Hi Hal,

A more detailed reply by email.

If we can work out a way to hold up a lug mast, then the lug sail will simplify your sailing enormously.

Rigging time and effort can be substantially reduced. Tacking the boat will mean just handling the rudder – you won’t need to touch the sail.

Best wishes
Michael

I have an O’Day Daysailer 2 boat that has a 25′ mast that is very difficult for me to step. I’m 63 years young, but the mast is a bitch to raise.

I like the 17′ length and 6+’ beam of my boat, but that mast taxes me to the max… only a matter of time before I drop it and do some real damage.

So, I’m asking if one of your lug sails can be used on my boat without having to move the mast position on my boat.

I’m looking for a simpler rig, which lug/junk rigs seem to provide.

I don’t need “high performance.” I just need decent sailing.

Many thanks for a reply.

Hal Nash
Waldport OR

That colour looks great. Let me know about the price. No great hurry, I’ve only got rudder, daggerboard and mast done so far. Lots of sawdust and epoxy to wade through before I have a boat!

James

Hi Ian,

The ply of the bottom and the deck will take the mast thrusts very well with some planning. Just have to make sure there is enough area in the pieces of wood (normally about 19mm thick under the deck and a mast step that buries a minimum of 25mm.

I can help with bonding area advice or how to tie it into existing structure if that helps.

Spar diameters and tapers can be gotten from the OzRacer RV plan for 20 dollars (and lengths adjusted. You would have to add 3mm to all the yard diameters and add about 6mm to all the mast cross sections.

Boom dimensions depend if you have a laced foot or a loose foot boom setup. The standard diameters plus 3mm for the boom are ok for a laced foot.

Hope this helps

Michael

Here is an example of the tanbark on a Galway Hooker.

I will get back to you about what it does to the price. We haven’t done one before.

MIK

Hi James,

We can now do other colours as special order. However, the coloured sailcloths are not very good quality as there is no volume to make it worthwhile for the sail cloth manufacturers to improve and develop the cloth. The exception is the tanbark colour which is quite a nice cloth. It is a rusty tannin brown red which looks very nice with darker colour hulls. I like it particularly with Green but it does suit lots of different hull colours .. I would keep away from reds and oranges for the hull though.

Michael

James

I,ve ran the tape measure over the hull and I think it will work. It is a little difficult getting old designs and drawings of old Wayfarers and Wanderers as apparently the owners of the design wont release them.
I,m sure with a bit of tweaking I can make it work. Thanks for your help

Hi Ian,

Yes, I think it would work. Most important thing is to make sure the centre of the new sail matches the centre of the old sails.

Also that the mast step and partner are strong enough … they really only transfer load into the ply of the hull and deck respectively with the deck taking most of the load.

Contact me if it seems feasible .. or we reply here is fine.

Sail Prices are here from Duckworks Kevin.

G’day Michael

As I’ve yet to make the yard but I’ve already made a box boom to support a loose footed sail I’d be very interested.

Cheers Dan
(Perth, Oz)

Howdy Kevin,

We are still trying to sort out the USA side of things before we really start with Australia. HOwever …

I do have some stock that we’ll keep out out of the distribution network. If you haven’t made the yard and boom yet we do have some seconds. They are just as good as the standard sail, but they are a bit flatter in the head and they are set up to be loose footed only. The cloth was cut with the wrong orientation for a laced foot sail (the standard sails are cut to take the loads either way.

This requires that the yard be built a bit stiffer. If all of the diameter dimensions are increased by 3mm it will match these sails better.

With the boom I’m recommending a box boom with 6mm ply sides and timber in the top and 12mm timber top and bottom to make a box about 110mm deep and total of 57mm wide. If you haven’t yet started cutting out the GIS plywood you can reshuffle the smaller ply bits to make the space available. Some taper in the vertical dimension in the ends like the original boom can make it looks much nicer.

People who like to tweak boats will enjoy having a loose footed mainsail. It is more efficient and more adaptable for different wind conditions.

We are looking at selling those non compatible sails with a further reduction of our prices. They are good sails but don’t match the standard method we are selling.

Please email me (email on the plans cover) if any of this is not clear or you want extra information. We have two more of these loose footed sails … anyone in Oz interested can put a message below.

Michael

Hi Fred,

Edna aked me to answer your question.

First of all – RSS will be making sails for the Goat Island Skiff and the OzRacer series of boats.

However, there might be some help for you. I emailed John Welsford for dimensions of the SCAMP sails. There is a reasonable comparison to the Goat Island Skiff sails. We have some trial Goat Island Skiff sails for around $100 less than our normal retail. I am checking to see if they would work.

Another way would be to ask on the Pinoyboats.org forum about getting sails directly from Neil Pryde who makes the sails for SCAMP in Cebu.

The problem there is that they don’t sell sails inside the Philippines normally but one person on the Pinoy Boats forum has a contact who has helped people out from time to time. Give me a couple of days to get the info from John and we can check the GIS sail. It would be very cost effective.

Do you know the length of the mast from where it comes out through the cabin top to the top of the mast. I need to check that measurement too. Thankyou!

Michael