We're off on a new tack of rigging research and development here at Proa Sailing!
Ongoing experimentation with "Star Rigging", most recently with an 8 foot model, has been unfruitful - failing to overcome its problems and evolve into a viable and seaworthy rig. So it`s going onto the shelf - with honors, having yielded a lot of good data. Goodbye, Star Rigging!
The final report is as follows: Shunting a native style proa rig by pulling on a couple of lines was a nice idea but the reality is that a bunch of twist-prone lines and blocks is hard to make into a reliable and seaworthy rig.
Fixed turning blocks for the line are no good because the lead of the line is constantly changing in angle as the rig move. The leads were never fair.
Swiveling blocks solved that problem but for some reason a lot of twists always crept into the line, regardless of whether I used laid line or braided line.
(The accumulated data, photos, and videos from all the research and development on Star-Rigging are to be found in the posts below. Perhaps a bit jumbled but documented for posterity.)
