It would be great if there was more info on both designs, the Junk rigged chase boat and Freebie. Is there a design available for Freebie or is she a one-off build? Is there more info on the Freebie build, builder, sails, etc? Read your comment about sail catcher on the split junk rig, very interesting. It leaves me wanting to know more about the split junk rig and your evaluation of the rig. How do you see rigs advantages and disadvantages to the more traditional and ‘flatter’ shape junk rig? Would you use this rig again if you went to another boat larger or smaller? What would you change if you were to convert another boat? Thank you for a well done video, it provokes more interest boats and junk rig as well.
Thanks for watching the video and for your comments. Freebie:Marcus who built it describes it as a "bits and pieces" boat. I think it was based on a Stuart Reid design called Scud ll. Most of Stuart's designs, as far as I know, are part of John Welsford's portfolio. I have no idea if this one is available through John. I think I do know how to contact Stuart if necessary, but in the build Marcus would have modified it to suit his own requirements, so if you want to know more you would be best to contact Marcus through the Junk Rig Association. Paul Thompson designed and built the sails for it. There is a heap of information on the JRA website, including on-line back copies of magazines which in the past have featured Freebie, and the "chase boat" (Serendipity) which is an Allan Wright-designed Monarch trailer boat with a free-standing mast and home-made split junk sail. All the modern cambered junk planforms perform better than the earier flat cut sails, though there are still a few people who continue to prefer the flat-cut type of sail - they are simpler to make and do still have some unique advantages (windward performance is not one of them). For the windward performance most of us expect, cambered sails are the way to go. As for the split junk variant, non-members of the junk rig association can still go to the JRA website (junkrigassociation.org/) and click "junk rig information" - quite a lot of it is propaganda promoting junk rig, but in the public domain section there is some technical information. If you really are interested in junk rig then I suggest joining the association and having access to an archive of technical information, magazine, back copies, technical forum, technical advice etc etc. Would I use the rig again? Definitley. I currently have two projects under way: a John Welsford "Golden Bay" skiff which I am currently converting to split junk rig - and a 26' scow live-aboard cruiser (retirement home) which I am currently building, which will have a split junk rig. The split junk rig is my favourite of the modern junk variants, but I would also seriously consider a "Weaverbird" plan form (as designed by David Tyler), or the well-proven Arne Knverneland "Johanna rig" for which there is a mass of excellent information in the JRA public domain, made available by Arne. They are all modern cambered junk planforms. David Tyler has also documented a rather advanced junk wingsail which proved to be a success on his boat Weaverbird. The loveliest to look at is the slightly fanned "Hong Kong" style which Marcus likes and which Paul designed for Freebie - sails built by Paul Thompson - in this type, each panel is different and has to be lofted separately, so a little more work is involved in making one. As I say, my favourite is the fairly simple Amiina Mk ll Split Junk sail designed by Slieve McGalliard. I wouldn't change a thing. By the way if you join the JRA you can make direct contact with all of these people mentioned above, via a lively technical forum, and you will find them helpful and willing to provide their technical knowledge and experience. The membership list is open and available to members all around the world. (I should also add, if you want more information on Serendipity's split junk sail then you can go to my website kenyonz.com/ (Sorry, its an unfinished mess) and click on "My Boats". Third button down will send you to a number of PDFs on Serendipity, making the sail, cruising etc which you can downoad and read if you want to.)
Astute observation there - that cover does in fact do the job of lazy jacks as well as being a sail cover. The split junk rig (which this boat has) does not work so well with conventional lazy jacks. When the SJR sail is reefed or furled, those little jibs always seem to slip out somehow. It soon became obvious to me why Slieve McGalliard (who developed the split junk rig) furnished his boat Poppy and (later his colleague's boat Amiina) with this sail catcher which goes under the boom and is open at the top. This sail catcher muzzles the sail effectively, including those pesky jibs. Actually, Amiina's sail catcher is supported by a kind of lazy jack arrangement but I have found they are unnecessary. A pair of lifts from the masthead running down the mast - and another pair of lifts from the masthead which run to a point near the end of the boom - these two pairs of lifts are sufficient to support the sail catcher (and the bundle, when furled) and probably interfere less with the camber of the sail than lazy jacks. Not everyone likes this arrangement but it is pretty much necessary for a split junk - and I like it very much. As well as effectively muzzling the junk sail it also provides an instant sail cover for the furled sail bundle. One small detail which may not be obvious. The sail catcher is held rigid along the top by a pair of light alloy tubes. On a junk or lug rig the sail is slung entirely on one side of the mast. However, the sail catcher is not. The support tubes go one each side of the mast - or you might say, the mast comes up through the bottom of the sail catcher, which is offset with a bias towards the side of the mast where the sail and battens are. A slightly untidy detail, but I don't think the sail catcher would work properly otherwise, ie the battens may hang up on one of the support tubes and not fall easily into the catcher, if both support tubes were slung on the same side of the mast.
Marcus who built it describes it as a "bits and pieces" boat. I think it was based on a Stuart Reid design called Scud ll. Most of Stuart's designs, as far as I know, are part of John Welsford's portfolio. I have no idea if this one is available through John. I think I do know how to contact Stuart if necessary, but in the build Marcus would have modified it to suit his own requirements, so if you want to know more you would be best to contact Marcus through the Junk Rig Association. Paul Thompson designed and built the junk rig for it.
