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The lug sail, or lugsail, is a
fore-and-aft A fore-and-aft rig is a sailing vessel rigged mainly with sails set along the line of the keel, rather than perpendicular to it as on a square rigged vessel. Description Fore-and-aft rigged sails include staysails, Bermuda rigged sails, ga ...
, four-cornered sail that is suspended from a spar, called a yard. When raised, the sail area overlaps the mast. For "standing lug" rigs, the sail may remain on the same side of the mast on both the port and starboard
tacks TACK is a group of archaea acronym for Thaumarchaeota (now Nitrososphaerota), Aigarchaeota, Crenarchaeota (now Thermoproteota), and Korarchaeota, the first groups discovered. They are found in different environments ranging from acidophilic ther ...
. For "dipping lug" rigs, the sail is lowered partially or totally to be brought around to the
leeward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...
side of the mast in order to optimize the efficiency of the sail on both tacks. The lug sail is evolved from the
square sail Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars which are perpendicular, or square, to the keel of the vessel and to the masts. These spars are called ''yards'' and ...
to improve how close the vessel can sail into the wind. Square sails, on the other hand, are symmetrically mounted in front of the mast and are manually angled to catch the wind on opposite tacks. Since it is difficult to orient square sails fore and aft or to tension their leading edges ( luffs), they are not as efficient upwind, compared with lug sails. The lug rig differs from the gaff rig, also fore-and-aft, whose sail is instead attached at the luff to the mast and is suspended from a spar (gaff), which is attached to, and raised at an angle from, the mast.


Types

Lug sails are divided into three types: ''standing lug'', ''balanced lug'' and ''dipping lug''. *''Dipping lug'': This is a boom-less sail whose yard is lowered or "dipped" when tacking to bring the sail around to the leeward side of the mast. In some cases this can be done by partially lowering the yard - there are a number of variations in this procedure. The tack fastens to a point some distance forward of the mast. For a foresail this may be the stemhead or, in some boats, one of a choice of hooks set along each gunwale. The dipping lug is a powerful sail and was widely used in working craft. *''Standing lug'': The sail and yard remain on one side of the mast and the tack of the sail is set close to the mast. When the wind blows onto the side of the mast where the sail is mounted, it deforms the sail over the mast. A standing lug can be used with or without a boom - the latter being the preference for working craft. The standing lug differs from the balanced rig. On a standing lug the yard extends past the mast, but the foot of the sail does not. *''Balanced lug'': The sail has both a yard and a boom, which both extend past the mast and remain on the same side of the mast on either tack. A junk rig (a fully battened sail that crosses the mast at the head and foot) is similar to a balanced lug.


Procedures for tacking by dipping

Whereas a standing lug may be tacked conventionally by moving the sail across the vessel, as the wind crosses the bow, a dipping lug must be brought around to the leeward side by a multi-step procedure: #Hauling in the sheets to get the sail over the boat. #Lowering the halyard so that the peak of the sail can be reached, yet the yard is free of interfering with the rest of the boat. #Gathering the after part of the sail and bringing it around forward of the mast. #Bringing the peak down and passing it under the luff of the sail to the new leeward side. #Bringing the halyard to windward aft of the mast. #Shackling on the sheets and bringing the sail aft. #Rehoisting the sail and sheeting in. This procedure is also necessary for
gybing A jibe (US) or gybe (Britain) is a sailing maneuver whereby a sailing vessel reaching downwind turns its stern through the wind, which then exerts its force from the opposite side of the vessel. Because the mainsail boom can swing acros ...
a dipping lug. Reportedly, this action can be completed expeditiously on a larger boat with four hands. On smaller boats, the sail is simply lowered and the mast unstepped to allow the sail to be moved beneath it to the other side and the mast to be re-stepped and the sail raised. On larger luggers, like the
Fifie The Fifie is a design of sailing boat developed on the east coast of Scotland. It was a traditional fishing boat used by Scottish fishermen from the 1850s until well into the 20th century. These boats were mainly used to fish for herring using d ...
, large dipping lug sails were possible only with the introduction of steam-powered capstans to facilitate with dipping.


Extent of use

Block reports that the rig was widely used in Europe from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries for small fishing vessels and other coasters because of their good performance to windward. This popularity extended to smugglers and privateers and the French '' chasse-marée'' fishing boats. Currently, lug rigs are used on certain small sailing craft, like the
International Twelve Foot Dinghy The Twelve Foot Dinghy was designed by George Cockshott, an amateur boat designer from Southport, England in response to a 1912 design contest. It became the first one-design racing dinghy to achieve international recognition. The class was gran ...
, a
dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which ...
, the SCAMP, a pocket cruiser. and the Oz Goose sailing dinghy. There are several lug rigged boat classes of long history that have been raced more or less continuously for a century. One example is the balance lug rigged Lymington Scow that has become highly developed in almost continuous racing since 1905.


See also

* Lugger * Junk rig, also known as the Chinese lugsail * Tanja sail, a type of sail from
Nusantara Nusantara most commonly refers to: *Nusantara (archipelago), an Old Javanese term which initially referred to the conquered territories of the Majapahit empire, corresponding to present-day Indonesia *Nusantara (planned city), the future capital ci ...
archipelago


References


External links



Method of dipping a Beer Lugger's standing lug
"Lug Rigs for Small Sailboats"
by John C. Harris
"Lugsail setup and performance articles"
by Michael Storer {{Sail types Sailing rigs and rigging