Seeker Knowledge
Project
Junk Rig
Active / evolving
Building and developing Seeker’s three-masted junk rig, including masts, sails, battens, yards, rigging, reefing, sail handling, and lessons learned at sea.
Featured video
Chinese Junk Sails and the Mast
Published 2016-09-03
Start here for the Junk Rig story.
Starts at 03:13
Videos
Videos follow the project timeline. When Part 1 of a series is reached, the complete series stays together before the timeline resumes.
Components & concepts
- junk rig Structure
- junk sails Structure
- chinese junk sails Structure
- Mast Structure
- main mast Structure
Principles demonstrated
Evidence sources
Sources are ordered by their role and reliability, not by volume.
Journey
- Journey links will be added as the history is reviewed.
Sources and discussion
Primary evidence appears first. Community discussion follows. Outside forums are commentary and may include speculation or inaccuracies.
Primary evidence
Videos
Videos, transcripts, website material, and Doug-authored project posts.
140 additional references are indexed for search.
Primary evidence
Transcripts
Videos, transcripts, website material, and Doug-authored project posts.
Bringing Home a Sailboat Mast
Can't here we are taking a mast off the
Mast, Keels, and Portholes
it home somehow. We went after a mast,
Chinese Junk Sails and the Mast
mast. It doesn't need to be welded,
Foremast & Sole & Deck Hatch & CNC Routing
the mast step and the center of the boat
Engine Room Sole and Mainmast Step
That's the main mast step going in,
Engine Room Sole and Mainmast Step
that, the mast hollow
SV Seeker Live - Jan 27,2018 - Tender, Mastheads, NiFe Batteries
main mass. And we're a Chinese junk rig
SV Seeker Live - Jan 27,2018 - Tender, Mastheads, NiFe Batteries
mast, all the sails on a junk rig,
SV Seeker Live - Jan 27,2018 - Tender, Mastheads, NiFe Batteries
to the port side of the mast. And the
SV Seeker Live - Jan 27,2018 - Tender, Mastheads, NiFe Batteries
main mast, this one, they're over on
SV Seeker Live - Jan 27,2018 - Tender, Mastheads, NiFe Batteries
mast. It's only a six inch pipe, I
Finishing the Masthead and making a home for the VMAC
on that mast down there
Mast Heads - CNC Pulleys - Sheaves for you sailors
the top of the mast. There's ropes that
Mast Heads - CNC Pulleys - Sheaves for you sailors
here because we have three mast. This
Raising Sails - Part 6 - Welding in the Mast
do in fact I gotta straighten that mast
Raising Sails - Part 6 - Welding in the Mast
that I do need to lower the mast. But
Raising Sails - Part 6 - Welding in the Mast
mast and there's a lot of steel
Raising Sails - Part 6 - Welding in the Mast
of the mast passed through the deck so
Raising Sails - Part 6 - Welding in the Mast
we're working on that mast up there this
Raising Sails - Part 6 - Welding in the Mast
mast, I think some lead ballast stuck
Raising Sails - Part 6 - Welding in the Mast
where the mast comes through from above
Raising Sails - Part 6 - Welding in the Mast
mast, and it's actually a fantastic
Raising Sails - Part 6 - Welding in the Mast
down a steel mast through a steel hole
Raising Sails - Part 6 - Welding in the Mast
the mast into the water. Captain Cook
Raising Sails - Part 6 - Welding in the Mast
anchor chain hauled to the top of a mast
146 additional references are indexed for search.
Community discussion
Facebook discussion
Questions and discussion from the Seeker community. Useful context, but not automatically verified engineering evidence.
Facebook comment
Thanks for the wisdom! Have to remember to live today. I keep hoping to sail by your junk rig with my junk rig. One day soon...
Facebook comment
Mast envy?😳
Facebook comment
Welcome to the Patuxent. Nice chatting with ya when I popped by on the jet ski. Night mast lights look awesome!
Facebook comment
...you included your designers. Just wondering .... A lot of your metal hull design and junk rig look a lot like Tom Colvin boats. Any connection ? I almost bought one of his boats 30 years ago. Since then I have owned a Morgan and O'Day. Fair winds !
Facebook reply
Doug Jackson 4 mast "climbs" this week. 2 on a friend's boat and 2 on ours. Couldn't ask for a nicer place than the Bahamas to do it!
Facebook reply
Doug Jackson that’s true… I guess she is technically a tern schooner with a junk rig
Facebook comment
love me a junk rig! I feel like the rarest rare having sailed on once for a month in west florida...
Facebook comment
Tell her she can see better from the tractor seat on the mast
Commentary
Sailing Anarchy
Public commentary and opinion. It may include speculation, errors, or incomplete information and should not be treated as verified technical evidence.
Sailing Anarchy post #1055 page 53
...eading his books & correspondence over many years, plus sailing my own and a friend's junk rig. I'm no expert. FKT Why the fuck does he all those welded metal pipes in his sail? What the hell is wrong with this guy?
Sailing Anarchy post #1065 page 54
...lming, editing and publishing. So chances are there will be a spectacular capsize (or mast breakage) but we won’t see it.
Sailing Anarchy post #11089 page 555
Tom recommended Top Gun for junk sails and used it himself for many years. I sewed mine 6 years ago and they've been trouble-free ever since. Unlike the Hasler type rigs my sails have vertical seams so the sail is very strong. Unlike marconi type sails, the ju...
