Standing lug sails and rigging

[Matt J.]

Hi guys.
I have a question regarding the basic function of a standing lug rig. Jenny and I are planning on building two Eastport Prams from Chesapeake Light Craft later this spring for summer use. We chose these for price, simplicity (fast build), function (sailing, rowing, future tender), price, and well, they're kinda pretty for a plywood boat. That one may function well as Saga's tender someday was important.

In looking over the design, I find myself a bit more confused than usual. The standing lug has an upper as well as a lower horizontal spar. The sail's tack is on the boom attached to the mast like a gooseneck which I'm used to. The upper edge of the sail (sorry, I don't know square or lugsail terminology :confused: ) is on another spar, which I'm comfortable calling a gaff, since that's kinda the definition I thought I read - a horizontal, or nearly so, upper spar attached to the upper edge of a sail, or something like that. This gaff (I know you'll correct me, right?) Crosses the mast about a foot or so according to picture appearances.

My question regards this crossing. If I'm sailing this bugger with the wind coming over the port side, and the sail over the starboard, with the gaff to starboard of the mast, then all seems well with the world; I can even see how it's an efficient rig. Once I tack, to starboard, the sail is to be to port of the mast but it's not? The gaff is still starboard of the mast cause that's where I raised it. Now the luff of the sail is backed, right? Howzat work? Am I missing something? How does the gaff get from starboard to port of the mast and back each time we come about?

My brain is toast from work - don't ask why I'm typing this now instead of the 1000 jobs on my desk - I need the break, I suppose. I must be missing something. I recall reading about dipping the rigging for a certain rig type.. I how this isn't it. These should be easy to sail as Jenny will be sailing alone in one sometimes or perhaps often.

[Thad]

Matt, Your "gaff" is a yard. On some large lug rigs, especially if much of the sail and yard are forward of the mast, the yard is lowered and swung to the other side of the mast in tacking. This is the "dipping lug". Most small boat lug rigs are "standing lug" and the yard is left on the one side when tacking. The sail shape is not so good with the yard to windward but the sail still works fine for most purposes.

[bud]

I too wondered while building my Acorn about the performance on different tacks with this rig. The fact is, there are slight disadvantages to either tack which just don't amount to much. The sail touching the mast while to windward bothered my sense of neatness, and so did the idea of the yard hanging off to leeward secured only by the haliyard.
The plan shows a parrel which would keep the yard close to the mast while it (the yard) is on the leeward side. I fooled around with many different odd bits of line to get something which worked, but other folks with similar rigs told me "what have you got that thing for?" Just lash the haliyard to the yard and hoist it right on up. If it blows away from the mast a bit so what?
The only tricky bit comes if you reef. Unless you're going to reef and still hoist the sail all the way up, you will need to attach a parrel to keep the yard from blowing way out from the mast while it is downwind. Anyway, the important thing is, it's fun! :D

[gert]

Hey Todd, when's your new book on standing lugs comming out?

[Todd Bradshaw]

I'm still pondering a small book on lug rigs and checking what's already out there. There are a lot of books that cover lugs in general terms but there does seem to be kind of a void in both books and plans when it comes to specific details, with good illustrations, showing various ways to connect Part A to Part B and get everything to work.

For this boat, without looking, you probably won't be able to tell if you're sailing with the mast to windward or leeward of the sail. Though having the mast on one side and the sail up against it on one tack would seem to be a big deal, it's standard practice on lugs and lateens and doesn't seem to make much difference. True Dipping lugs are a pain (no boom, with the tack corner tied to the deck forward of mast and moved and re-tied with each tack) though there are people who dip the yards of standing lugs. Usually, it makes them feel better, but the boat goes about the same speed and they waste more time fooling with the dipping process than they save by having the sail fly free of the mast, so the boat is actually slower. If you sail in congested areas, put the yard to starboard and you will at least have the right of way on your "hindered" tack.

As for using a parrel, needing one may depend upon how much mast is sticking up above the mast/yard intersection. It varies from almost none to a foot or more, sometimes just because a designer likes the looks of it one way or another. If the raised yard is very close to the masthead, the parrel may not be needed unless you plan to reef the sail, though it can also help by just keeping the yard from flying outboard as you raise and lower the sail.

If the masthead sticks up above the fully raised yard very much, a parrel will help keep the yard from blowing off to leeward (as well as moving forward and backward at the mast/yard junction). The answer to the guy's "If the yard blows away from the mast a bit so what?" question is this: It allows the entire sail to wobble, which is about the worst thing that you can do to your airfoil and probably has a much more detrimental effect on your boat's sailing efficiency than having the sail up against the mast on one tack ever will - especially on a small boat with only one sail.

[Sam F]

I built a simple standing lug sail rig for my daughter's small sail boat and it's a bunch of fun. I got most of the details from Craig O'Donnell's Cheap Pages.
http://www2.friend.ly.net/~dadadata/index.html

And yes a parrel is worth while. I had one of those wooden beaded car seat covers that fell apart so I had a 1000 or so beads that were just the thing for a parrel. This sail is forgiving, very adjustable and on a reach, pulls like a horse!

[Sam F]

Originally posted by Sam F:
I built a simple standing lug sail rig for my daughter's small sail boat and it's a bunch of fun. I got most of the details from Craig O'Donnell's Cheap Pages.
http://www2.friend.ly.net/~dadadata/index.html

And yes a parrel is worth while. I had one of those wooden beaded car seat covers that fell apart so I had a 1000 or so beads that were just the thing for a parrel. This sail is forgiving, very adjustable and on a reach, pulls like a horse!PS. I think that the term is "yard" because lugs are descended from squaresails.
A gaff is descended from lateens.... or so I have read.

[Ben Fuller]

As others have noted parrels make the yard behave better when reefed or off the wind. I like them on larger sails. For fast slick beads use black plastic sheet stoppers, tied with some thin low stretch line around the mast and then to a nice stainless snap hook. The halyard goes onto the snap hook which hooks to a loop of line (Prussik loop) on the yard.

[johnw]

I sailed a lug-rigged Caledonia yawl Saturday double reefed, and was very glad of the parrel, because the yard was several feet below the top of the mast and would have blown off badly on port tack without it. Lug rigs pull like anything on a reach, but to windward a sprit rig seems better to me for small boats.