Hello Frank,

I want to congratulate you with the decision to rebuild Maggie B.
Nice that you were thinking the ship over. You kept the beautiful hull, but got a new sailplan. I like it. It is still a schooner, but much more easy to handle because the lack of foresails. I think that Nigel Irens again has choosen a modern solution of and old existing sailplan. As he says, it very much resembles the gaffsail with a topsail. But you have the advantages of two big high aspect sails that must be ery efficient (look at the VOR 70 and the Vendee Globe schips). Ad thereto the eas of handling of just two sails and tacking and other manouevres must be easy. I’m anxious to hear your comments on the first trails. But first al well with the building.

Greetings from the Netherlands,

Kapitein Rob

Hello Frank,

I have an addition to my former mail. I knew that there was something familiar to the rigconcept for M2. Freedom Yachts have used this configuration in the 80s and a Dutch yachtdesigner (Dick Zaal: http://www.dickzaalyachtdesign.nl look at aluminium and then Swift) also has this configuration, but that are Bermudan rigs with a wisbone boom. The American pilot schooners from the 19th century had similar high aspect sails but they used headsails.

The Dutch ’speeljacht’ (pleasure yacht) from before 1650 (also for 360 years) had this confuguration: two unstayed masts in schooner style with (more or less) high aspect lose footed sails with a short gaff. See the painting (1650) below, from Willem v. d. Velde witch is in the Rotterdam Maritiem Museum. http://www.flickr.com/photos/artshooter/3600901544

I thought you might interess it.

Greetings

Kapitein Rob

Perhaps this link will work:
http://www.maritiemmuseum.nl/website/index.cfm?htm_id=144&http://www.maritiemmuseum.nl/canon/