The ideal size of a raid and cruising dinghy for one or 2 two persons

[Timmo]

Just to keep this theme going, it's so much fun...

Has everyone else seen the ocean going, self righting kayak? Been discussed on the Duckworks forum.

There's pics at:

http://www.transatlantic2010.blogspot.com/p/kayak.html

23ft long, 40in beam. The Rangeley design I'm still in the early stages of fiddling with is 18ft by 40in, I feel strangely encouraged!

Tim.

[David Bewick]

Dear All,

Francois has now done the design work for the lug sloop option for Aber.  If you are interested, you can see this on Francois' new blog at http://blog.vivierboats.com  There is also a new sprit sail option for Aber shown here, too.

David.

[Anders]

The sloop lug looks good, but the ones I´ve seen have all had some serious problems with keeping the luff of the jib straight.

[Michael Rogers]

At least think about junk rig. I've switched to it, and would now have nothing else on any boat of mine. A modern cambered sail goes well to windward, and off the wind - fantastic, exhilarating! Reefing is a doddle. General behaviour exceptionally benign (eg gybing). It's a fallacy that it's a mass of string. It should become the cruising rig of choice.

[David Bewick]

Anders,  I know what you mean - I am not sure how easy to will be to keep the luff of the jib tight with the sloop rig without any shrouds.  I suspect I might end up using it as a simple balanced lug with the mast in the foreward position most of the time but we'll see.

[Francois Vivier]

I have sailed on many small boats with a lug sail and a jib, without any shroud, and there is not any problem. The only rule is to have a jib of moderate area.
See some pictures :
http://www.vivierboats.com/albumsen/minahouet/slides/minahouet_pianissimo_08.html
http://www.vivierboats.com/albumsen/bounty_voile/slides/DSC06404.html
http://www.vivierboats.com/albumsen/Ilur/Ilur_sloup/slides/IMG_0128.html
Kind regards

[Anders]

As long as you can keep a good taught mainsail, the main sheet will bend the mast backwards and so keep the luff of the jib more or less straight. But when you slacken the mainsheet in a blow, the jib will slacken its luff as well?
Thats the theory and thats what I´ve seen when I´ve been to France watching old boats. But maybe its coincidence and maybe I´m wrong. I would like to try a boat with a lug sloop one day. So next time I go to France I hope someone will invite me to test one.

As I wrote before, the Aber looks VERY good as a lug sloop. But I have a question: The overlap of the lug is very short. Does this mean that you need to fit it with a kicking strap in order to control the twist of the sail. Being an ex racer, I dont like sailing with a rig where I cant control twisting.