Thread: Balanced Lug rigging question

Hey Al,

Use a Rolling Hitch, and you will have no problems.

Ross

Rossco,

I'm doing a trial re-rigging of Ladybug with the method suggested by Michael Storer for his Goat Boat.I've seen it before used by Iain Oughtred & Murray Isles, to mention just a couple,and want to see if it is any better at keeping the yard level during raising/lowering.

The reason for this is I'm setting up simple lazy jacks so that we can drop sail & keep it up,out of the way while we anchor for a cuppa or to fish.Also means she can be fully rigged on the trailer,sail dropped into lazy jacks & then launched.

The current rig with the halyard attached at 40% from the front is quite ok as the yard stays pretty level during uphaul/downhaul,but I'm curious to see how much better the other system is.

So far I have only attached the block ( at 50%) with the yard lying on the deck & found that when I pull hard at 90deg to the yard,the block slides a little forward.Whether it will do this when uphauling remains to be seen.I used Cow Hitch,Rolling Hitch & Topsail Halyard Bend & they all slipped a bit....maybe the square spars dont provide enough contact area for friction,but I'm just about to drag the boat out onto the street where I have room to rig her & get it sorted.You know I'm an inquisitive bugger!

Watch this space.

Al.

G'day Al

make your yard block tether strop a bit longer, make your cow hitch & take
an extra turn or two around the yard inside the first turn.
This will produce a prusik knot which is used in climbing.
Prusik - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Each extra turn doubles the friction available to prevent it slipping.
cheers
AJ

Thanks AJ,but I gave up climbing masts long ago!

Al.

Ok,I have tried rigging a block at 50% of the yard & it does not work as my mast is not long enough,and the block pulls up hard against the mast at the dumb sheave.

Also,the yard is very front heavy rigged at 50% & will not stay horizontal,so is not suitable.

Rigged at 40% with the main halyard attached with a rolling hitch,& a ring of 80mm PVC pipe sliding on the mast above the yard & over the halyard to keep it from swinging,the aft end of the yard hangs slightly low when hoisting/lowering, but is easily managed as I found on my first sail a few days ago.It is not going to come down & skull someone.Jim Michalak's original sail plan & rig work well for this boat.

I have rigged simple lazy jacks too & it is so simple to just drop the whole rig into them with one hand controlling the main halyard & the other guiding the yard & sail.Once down,a couple of sail ties to tidy up any loose sail,then haul the lot up to a comfortable height allowing lots of head room.Pure luxury in such a simple boat!

I'm happy with this rig & will continue with it unless I see a better way.

Al.

Hi Al, just some thoughts from having hung around some discussions of the GIS rig, and some others. Not because I have any experience with it at all!

I agree with AJ, the Prussik hitch will grip better, as there is more rope surface friction on the yard.

You mentioned that you have a block attached to the hitch on the yard. Why? There really isn't any reason to have one there if your halyard runs from the front of the yard, as this distance will always be the same. In other words, the halyard will never "run" through the block, so there is no reason for having a block there. It will only chafe against the mast and yard anyway when the halyard is tensioned. Instead, try running the halyard directly through the loop of the cow hitch, or whatever other knot you prefer. When you do this, twist the loop in the direction that causes the front end of the hitch to tension up more. It's hard to explain, but this will help prevent the hitch from sliding as the front tensions more initially.

The other thing you might try is moving the downhaul further forward on the boom, maybe 10-15cm. This will move the boom back, but lift the peak of the yard and the aft end of the boom as well. Also, losing the block, will get your sail up a bit higher. Just maybe you don't need a taller mast?

I've also been trying a few products on some ropes to help them grip a smooth surface a bit better. The first one I tried was Belt Grip, but this left too much residual sticky stuff on the rope (Maybe I just sprayed too much on). Lanoline spray like Lanotec works well, but you need to treat the rope about 7 days before using it, and it doesn't leave the rope too sticky. Maybe some bowler's rosin on the rope would also help? Any lawn-bowlers out there who've tried it?

