My Favorite Rig: Simple, Safe, and Unstayed
© Ellen Massey Leonard, 2014, All Rights Reserved.
Unfortunately, the only boat I own with my favorite sailing rig is my 7-foot dinghy. My 40ft floating home and voyaging friend is a cutter-rigged Marconi sloop, just like most classic boats of her size. I love her speed, her asymmetrical spinnaker, and her gorgeous lines drawn by Francis Kinney, and she was in my price range when I bought her second-hand. I could have bought a voyaging boat with my favorite rig, but I couldn’t bear to forego those gorgeous lines and mahogany accents. If I had all the money in the world and could have my own custom cruising yacht designed and built, she would have it all. She would have a beautiful sweeping sheer, a mahogany cabin, and a freestanding mast.
A decade ago Hal Roth wrote in How to Sail Around the World: “All these architects and businesspeople [who worked with unstayed rigs] figured that recretional sailors would dump the bermudian rig and turn to freestanding masts in large numbers. Unfortunately, the builders and designers were dead wrong. . . . [B]oatowners are not necessarily progressive.” This comes at the end of a section in which Hal Roth extolls the simplicity and safety of unstayed masts, with which I wholeheartedly agree.
. . . sign up to the right to get immediate access to this full post,
plus you'll get 10 of our best videos for free.
Get Free Videos& Learn More Join Now!!for Full Access Members Sign In
Steven Feinstein says:
Hi Ellen,
I sailed a NS 26 (Meow) when they first came out, so lots of bugs. The first two masts cracked, but the third mast was aluminum with a collar. The mast’s flexibility caused the need to trim each time the wind speed changed. Too much for me. I did enjoy the boat.
Steve
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
Sorry to hear about the Nonsuch’s bugs – too bad!
Just to clarify – my article was about the idea of unstayed masts in general, not about Nonsuchs as a specific design. Nonsuch were the only people willing to supply photos for the article – sorry if that’s confusing. Every boat design is, of course, a compromise of some sort. I just like the idea of unstayed masts – how they are incorporated into the other design elements of any boat is a whole, huge topic unto itself!
As a pilot, I’m definitely a fan of unstayed wings… which are, obviously, the industry standard today. Stayed biplanes from the 1920s are pretty cool, but none of us would want to cross an ocean with one!
michele del monaco says:
Great article Ellen, thank you.
I think there are dozens of junk rig vessel with unstayed masts that have circumnavigated, as an example of how reliable this kind of rig is. Even without carbon but with wood or alu, it’s perfetly fit for ocean voyaging.
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
Yes indeed! Junk rigs have other advantages too, like easy reefing. Chris and Jess Bray made a Northwest Passage transit in one – they have some fantastic videos of it. And Annie Hill has sailed many thousands of miles in junk rigged boats. I’m sorry I didn’t think to include a couple of paragraphs about junk rigs in this article – they are a perfect example of reliable and simple unstayed masts!
Jonathan Lewis says:
Just saw that the unstayed mast conversation continues. As a fan of that species, I suggest you check out Eric Sponberg who I believe is currently sailing around the world on a boat he designed. He also designed the spars for our Herreshoff 31 Cat Ketch with carbon fiber masts. That boat had what Halsey Herreshoff labeled “half bone” booms, which were half of a wishbone, much lighter and served the same purpose but more elegantly. Our current craft, the Townsend Tern, is blessed with a rig designed by Bruce Kirby, unstayed yet strong, simple and efficient.
Mike Wolter says:
I cannot help but notice the similarity between these and the ‘wish-boom’ mainsails of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co starting about the late 1920’s. These along with other ‘Development class’ boats had been drawn up by NGH following the conclusion of the J-class vessels. One such boat when equipped with her sailing rig is ‘Velita’ (1935). She was a W Class centerboard sloop designed by Sid Herreshoff. Both aerodynamic efficiency and easy trimming of the sails were two benefits noted in the book ‘Herreshoff of Bristol’ by Maynard Bray and Carlton Pinheiro.
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
Thanks so much for this information! I will definitely look up those boats!
