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Posted by CLC on Jan 9, 2006

>>>>Can you put a mast and sail on an annapolis wherry? just wondering, thought that would be neat.


:>>>>>>

You can put a mast and sail on anything that floats, and it might sail after a fashion. While stable by performance rowing boat standards, compared to sailboats the Annapolis Wherry is very low-sided to accommodate a sliding seat. A knockdown under sail would cause it to flood.

The much higher-sided Chester Yawl has been rigged for sail and actually makes a nice sailboat. We advertised a sailing rig kit the Chester Yawl for awhile but like anything that involves sailing it was expensive and distracted from the boat's good rowing qualities. At some point we might revive a plans-only option for adding sailing components to the Chester Yawl.

Once in awhile someone asks why a rowing boat is referred to as a yawl, which in some circles is a particular sailing rig. We borrowed the term from "yawl boat," traditionally a tender carried on a sailing ship. The yawl boat was often the smallest of the smallcraft aboard, carried in davits slung over the stern for the captain's personal use. Traditional yawlboats looked a lot like the Chester Yawl. Here's an old 19th century photo from the San Francisco Maritime Museum.

http://www.nps.gov/safr/local/graphics/TLeath.jpg

Chester Yawl

In Response to: sail a wherry by Pete on Jan 9, 2006

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