Size Sail and Mast

[lucky duck]

I was given a 4'x9' custom built Pram Type Sailboat. The boat was built some 40 years ago. It has one main sail. It is a wooden boat in great shape. The sail and mast appear way to large for the size boat. The former user states that the boat could only be sailed while sitting down low on the deck not the seat and it would dunk you easily. I am new to sailing so I do not want to try a boat that will not be sea worthy in medium to light wind. Is there any measurement reccomendations for the size/type boat as compared to the size sail and mast?

I am a Grand Pa taking up sailing late in life so I can do it with the grand children ages 3 and 5. Speed is not an issue. Safety and ease of sail is of prime importance.

 

[saildan]

Re: Size Sail and Mast

I was given a 4'x9' custom built Pram Type Sailboat. The boat was built some 40 years ago. It has one main sail. The sail and mast appear way to large for the size boat. Is there any measurement reccomendations for the size/type boat as compared to the size sail and mast?

Prams come in many variations and sails have a multitude of styles. If you post pictures of your boat and it's sail, responses can be more specific.


The section here on The Rig demonstrates calculating a desired sail size is not an exact science - http://home.clara.net/gmatkin/therules.htm


In general -

Books such as, Boatbuilding For Beginners by Jim Michalak provide somewhat simple "rule of thumb" formulas for home builders to match a sail to their design and its purpose.

Glen-L has a forum where back yard boat builders discuss these exact situations - http://www.glen-l.com

Wooden Boat is another forum for these types of discussions - http://forum.woodenboat.com

Suppliers such as Duckworks have materials for custom built small craft - http://www.duckworksbbs.com/index.htm


A sampling of other resources where you can gain insight to determining a proper size sail for your style of sailing.

http://www.polysail.com


http://www.storerboatplans.com/GIS/GISRigging.html

 

[northernmerc]

Re: Size Sail and Mast

Some sailboats just go over easy; maybe you have one of those. A big sail combined with a small boat can be a lot of fun, but you had better like getting wet. I would not recommend an unstable boat if sailing with young children.

 

[Triton II]

Re: Size Sail and Mast

G'day Mr Lucky Duck,

This website has the measurement forms for the Sabot, which is a single sail pram dinghy of about the same size as yours.

http://sabot.au.com/blog/?page_id=38

The Sabot is a terrific little trainer for kids, all three of my boys learnt in them. Between them, the measurement forms cover mast length etc which I think would make a good starting point for you to see if your current rig is too big.

The Sabot is stable and easy to sail in medium to light breezes, but in a blow they can get up and boogie one-up. Generally we teach kids from a coaching rubber duck, rather than getting in a Sabot (they're a very tight fit for adults) however I have on occasion crewed for skippers who just don't "get it". Once they've got the basics, most kids are fine on their own with a junior crew - under 10s are classified as juniors and have to sail two-up, 11 through 16 year olds are seniors. Hope this helps,

TII