Current rig showing camberspar jib furled.  Since the original jib needed replacement, consideration was given to putting a roller furling jib on the boat.  While it takes a few minutes to take the sail cover off the jib, the convenience of not having to re-sheet the jib after every tack (which would had to have been done with a roller furling sail) more than makes up for the aggravation of dealing with another sail cover.  On the down side, a little sail area was lost by going to a non overlapping head sail, though if the wind is that light to make the lack of the overlapping sail noticeable, we usually don't go sailing.  Too much power boat slop on light air days to make sailing enjoyable.  When the jib is covered, it lies neatly out of the way with the furled sail following the curve of the toe rail due to the curvature of the spar in the sail (see the photo of the deck, port side).  There is no sheet to trip over at the dock as the bitter end is unclipped from the pad eye on the starboard side and attached to the port side pad eye.

The main and mizzen are fully battened, one reef in the mizzen, two in the main.  In the last three years, the sails have never been reefed.  It's simply easier to drop the main (or not even put it up) if it is breezy.

One of the nicest features of the ketch rig is the ability to sit head to wind just as pictured, the mizzen sheeted flat on the centerline.  With this configuration one can put up the main and jib at one's leisure without having to motor to windward or worry about the boat paying off and starting to sail on it's own.  When done sailing, sail to weather of your destination, sheet in the mizzen, ease the jib and main and take down these sails.  All the time the boat sits very nicely head to wind with no one on the tiller.  The sail covers for the main and jib usually get put back on the water, the mizzen only being dropped after the engine is started and the boat headed back to the dock.  A favorite pastime is to go out and only put up the mizzen.  The boat then backs down at about one half knot while the crew sits in the cockpit watching the world go by.

Most people will never get to experience the joys of the ketch rig as modern thinking distains the ketch rig as old fashoned and not being as weatherly as the sloop.  Like one hundred percent of all sailing is done straight upwind.   Besides, if it was such a great rig, wouln't more boats be ketch rigged?  They would be if economics wasn't the greatest driver in the sales of boats.  The extra cost of the ketch rig is considerable compared to putting the equivilant sail area into the single stick rig.  Another mast, boom, shrouds with turnbuckles, not to mention another sail (mizzens sails are expensive for their area, they still have three corners that need finished, battens, reefs etc.) and sail cover.

 Return to GJOA main page