I was expecting a few sheets of lines and accommodations, hoping maybe one of them would be worth a spot on the wall. I was not expecting a second profile/sailplan drawing of a cutter rig! For those who haven't seen this drawing (I couldn't find a digitized version to link)... you're missing out. The elongation of the sheer line (and therefore, the overhang) provided by the bowsprit is just beautiful. I'll be the first to acknowlege that a beautiful drawing doesn't always translate to a beautiful reality, but this one has me dreaming!
OK, so it's not a TRUE cutter. It doesn't look like there's enough separation between the stock jibstay and the cutter?s headstay to fly both sails at once upwind, unless the foresail is cut so high that the sheet is led to the transom. Still, this has the look of a worthwhile endeavor for those who sail in predominantly-light-wind areas, and I would imagine that it?s an excellent weather-helm remedy.
The NTA MIR shows that the owner of #17 has done something similar, the "scutter"....
It looks like the bowsprit in this application is not as long as the one in Alberg's drawing, nor does it appear to follow the sheerline, so the visual ?lengthening? is not as pronounced. Still, the owner writes that weather helm is eliminated.
I know that others have use the spinnaker pole as a makeshift ?sprit to fly a big light-air genoa, but this cutter or scutter solution seems so much more elegant. I must be missing something. What?s the drawback of a cutter rig? PITA to tack?
(you KNOW winter's coming when I start yapping about stuff like this!)