It would be great if there was more info on both designs, the Junk rigged chase boat and Freebie. Is there a design available for Freebie or is she a one-off build? Is there more info on the Freebie build, builder, sails, etc?
Read your comment about sail catcher on the split junk rig, very interesting. It leaves me wanting to know more about the split junk rig and your evaluation of the rig. How do you see rigs advantages and disadvantages to the more traditional and ‘flatter’ shape junk rig? Would you use this rig again if you went to another boat larger or smaller? What would you change if you were to convert another boat?
Thank you for a well done video, it provokes more interest boats and junk rig as well.
Thanks for watching the video and for your comments.
Freebie:Marcus who built it describes it as a "bits and pieces" boat. I think it was based on a Stuart Reid design called Scud ll. Most of Stuart's designs, as far as I know, are part of John Welsford's portfolio. I have no idea if this one is available through John. I think I do know how to contact Stuart if necessary, but in the build Marcus would have modified it to suit his own requirements, so if you want to know more you would be best to contact Marcus through the Junk Rig Association. Paul Thompson designed and built the sails for it.
There is a heap of information on the JRA website, including on-line back copies of magazines which in the past have featured Freebie, and the "chase boat" (Serendipity) which is an Allan Wright-designed Monarch trailer boat with a free-standing mast and home-made split junk sail. All the modern cambered junk planforms perform better than the earier flat cut sails, though there are still a few people who continue to prefer the flat-cut type of sail - they are simpler to make and do still have some unique advantages (windward performance is not one of them). For the windward performance most of us expect, cambered sails are the way to go. As for the split junk variant, non-members of the junk rig association can still go to the JRA website (junkrigassociation.org/) and click "junk rig information" - quite a lot of it is propaganda promoting junk rig, but in the public domain section there is some technical information. If you really are interested in junk rig then I suggest joining the association and having access to an archive of technical information, magazine, back copies, technical forum, technical advice etc etc.
Would I use the rig again? Definitley. I currently have two projects under way: a John Welsford "Golden Bay" skiff which I am currently converting to split junk rig - and a 26' scow live-aboard cruiser (retirement home) which I am currently building, which will have a split junk rig. The split junk rig is my favourite of the modern junk variants, but I would also seriously consider a "Weaverbird" plan form (as designed by David Tyler), or the well-proven Arne Knverneland "Johanna rig" for which there is a mass of excellent information in the JRA public domain, made available by Arne. They are all modern cambered junk planforms. David Tyler has also documented a rather advanced junk wingsail which proved to be a success on his boat Weaverbird. The loveliest to look at is the slightly fanned "Hong Kong" style which Marcus likes and which Paul designed for Freebie - sails built by Paul Thompson - in this type, each panel is different and has to be lofted separately, so a little more work is involved in making one. As I say, my favourite is the fairly simple Amiina Mk ll Split Junk sail designed by Slieve McGalliard.
I wouldn't change a thing.
By the way if you join the JRA you can make direct contact with all of these people mentioned above, via a lively technical forum, and you will find them helpful and willing to provide their technical knowledge and experience. The membership list is open and available to members all around the world.
(I should also add, if you want more information on Serendipity's split junk sail then you can go to my website kenyonz.com/ (Sorry, its an unfinished mess) and click on "My Boats". Third button down will send you to a number of PDFs on Serendipity, making the sail, cruising etc which you can downoad and read if you want to.)
The lazy jack bag/cover on the chase boat looks brilliant.
Astute observation there - that cover does in fact do the job of lazy jacks as well as being a sail cover. The split junk rig (which this boat has) does not work so well with conventional lazy jacks. When the SJR sail is reefed or furled, those little jibs always seem to slip out somehow. It soon became obvious to me why Slieve McGalliard (who developed the split junk rig) furnished his boat Poppy and (later his colleague's boat Amiina) with this sail catcher which goes under the boom and is open at the top. This sail catcher muzzles the sail effectively, including those pesky jibs. Actually, Amiina's sail catcher is supported by a kind of lazy jack arrangement but I have found they are unnecessary. A pair of lifts from the masthead running down the mast - and another pair of lifts from the masthead which run to a point near the end of the boom - these two pairs of lifts are sufficient to support the sail catcher (and the bundle, when furled) and probably interfere less with the camber of the sail than lazy jacks. Not everyone likes this arrangement but it is pretty much necessary for a split junk - and I like it very much. As well as effectively muzzling the junk sail it also provides an instant sail cover for the furled sail bundle.
One small detail which may not be obvious. The sail catcher is held rigid along the top by a pair of light alloy tubes. On a junk or lug rig the sail is slung entirely on one side of the mast. However, the sail catcher is not. The support tubes go one each side of the mast - or you might say, the mast comes up through the bottom of the sail catcher, which is offset with a bias towards the side of the mast where the sail and battens are. A slightly untidy detail, but I don't think the sail catcher would work properly otherwise, ie the battens may hang up on one of the support tubes and not fall easily into the catcher, if both support tubes were slung on the same side of the mast.
Love ya Marcus....
What design is the boat please
Marcus who built it describes it as a "bits and pieces" boat. I think it was based on a Stuart Reid design called Scud ll. Most of Stuart's designs, as far as I know, are part of John Welsford's portfolio. I have no idea if this one is available through John. I think I do know how to contact Stuart if necessary, but in the build Marcus would have modified it to suit his own requirements, so if you want to know more you would be best to contact Marcus through the Junk Rig Association. Paul Thompson designed and built the junk rig for it.