Sailing a "modern" schooner

[pwillems]

Hi all,

I'm hoping to find some references or any other useful bits and pieces about sailing a marconi rigged schooner. We are relatively new to sailing and trying to teach ourselves to sail aboard our 57ft Roberts staysail schooner. So far, so good, we can make her go and generally handle kind weather by transposing what we learn through reading, but there definitely seem to be some specifics where she differs to the small sloops we learned on. For starters, the sail plan stretching so far forward and aft means we need to think hard about sail balance.

The information I have found specific to sailing schooners is very sparse at best and all of it applies uniquely to gaff rigged boats written by some very old salt using uniquely difficult to understand nautical language. None so far have been of much use which leaves us on our own trying to learn.

Can anyone recommend any reading that might be helpful?

[bill martin]

Back in the day I learned to sail on a Marconi rigged schooner, “Freedom”. The only thing special was we had running back stays that took two guys to change every time we tacked. Now that seems very old fashioned to me and let us know if your modern schooner has a fixed center backstay similar to my Cal2-27. I can be reached at bill_martin1@mac.com

[gjordan]

When you say "Modern schooner" it brings to mind the equal masted French boats (usually metal) where the masts actually are the same height. The "staysail schooner" rig has been around for a long time and there should be a lot of information available, but you might need to find a wooden boat group even if yours is plastic or ferro. You might try to get info from the Mystic Seaport Museum. Good Luck. ____Grant.

[double u]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Practical-y...s=eric+tabarly
there is some maneuvring with his schooner Pen Duick 3 shown

[bill martin]

Originally Posted by gjordan

When you say "Modern schooner" it brings to mind the equal masted French boats (usually metal) where the masts actually are the same height. The "staysail schooner" rig has been around for a long time and there should be a lot of information available, but you might need to find a wooden boat group even if yours is plastic or ferro. You might try to get info from the Mystic Seaport Museum. Good Luck. ____Grant.

Bill_Martin1@mac.com

http://amschooner.org/

This is an east coast of USA Schooner association.

[roverhi]

There used to be an unstayed mast schooner next to me. Masts were carbon fiber and sails rigged without booms. Never saw it sail but wondered how the sails set as the sails were attached to the masts and run up on tracks in the conventional manner. Boat was a production fiberglass boat along the design of the Freedom boats.