Vivier standing lugsail query

[brian watkins]

I'm playing around with some lugsail options on a design (mostly for fun), and I'd like to draw on some of the assembled wisdom here.

If you've looked at any of Francoix Vivier's designs, I'm sure you'll agree that he draws a nice boat, and a perusal of photos from his and other websites shows that his rigs seem to sail well. I'd guess that there's at least a couple hundred of his boats out there(mostly in Europe).  The majority of his sails seem to be a particular kind of standing lug.  I assume that this is a French or possibly a Breton style: usually boomless, and with the tack coming down to a point on deck just forward of the mast (as opposed to on the mast as we usually see it).  Obviously, when on the "good" tack, the sail forms a beautiful shape away from the mast, and looks extremely efficient, while on the other tack, it suffers a bit (as do some other lugs).  The performance must not suffer that much, or there wouldn't be so many sailors enjoying his designs.

First question: has anyone here sailed or been around this particular type of standing lug, and would anyone care to comment on its strengths and weaknesses compared to other standing and/or balanced lugsails?

As I played around with this, I thought of a possible way to better utilize this sail. Mode one: for casual or single-handed sailing, the rig is used as a standing lug, with the option of setting it up on either side of the mast (say, alongshore sailing with wind usually from offshore). Mode two: when more performance is desired, and you have a second person available, use the sail as a dipping lug, either in the traditional way or (as Harry Sucher once sketched it), with a tack that can be pulled back around the mast while the yard tips up and also comes around (as he drew it it didn't seem much more complicated than tacking a jib, except the the main sheet must also be slacked, which is natural with most of the Vivier sails anyway, as the mainsheet is shifted across from quarter to quarter). A key point is that there must be some play betweeen the yard and the mast. I have no idea if this has ever been tried. Look at some photos of Vivier boats (Illur and Ebihen in particular), in action and I think you will see what I'm getting at.

Second question: any idea if this would work? Thanks!

http://www.vivierboats.com/html/stock_classic.html

http://www.vivierboats.com/html/stock_sail_and_oar.html

 

[oldsalt_1942]

I think you'd be better off with a balanced lug rig, especially if you're going to be single-handing. They look the same but you don't have to go through the whole bit of lowering the sail, moving the lug to the other side of the mast and raising the sail again. I, too, am very interested in the lug rig concept and have been reading a LOT about lug rigs online. From what I've been able to gather, any loss of performance when the sail is on the weather side of the mast is so negligible that it is not noticable.