Thanks mate but I am not making a longer mast,just sticking with the original rig which is fine & so simple as to be almost bullet-proof.

I was just curious to investigate the other rig.....I'm over it now & moving back to Jim's simplicity approach.

Hope you can see it one day!

Al.

Originally Posted by ausie

Thanks mate but I am not making a longer mast,just sticking with the original rig which is fine & so simple as to be almost bullet-proof.

I was just curious to investigate the other rig.....I'm over it now & moving back to Jim's simplicity approach.

Hope you can see it one day!

Al.

Good to hear. Simplication is my language!

Howdy,

The mast is long enough. I would move the downhaul forward along the boom to raise the back end of the boom give a bit more clearance for the crew.

So use the Yard block at about 50% with 4 to 6" of halyard between it and the mast top. And then adjust the downhaul position until you get the boom to the same angle as in the sailplan drawing that is probably in the plan.

More or less as Bruce is suggesting.

I have often thought of alternatives to using a block on the yard to turn the halyard, but always end up thinking the block is the best solution.

You can go directly through the rope but you risk the very tight turning radii that is not terribly good for rope - and also some chafing as things move around a little each time you go over a wave or get a gust.

Having a ring gets rid of the chafe problem but still has the tight turning radius

A deadeye give a nice radius but requires fastenings - the cow hitch (or prussic hitch) works much better and doesn't weaken the spar at all and allows infinite and instant adjustment when rigging.

So I always end up choosing a cheap block because of the comfortable radius it gives the rope.

Best wishes
Michael

Howdy back,

Spent some considerable time today re-rigging with block at 50% & as far forward as 25% of yard,& other permutations of downhaul position to within 2' of the front of the boom & in all positions,when the yard is hauled up,the block pulls up hard to the sheave & the boom is far too low.

The mast is not tall enough & or the sail is too deep for this system to work with this sail plan.

I have rigged it again to Jim's plan & it works just fine.The boom sits at just above head height when seated & is a comfortable working height.

The added bonus of lazy jacks make it a super-simple,super-easy rig to handle.

I value all of your opinions.

Thanks,

Al.

Al,

I've been using lazy jacks ever since I rigged my boat with a Chinese Lugsail back in about 1983. I agree with your comments completely.

Rossco

Hey Rossco,

I've often looked at Chinese lug sails & read what Phil Bolger says about them in his book "103 Sailing Rigs" ( which I thumb through often),but wonder about the complexity of all those lines.Is it an easy sail to set & trim?

Lazy jacks are also a safety feature in small boats I reckon,maybe even more so than larger yachts, as they allow you to drop,tame, & secure sail quickly & deal with other matters such as the arrival of unexpected adverse weather or to fix a rig failure.

I've simply used 5mm line like vb cord with the inverted "v" part tied to the boom about 4' from each end of the boom, & passing through a loop of a bowline at the bottom of the lines( one each side of course) that go to the top of the mast & pass through a metal-lined fairlead for each line & down to two wooden jamb cleats on the front of the mast about 1/2 way between the boom & mast partner.So simple & so easy & quick to adjust.Total cost $20 for...jamb cleats are easy to make from any good hardwood.

Al.

Al,

I was concerned about the complexity of the Chinese Lugsail (a.k.a. "Junk rig"), but the number of people who advocated its use (people with experience) made me research it further, and conduct the experiments.

The perms and coms of the rigging of sheetlets need to be understood to make it work, but even with my early configurations, it proved to be an unbelievably docile rig in use - and that is on an un-ballasted 15 ft dinghy with 139 sq. ft of sail. Reefing was a doddle, and my mate Ian and I went out on one memorable day when it was blowing 30kts-plus - no-one else was out there, but we had a wonderful sail, sitting on the weather rail eating salted peanuts as the boat worked up to windward at hullspeed. Great fun!

Still the most forgiving rig I have ever used - and I've used a few...

RL

I'll have to come & have a look.Maybe at your next new launching.

Al.