Outrigger ?

[woopei]

I was wondering if anyone knows of any monohull sailboat with an outrigger? It seems to me that this would significantly increase stability on smaller boats. I have a 21' McGregor that is as light as a cork.

[GordMay]

Proa

[Zach]

Kind of off the topic...

Theres an old monohull sailboat down in Beaufort, NC beside the Spouter Inn that has some PVC outriggers.

Its looks like its a real nice rig for fishing!

[boris]

its could a trimaran

[clausont]

Hmm, I had a 21' Venture McGregor. I never considered that it needed an outrigger. I often sailed it much harder than I probably should have. Is it the heeling that makes you consider an outrigger?
Just curious.

[Amgine]

Proa is right.

The use of an outrigger to provide righting moment to windward is an important characteristic of this design. It significantly increases loads on the rig. The design has an interesting fact for sailboats: there is no 'port' and 'starboard', but windward and leeward sides. This also means the hull should be a balanced double ender.

Which means it won't work for your McGregor.

Your boat is designed to be light as a cork. The rigging, scantlings, and hardware are all sized to deal with the amount of righting moment your boat develops. If you make the boat stiffer, by carrying too much load or adding an outrigger or any other techniques, you may end up straining some of the other gear and possibly breaking things. IIRC, that's even part of the reason for why the foam block flotation was installed the way it was - it's too annoyingly difficult to remove it all, which keeps owners from putting weight in the ends where it would stress the hull and rigging.

It's also why the boat is as exciting to sail as it is. Live within the limitations of the design, or move to a boat which is more suitable for your sailing interests.