Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/783

 Open Canoe Cruising

II. — Description of the lateen rig and why it is best suited for the open canoe for cruising, sail -making, masts, etc.

15y E. T. Keyser

��THE canoe lateen, when set, resem- bles a leg-of-mutton sail. Its ad- vantages over the leg of mutton type are that it requires a shorter mast, needs no mast hoops, which are prone to jam, and that the peak sets far enough aft of the mast to give good driving power. For open canoes this is the best all-around rig, as its sim- plicity and compactness more than off- set, for the open cruiser, the greater driv- ing power and increased wind- ward possibil- ities of the b a t s w i n g type of sail.

A given area divided into two sails is pref- erable than the same area in a single sail, as it allows of carrying a pretty fair spread of canvas in light weather and reducing to the mini- mum — the mizzen alone — in heavy winds. For a 17-foot canoe, an area of 68 sq. ft. will be about right. If the skipper is very light in weight, or the canoe be of 1.5 or 16 ft. length, a total area of 52 sq. ft. will suit conditions better.

The forward or main mast should be stepped just aft of short forward deck. The after, dandy or mizzen mast, at for- ward side of after seat. This arrange- ment calls for I3 of total sail area in mizzen and % in main sail. For a rig of 68 square feet, lay off on a floor with a chalk line a base line 9 ft. 3. in. long, as shown in Fig. 6. From right end of base line describe a circle with a radius of 10 ft. 6 in. From left end of base line describe a circle with a radius

���A canoe equipped with two lateen sails, which make the best all-around rig for an open cruiser

��of 11 ft. With chalk line, join the inter- section of these circles with the ends of base line and you will have the outline of a mainsail with an area of '4 5 square feet. The base is the boom, the right side the yard and the left the lea leach edge of the sail. With this outline as a pattern, lay out your sail of light unbleached mu.slin,

running the strips parallel with the leach and allowing for a turned over ^i-in. hem f?2 in. of material) along the three edgesofthesail, and for a 1-in. strapped seam to join the stripsofmuslin. Get40-in. mus- lin and split each strip in two so that your sail will be made up of 20- in. widths. Pin strips together as you go along and have sail stitched and hemmed on a machine. Along the three sides of sail stitch 1-in. wide non-elastic webbing. Through this webbing, on the boom and yard edges set sheet brass washer grommetc 1 ft. aparu, making sure that a grommet is set in each corner of the sail, and that each grommet has a 3 16-in. eye.

The dandy or mizzen sail is to be of 23 sq. ft. area and measures 6 ft. 9 in. on boom, 7 ft. 8 in. on yard, and 7 ft. 10 in. on leach. If the 52 sq. ft. rig is desired, the following dimensions should be sub- stituted :

Mainsail Dandy

Leach, 9 ft. 6 in 6 ft. 10 in.

Yard. 9 ft. .S in 6 ft. 6 in.

Boom, 8 ft. 3 in 5 ft. 10 J^ in.

Booms and spars should be of straight-

��767

�� �