I have just purchased a sharpy . I am told that rigging a sharpy is diferent to the larger vessels that I am used to . Is there anyone out there who has a detailed diagram of its rigging ?
Traditionally sharpies had a feestanding rig. usually set well forward,almost on he bow and just a mainsail. with a massive boom. jibs and forestays were added for racing.
the hull should be flat bottomed, usually cross planked.
the name comes from them being long for thier width. mine is 5' wide,4' at the waterline and 31' long
Is that what you mean by a traditional sharpie?
im not trying to be a smartarse, but the term sharpie really changed over the years.
the big dinghies that are refered to as "lightweight sharpies" are basically a long skinny sloop rigged dinghy and we have come to think of them as "traditional"
I have a 18ft Sharpie skiff (very traditional) it is featured on my page. It has a sprit rig main and a standard jib. The sprit is a very simple and convenient rig to have as you can brail it up (in seconds, literally)to the mast when not in use and it does not get in the way in the boat. The total sail area is approx 100 sq ft (10sq m) and because of the boat's length and narrow beam it is a reasonably quick and efficient sailer. I also use a decent set of oars and a small 4 horse outboard.
Welcome to the forum Tony. The pic on your profile page is a bit fuzzy but certainly conveys the idea.
We are not all young "whipper snappers" like your self here
but most of us are open to new ideas so don't be backward in coming forward.
If you need help figureing out the mechanics of the forum ie posting photos, web links and the like, please just ask.
Looking forward to hearing more from you. Again welcome to the forum.
Cheers Cisco.
Sounds like gregspong is talking about the Australian Sharpie. If so check the website.
I think they used to sail Sharpies out of Ceduna.