Sailing Anarchy post #11100 page 555
...stly. There are a bunch of people on the Junk Rig Association that have made cambered junk sails to improve windward performance. A friend of mine did it, keeps trying to talk me into doing it too. Not going to happen, if I want to point higher I just fire up...
Sailing Anarchy post #11997 page 600
Other than the tractor seat atop the main mast, I haven't seen a lot of humour in Dugg's creations. I think he takes himself quite seriously.
Sailing Anarchy post #1224 page 62
...ma. After all, there's no fixed boom gooseneck and (generally) no topping life with a junk rig, you really need the lazy jacks to hold the lowered sail bundle. FKT He's got the harbor freight blue clicky strap lazy jack system..
Sailing Anarchy post #1264 page 64
Bit late, but why the fuck is the fwd mast raked so far fwd is that how it's going to stay ? What the fuck is that yellow ladder thing on the stb side ? How are they going to sheet the aft most sail that hangs way off the stern ?
Sailing Anarchy post #1265 page 64
...popcorn, this project is like a fuckup fractal. Bit late, but why the fuck is the fwd mast raked so far fwd is that how it's going to stay ? What the fuck is that yellow ladder thing on the stb side ? How are they going to sheet the aft most sail that hangs wa...
Sailing Anarchy post #1266 page 64
Junk rig It's to make up for not a forward jib/jenny. Balance the sail plan. That's the idea - Not that the maker of this boat has any clue about sail plans or rigging. He read it in a book, and thought it would look cool. Like the mermaids on the side of his...
Sailing Anarchy post #1275 page 64
...d explanation in one of Tom Colvin's books. FKT Bit late, but why the fuck is the fwd mast raked so far fwd is that how it's going to stay ?
Sailing Anarchy post #1277 page 64
You don't need a fucking downhaul on a junk rig. Trust me. FKT OK, well this EXPLAINS it. The lack of any way to downhaul and sheet in these sails as the vessel sits in the water today is because they don't show on this drawing
Sailing Anarchy post #1281 page 65
Hey, come on now , I’m here for the sailing. Never seen a junk rig under sail. As long as he never tries to sail it...
Sailing Anarchy post #1282 page 65
...lly when your battens are made from steel pipe You don't need a fucking downhaul on a junk rig. Trust me. FKT
Sailing Anarchy post #1283 page 65
...Martin used to say, "Well EXCUUUSE ME!!!!". As you can see, I dont know diddly about junk rigs except for the model one of my ancestors brought back from the other side of the world many decades ago that sits on my shelf. The foot is secured to the mast with...
Sailing Anarchy post #12870 page 644
...se, how many alleged "sailing vessels" have a tractor seat welded to the top of their main mast and a water maker that makes nothing? That Dugg, he is something else! Exactly. And I bet that glorified dinghy didn't have a Tormach lathe, 3-D printer and an ice...
Sailing Anarchy post #1307 page 66
...if it annoys me more that this thing is going to besmirch the good name of the modern junk rig for a generation, or because Doug in his infinite knowledge and skill probably built retro flat panel sails rather than cambered.
Sailing Anarchy post #13089 page 655
Nice thing about junk sails - you just lower them into the lazy jacks and presto - there's your flaked sail. Nothing more required. Mine sit in crutches and yeah I do lash them down because I learned that despite the weight of the sail bundle, battens and top...
Sailing Anarchy post #1310 page 66
Sigh. \*I\* built flat panel sails. Do you have a junk rig? If so, did you build it yourself including sewing the sails? Lots of arguments around flat vs cambered panel sails and I don't plan on buying into it here. All I'll say is, if you don't have one, have...
Sailing Anarchy post #1313 page 66
They have 3 junk sails. That's a lotta running rigging that they haven't set up yet. Do they have pin rails? I have a total of 16 belaying pins & use most of them. I have 2 junk sails and a jib. My 380 sq ft mail was bigger than I wanted to handle down here so...
Sailing Anarchy post #1316 page 66
I know nothing about junk sails but your comments are making me think that Doug managing 2,200 square feet of junk sails without any experience rigging or sailing them is something we can all look forward to. Ha ha. That should go well. I can't see how in hell...
Sailing Anarchy post #13234 page 662
...e made from Top Gun synthetic canvas, so most likely not. It's excellent material for junk sails. I have Top Gun sails, no sail covers, and they're still in perfect shape after 7 years. FKT Over time Doug's sails are gonna fade more, get more frayed edges, mor...
Sailing Anarchy post #13856 page 693
...a steel lamp post...that would make me think that if he used the same section for the main mast it might not survive a big blow or a big gybe. Looks like they were sailing by the lee.
Sailing Anarchy post #13857 page 693
...d like to see how all the bracing and weld look around the base of that mast now. The main mast he built not using a lamp post. I don't know if that means its stronger or weaker though. That mast sure moved around a lot for a steel lamp post...that would make...
Sailing Anarchy post #13858 page 693
At the time I did point out the huge inspection hole in his main mast was a weak point as well.
Sailing Anarchy post #13859 page 693
...a steel lamp post...that would make me think that if he used the same section for the main mast it might not survive a big blow or a big gybe.
126 additional references are indexed for search.