: Mike you have me thinking in a new direction. Keeping my mast where it is and
: taking one of the 4 sections out of it and using a continuous rope loop
: around the mast I might be able to tack with the sail moved around the
: mast. I know it is a longer move then you were thinking but maybe it would
: work. The other idea is the bottom spar might be made out of a cheap
: flimsy poly tube if it were stressed as in the picture. Also if the top
: spar was fastened at the end by the up haul rope, then run to a pulley
: fastened to the middle of the upper spar and then to the mast a cheap
: stressed poly tube might also have lots of strength and work for the upper
: spar, that is if I have this concept right.

: John

Hi John,
The first idea would work fine.
The uphaul is more usually attached closer to the 2/3 from the foot than the end of the boom. The sail is better balanced for handling that way. Likewise the control line from the bottom boom.

The odd thing is that a small crabclaw rig looks triangular at rest rather than curved when in use. The booms do flex a bit, easier on the original palm-leaf sails.

I'm not sure about the poly tube for booms, I used wood and bamboo with my test. Unfortunately, that was pre-internet and PC days and I 'lost' a lot of papers in a move. I'll have to re-do the experiment.

One thing I did find is that there was less heeling force on the boat as the rig tends to fly out to the leeward side and generates an upward vector to the sail. It also lifts the bows a bit depending on hull weight.

Mike Savage
South West Cork