Richard Fried says:
Ellen: I, too, own a NS36 and have sailed her for many years in New England, principally in Maine, out of Camden. As much as I enjoyed your well-written article and identify with its viewpoint, I would greatly hesitate to go off-shore in a Nonsuch. Not only does the Nonsuch vessel have certain design characteristics that preclude it from being safe in severe sea state conditions, but also its single sail unstayed Wishbone rig has limited flexibility to cope with high wind conditions. I wish it were otherwise, but the Nonsuch is what it is: a superb coastal cruiser, not a blue water voyager. Richard
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
Hi Richard,
Sorry not to have spotted your comment earlier – I appreciate your information and opinions!
First, I should say that I was not advocating the Nonsuch as an offshore boat. My article was simply about unstayed rigs, not about a complete boat design, Nonsuch or otherwise. (The fact that the photos are from Nonsuch is just because they were the only people who responded to my request for photos.) In fact, the best example of an unstayed rig is not a boat at all, but the modern airplane – how many to do you see nowadays with stayed wings? Clearly stays are not essential for ocean crossings!
Again, re-iterating that the article was just about rig and not about complete design, I know of several boats with unstayed rigs (all different custom designs) who have made offshore voyages and/or circumnavigations very successfully – one of the most recent I read about was a custom-designed aero-rigged schooner doing the Northwest Passage. If I could ever afford a brand new custom yacht, I would go for an unstayed rig (not with a wishbone boom) on a custom design suited to offshore and high latitude voyages. But, of course, that’s a very expensive proposition, so at the moment I’m quite happy with my heavily-stayed Marconi-rigged cutter. She’s very seaworthy offshore, with a high angle of vanishing stability and nearly 40% of her weight in her lead ballast, and she has a forestay, inner forestay, 3 shrouds on each side, a backstay, and running backstays. Since I can’t afford that dream custom unstayed boat, I go for redundancy instead! Too bad that means I have a lot of chain plates to replace this year….
Again, thank you for your comment and for alerting other OCH members to the Nonsuch’s lack of offshore capabilities – I apologize if the photos in the piece were confusing!
All the best and happy sailing!
-Ellen
Rick Pratt says:
I have built and sailed half a dozen boats with the sharpie sprit rig. They are weatherly, easy in a blow and no sweat jibing in any wind the boat can stand up to.
I have often employed used jibs for the sail with no problems at all. My last boat employed a used wind surfer rig, carbon fiber mast and all.
They are cheap, pretty and easy to live with.
Hard to beat.
And by the way, all of my boats had nice bright work mahogany rails and frames and cedar thwarts. I agree with you that beauty is its own excuse for being…particularly on boats.
Regards
Rick Pratt
Director, Farley Boat Works
Port Aransas Texas
.
Dave Johnson says:
I’m building a 15′ double ender and am a follower of Iain Oughtred’s espousing the balanced lug rig with an unstayed mast. I don’t understand why we tend to complicate things. The old timers got it right. They were making a living from the sea without mechanical power so they developed the most efficient and least complicated sails, and they worked!!!
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
My thoughts exactly!!
Stephen Currier says:
Ellen, Thanks for a great article that confirms my feelings toward my boat, a Nonsuch 36′, hull l# 42, they are amazing boats, and rigs that can be sailed easily single handed even in old age. Robust construction and quality details give them a long life easily enjoyed. Kudos.
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
Thanks, Stephen, I’m glad you enjoyed the article! And great to hear how well your Nonsuch handles—it’s too bad they’re no longer manufactured!
Stephen Currier says:
In fact Ellen, Wiggars Yachts from Ontario is still, I believe, manufacturing to order the 33′ size from the Nonsuch mold.
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
Wonderful to hear!
Iain Oughtred says:
The old working sharpies favored the unstayed rig. Bruce Kirby’s Norwalk Island Sharpies demonstrate how extraordinarily seaworthy a light-displacement, shallow-draft vessel can be.
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
I noticed he’s got an unstayed 31-footer as well!
David Tew says:
An attractive 22′ version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPmmbRYkhLs
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
Very nice! Thanks!
Donald Kimball says:
I recently became the stuart of a 1983 Halsey Herreshoff 38 catketch. She been a joy. Still trying to figure out some slab reefing . Thanks for the acticle.
Ellen Massey Leonard says:
Sounds like a great boat! Glad you enjoyed the article.