Very Interesting Rig Barrink Biplane Cat

[Owly055]

     I stumbled across this interesting and innovative biplane catamaran rig the other day.    The two masts are more or less free standing, and the boom extends forward of the mast with the jib sheeted to the forward end of the boom, which is a wishbone.  The beauty of this is the fact that the two sails pivot together when the main sheet is adjusted.  The lack of any standing rigging except for a couple of forestays to each mast (why?) means that the the two sets of sails could be swung out a full 90 deg for downwind sailing.  There really is no need for the classic pointy "Bermuda triangle".  A yard and a lower aspect ratio sail with a flat top would give more sail area higher up where the wind is strongest.   I see no reason for the pointy triangular shape.  Here is a Utube video of it:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0VSmgiUM1A

Everybody here knows how I feel about unstayed masts............  far more reliable than a stayed mast that depends on all that standing rigging, any part of which can fail and bring the works down.   It also makes far more sense to have masts in the hulls than to build a massive structure into the bridge deck to handle the immense downward pressure of a stayed mast.  The biplane rig offers a wonderful wing and wing downwind configuration with both mains swung out at 90 degrees.   I was looking at the forestays, wondering why......... Perhaps for flying drifters........

                                                                                           H.W.

[Owly055]

Someone pointed out that this is not a unique and original design, that it is in fact what is called an Aerorig.   I had forgotten seeing rigs of this type...... or actually photos of them.   What is obvious about this rig is it's lack of all kinds of typical hardware.  It's ease of sailing.  The lack of a backstay and shrouds means that the sails can go 90 deg for downwind sailing.  Tacking would be incredibly easy.   I see absolutely no reason to have pointy sails.   A yard or gaff would allow considerably more sail area.  The balance created by having the jib sheeted to the main boom would add up to very light sheet loads. It all adds up to what looks like a very good low workload cruising setup.

                                                             H.W.