make.
> > 2) Low stress on the sail.
> > 3) Significantly shorter mast than a bermuda rig.
> >
> >Also seems like the balanced lug would be much easier to rig.
> >(No battens and not nearly so many lines to worry about.)
> >Granted, you don't have quite as much control without all the extra
> >lines, and the bermuda may always point higher than either, but
> >am I missing anything else?

You can have a battened, balanced lug without Chinese-style control lines.
This rig was very popular in sailing canoes in the 1870s-90s. The battens
helped keep the sail from becoming baggy, and also acted as the reef bands
(similar battens with short-gaff sails were popular on sharpies in
Florida).

Tim Gittlin mainatins a page where there are some sail plans of historical
canoes. Unfortunately the page is between homes at the moment, but when
it's updated I imagine the John's Nautical Links will have it.

> >Finally, I've heard somewhere that a balanced lug should be rigged
> >such that about 10% of the area of the sail is "in front of" the
> >mast. Anyone know where this magic number comes from?

The real amount is "whatever amount works". Clearly it depends on the
geometry of the sail. A "Gunter" rig is a lug with zero balance, standing
lug has a little more, a balanced lug has more still, a dipping lug might
have quite a bit of sale forward of the mast.

> If the Balanced lug is the rigging found on Roxanne & Romilly from
> the British designer Irens (?) I must admit that this is a very nice
> looking rig.

Serge, I think Irens' boats are standing lug rigged. But they are
beautiful boats.

-- COD
craig o'donnell ||| author of Cool Mac Sounds
dada...@friend.ly.net . . . craig_o'don...@bmugbos.org

The Proa FAQ
<http://www.cyber-dyne.com/~jkohnen/proafaq.html>

[Bruce W. Given]

chri...@crosslink.net (Chris Kulczycki) wrote:

>We've started fooling with a balanced lug sail here at Chesapeake Light
>Craft. The one problem we seem to have is finding local sailmakers
>willing to take the time to develop these sails. Most simply have no
>experiance with them, and this can be a real disadvantage if you want to
>get the most out of the rig.

Chris: You might try Dan Winters (34 E Queens Way, Hampton
(757) 722-5711). He made one for me and did a fine job of it and is
willing to experiment; he's also an avid kayaker.

Bruce in VaBeach

[bw...@lehigh.edu]

In article <5iiq4q$9iq$1...@kronos.crosslink.net>, chri...@crosslink.net (Chris Ku

lczycki) writes:
>In article <334BFD...@presto.net>, me...@presto.net says...
>>

>>In looking at the balanced lug rig, it seems to share the following
>>advantages with the junk rig:
>>
>> 1) Easy to make.
>> 2) Low stress on the sail.
>> 3) Significantly shorter mast than a bermuda rig.
>>
>>Also seems like the balanced lug would be much easier to rig.
>>(No battens and not nearly so many lines to worry about.)
>>Granted, you don't have quite as much control without all the extra
>>lines, and the bermuda may always point higher than either, but
>>am I missing anything else?
>>
>

>We've started fooling with a balanced lug sail here at Chesapeake Light
>Craft. The one problem we seem to have is finding local sailmakers
>willing to take the time to develop these sails. Most simply have no

>experience with them, and this can be a real disadvantage if you want to

>get the most out of the rig.
>
>Chris
>>

OK, here is one small loft with experience with fully battened balanced lug
sails. Traditional Chinese junk rigs used flat sails, so they needed many
lines to the battens to shape and control the sails. A fully battened
balanced lug sail with the shape built into it via broadseaming and edge
curves is a very competent sail with the ability to point decently and reach
excellently without all the lines. It is a very nice combination of modern and
traditional for those that appreciate both.

Brent
Benson Sails
6558 Blue Church Rd S
Coopersburg, PA 18036
610 282-3611
6558 Blue Church Rd S
Coopersburg, PA 18036
610 282-3611

[craig o'donnell]

> OK, here is one small loft with experience with fully battened balanced lug
> sails. Traditional Chinese junk rigs used flat sails, so they needed many
> lines to the battens to shape and control the sails. A fully battened
> balanced lug sail with the shape built into it via broadseaming and edge
> curves is a very competent sail with the ability to point decently and reach
> excellently without all the lines. It is a very nice combination of
modern and
> traditional for those that appreciate both.

This sounds like a really interesting sail - is this one that he did for you?