SAFE AND SIMPLE

Changing rigs extended this sailor’s time on the water

- Phil Brown

How could this less spry “geezer” (seems there are more of us these days) continue sailing in safety and comfort through changing weather conditions in his advancing years? Some sailors have gone to power while others find ways to manage jib and main with minimal deck work.

My approach was to commit to a major modification of my Com-Pac 19 that should allow me to continue sailing with confidence. My answer was a junk rig with a powerful, well-cambered, and easily reefed sail. Now after three seasons of sailing with this rig on the Maine coast I can say the modification has given me all I had hoped for. Now I can do all sail handling from the comfort of the cockpit and, rather than reefing in anticipation of conditions, easily and quickly reef and raise sail as those changes occur.

Reefing the single sail, in addition to being fast and easy, offers a number of sail carrying options. To reef Iuncleat the halyard and lower the sail, one, two, three, or four of the sail’s seven 29-square-foot panels. While possible, I haven’t yet sailed with fewer than three panels. As the sail drops into the lazy jacks I haul in the slack mainsheet to keep it inboard. I re-cleat the halyard then readjust and re-cleat two control lines, the yard and throat hauling parrels, and continue sailing.

Junk rigs have a reputation for poor windward performance. That was true of the early western adaptions with their flat sails. Since then innovators have developed multiple methods of making cambered junk sails that go to weather well. Of course that ability is also dependent on the boat.