More on Amaryllis

We have stepped Amaryllis’s rig for a photo opportunity. As with every such exercise, there arise several questions, closer examinations, and learning moments.
How was this catamaran really rigged and sailed? There is no apparent throat halyard, no apparent running back stays…
How was the jib rigged and jib club attached? How was the jib attached, raised, and sailed?
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1 thought on “More on Amaryllis

  1. HCR

    How great to see Amaryllis II getting some needed attention. Be careful with her, she is the real thing, like your original Picasso, and she deserves the utmost care!

    Unlike NGH’s 19th century catamarans, Amaryllis II had a sliding gunter rig, not a gaff rig. Hence no need for a throat halyard and there should not be a bridle at that gunter yard. When fully hoisted, the yard is pretty much vertical and block-to-block with the halyard block at the mast top.

    She had no back stays.

    I had forgotten that the Keller people in Detroit had chopped her down so much. That bowsprit today is MUCH shorter than it was originally built with. She was built and tested with a sail area of 900 sqft, then cut down to 750 sqft. That compares to 1100 sqft for Tarantella, one of the original boats from 1877.

    The jib boom does indeed extend beyond the bowsprit and the forestay will then chafe the jib on one tack. Strange but true.

    Reply

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