10 years old
What's Wrong with the Flying Lateen?
I have been sailing for almost 80 years in all kinds of sailboats. The one I sail now is far and away my most favorite.
What's Wrong with the Flying Lateen?
I have been sailing for almost 80 years in all kinds of sailboats. The one I sail now is far and away my most favorite.
It is the simplest of sailboats. It is an open 20 footer with a Flying Lateen rig. My mate is an Australian Shepherd and we sail for an hour or two almost every afternoon. We generally go to a large bay in our harbor out from under the lee of the headlands and dance with the wind up and down and around a slalom course of sorts created by four guest moorings lined up in a row. It is sheer, unadulterated pleasure to become so totally symbiotic with what is my favorite manifestation of nature.....the wind! I have been asked, on the occasion of its 10th anniversary, to comment on the rig and more specifically to answer the question below. I have agreed, but treasuring my privacy, on the condition of anonymity.
So what's wrong with the Flying Lateen rig?
O Traditionally, just about everything! Too much windage, too much weight aloft, no jib so no slot effect, roller furling so too large a leading edge......what else? You'll think of something! Why then is it such a delight to sail?
Here's why!
O Aesthetic considerations are an integral part of sailing and the Flying Lateen rig is the most beautiful rig under which I have ever sailed. And it is so under all conditions.
So what's wrong with the Flying Lateen rig?
O Traditionally, just about everything! Too much windage, too much weight aloft, no jib so no slot effect, roller furling so too large a leading edge......what else? You'll think of something! Why then is it such a delight to sail?
Here's why!
O Aesthetic considerations are an integral part of sailing and the Flying Lateen rig is the most beautiful rig under which I have ever sailed. And it is so under all conditions.
Many sailboats, coming or going in the harbor, are what I call 'half boats'. They are traveling under main alone. Not a complete sailboat! And even 'all up', the sails are often not trimmed to complement one another. Downwind, main often flying, jib hanging listlessly up front. And racers with 'drooping mains', clews lower than the tacks to beat the rules. Some pretty girls but not dressed properly! The one big sail of the Flying Lateen, even reefed, makes for a complete and beautiful, properly dressed sailboat coming and going.
O It is the 'cleanest' and simplest rig I have ever sailed....deploying, tweaking, tacking, jibing, reefing, striking. The cockpits represents 70% of the boat and is totally unencumbered by any aspect of the rig (no mast, no jib sheets, no winches, no vang). The one exception is the mainsheet!
O It is the 'cleanest' and simplest rig I have ever sailed....deploying, tweaking, tacking, jibing, reefing, striking. The cockpits represents 70% of the boat and is totally unencumbered by any aspect of the rig (no mast, no jib sheets, no winches, no vang). The one exception is the mainsheet!
O The ability to see ALL of this beautiful sail in its entirety from the helm (or anywhere in the cockpit) is not only a joy to behold on all points of sail but allows for quick adjustments to keep it flying properly.
O The 'hanging' aspect of the spar translates in your mind to 'flying' as the name "Flying Lateen" implies. It truly feels as if the sail is 'flying freely' above you, much as kite sailors must feel. At the same time, with the boom on a swivel directly beneath the spar swivel at the hounds, there is a sense of solidarity and complete control on all points of sail in all wind conditions.
O The ability to adjust draft by tensioning the outhaul, and more significantly to reef, is so simple via furling that throttling up or down is routine...a pleasure vs. a chore.....particularly maneuvering in, around and about the harbor.
O And of less significance here, considering what is important to me, it hasn't given up THAT much performance to simplicity. It holds its own very nicely with traditional rigs.
O But most importantly, for those of us who aren't out to coax every ounce of speed out of our boats or to go faster than the other guy, but to jibe, tack, circle and "dance" with the wind, to revel in the ability this rig gives you to do so (particularly with the prettiest girl at the party), is sheer joy.
O The ability to adjust draft by tensioning the outhaul, and more significantly to reef, is so simple via furling that throttling up or down is routine...a pleasure vs. a chore.....particularly maneuvering in, around and about the harbor.
O And of less significance here, considering what is important to me, it hasn't given up THAT much performance to simplicity. It holds its own very nicely with traditional rigs.
O But most importantly, for those of us who aren't out to coax every ounce of speed out of our boats or to go faster than the other guy, but to jibe, tack, circle and "dance" with the wind, to revel in the ability this rig gives you to do so (particularly with the prettiest girl at the party), is sheer joy.
So..."What's wrong with the Flying Lateen?"
For me...not a thing!
