junk rig westerly nomad help

[vishnuleela]

Hi all! I know there is the junkrigassociation.org but they want £7 paid and ive been away from home for years and living off cash. I am going back to uk next month and would love to meet up with any junk rig owners to sail/ check out their boat. Im not the most experienced sailor but been crewing deliveries around asia spending weeks at a time at sea so im beginning get the jist of things and super interested in this rig.

I have already acquired an old westerly nomad 22ft waiting on return and am hoping to junk rig it but have a bunch of newbie questions id love answered, in fact i will have more as time goes on.

1) ive looked on internet but cant find an answer, im sure it obvious but... why does the mast need to be changed if force is less? why cant the existing mast be moved forward? can i keep the decked stepped mast system on a nomad or do i need to cut a hole?

2) can a mast be used from a larger scrap boat and cut down? i see lamp posts being used if it needs to be larger can i source an old mast and cut the top off?

3) how are the battens attached to the sail? ill most likely be using bamboo.

4) on the westerly nomad would just in front of the forward hatch be the place to put the mast? would it need to be raked forward?

5) on sewing the sails im planning using sunshade canvas and straight stitching with a normal sewing machine... what thread is best???

any help will be greatly appreciated.... and remember, any uk junk sailors please get in touch, in fact anyone i can correspond on this topic with.

cheers!!!

[vishnuleela]

oh and make it a number 6...

can a straight aluminium tube be used or does it need to be tapered?

[Sailormantx]

It would be really worthwhile to join the JRA:-). Also find a copy of Practical Junk Rig. There's a lot of info on converting an existing rig in that book. As to your questions: the last needs to be round and smooth as the sails and bartend slide up them. Tracks, hardware, etc found on conventional rigs will make their masts unsuitable. Light poles, aluminum pipes, and even utility poles work well. My battens and backing battens are secured with later cable ties. Quicker and easier than lashings.Size 69 or 92 thread is good for sailmaking.
Can't help you with the other questions. You have to do the research.

[barnakiel]

I am giving some answers based on my friendship with two ex-junk owners and on very keen observation of Speedwell (2x, thru binnocs).

Originally Posted by vishnuleela

1) ive looked on internet but cant find an answer, im sure it obvious but... why does the mast need to be changed if force is less? why cant the existing mast be moved forward? can i keep the decked stepped mast system on a nomad or do i need to cut a hole?

Re: Like how is the force less? The force depends on how big the sail is, not what shape it is (generally). Junk masts are mostly unsupported and so the force is differently distributed. Deck stepped mast would ask for standing rigging which partly negates the benefits of the junk rig. There is often one junk sail only and so you are moving the mast to keep the center of sail are the same.

2) can a mast be used from a larger scrap boat and cut down? i see lamp posts being used if it needs to be larger can i source an old mast and cut the top off?

Re: As long as the section is light and stiff enough, you can use a lamppost (but alloy lampposts are not very common, I think). Best junk sticks made in carbon/vacuum.

3) how are the battens attached to the sail? ill most likely be using bamboo.

Re: They live in pockets.

4) on the westerly nomad would just in front of the forward hatch be the place to put the mast? would it need to be raked forward?

Re: Ask other owners who have junk rig. Or calculate it. The deck will have to be reinforced as well as you may need further internal reinforcement.

5) on sewing the sails im planning using sunshade canvas and straight stitching with a normal sewing machine... what thread is best???

Re: Acrylic is OK if heavy. I have seen sails made in pvc coated canvas too (again - heavy). You are using a zigzag. Polyester thread is fine. But a reel of UV resistant Dabond of matching grade (thickness). If your canvas is white, use a dark thread, if the canvas is dark, use white thread. I would make the sail out of light dacron actually - less than 200 gr/m2.

any help will be greatly appreciated.... and remember, any uk junk sailors please get in touch, in fact anyone i can correspond on this topic with.

cheers!!!

NOTE: I do not have a junk sail and all my friends who did, converted their boats back to bermuda stayed rig.

She knows many of the things you want to ask:

Speedwell of Hong Kong

She knows why people fall in love with junk rig:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...0024124167.jpg

I will check if the links work for all now.

Cheers,
b.

[boatman61]

There's a guy who bought a Corribee 21 and converted her to a junk rig.. he then proceeded to sail her all over the N Atlantic going as far North as Greenland.
After a few years of doing this he decided he needed a bigger boat so bought an Achilles 24 sloop and converted her to a junk rig..
This is Part 1 of the conversion.. watch and learn..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mttx8Z-AvJ8

Oh..!! the guys name is Roger Taylor and he's a Brit.

[mkriley]

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/junkrig/info

[Yowieboy]

Roger Taylor is also quite a good writer, viz. Voyages of a Simple Sailor, and Mingming and the Art of Minimal Ocean Sailing. A lot of information about the junk rig in there too.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Start here Voyaging with Annie Hill Annie Hill, & her former husband Pete, built a 34' junk rigged dory & cruised it quite a bit all around the Atlantics. And she's converted another boat or two to junk rigs as well. Also she's written few books relating to them, & lists a bunch of useful references.
One other resource might be the Amateur Yacht Research Society www.AYRS.org And why reinvent the wheel when for the price of lunch you can get linked up with a bunch of folks who've likely already done what you're contemplating a dozen times over.
Oh, & there may be some info over on www.BoatDesign.net/forums too.

[Gung Ho]

I suggest you do two things.You do not get ought for nought in this world so spend 50 pounds on buying "Junk Rig" by Hasler available from amazon or spend 20 pounds and become a member of the Junk Rig Association .org .uk, the fount of all knowledge about junks and other advanced rigs. You can also look at their website as a member of the public without paying anything and I think you will find all the answers to your questions there. GOOD luck.

[indiana_ct]

I'm an ex junk rig owner (Robert Tucker Escapade 26ft). You can use a tree for a mast if you like but it should be keel stepped and unstated and further forward than than a sloop mast would be. I don't know the precise ratios.
My boat came with a hopelessly rotten sail, battens made out of plastic pipe. I rigged up something temporary to start with.
I designed and made my own sail out of Top Gun fabric which was fantastically strong. I also used bamboo for the battens. Practical Junk Rig is well worth getting.
I would happily have another Junk Rig, especially for single handing. The rigging is much cheaper to maintain too and there's little stress on the rig.

[Sailing_photog]

Sign up for the Westerly Nomad group on Yahoo groups. There are several Westerly owners with junk rigs, along with some photos, if I remember correctly.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/...omadand22/info

The Nomad is a great boat. I recently sold mine and miss it.