More about Rugosa, a little Rozinante

Rugosa has attracted a lot of attention. She is small enough that she can be built in a reasonable amount of time. Her type, the canoe yawl (she is technically a ketch—and I have called her a canoe ketch—but the type are called canoe yawls . . . I stand corrected), is well suited to the look of a lapped hull, and glued-lapstrake construction will make a modern one piece, low maintenance boat, plus the laps make her a drier boat.

Rugosa layout and lines sketch

She is shoal draft so she can get into all sorts of interesting and fun places. She can also be moved and stored on a trailer. At the same time, Rugosa is big enough that she can sail out into stretches of open ocean between harbors, coves and bays.

She is inspired by one of the great practitioners of the art of yacht design, L. Francis Herreshoff. His Rozinante is a wonderful sailer and Rugosa, with a more modern hull and keel shape, will also sail great and be maneuverable.

She has a little cuddy for keeping clothes and food dry and we want to make room for portapotti.

 

When I first drew Rugosa a number of years ago it was with a sloop rig: efficient, good looking and easy to handle. In fact the first version had a sliding gunter main so the mast is shorter and easier to set up, plus the weight of the yard at the top of the sail brings the main down quickly when the halliard is let go.

That said, the ketch rig is cuter than a bug’s ear! But it is also practical . . . really!

 One day you are out for a nice sail, lovely day, warm, perfect breeze, but then a squall blows through with pounding rain and heavy gusts turning the surface of water white. You easily and quickly drop the main to sail nicely balanced under jib and mizzen until the little storm blows through, then raise your main again and sail along happily again in the sunshine behind the dark clouds.

If it is a blustery day, put up just the main and sail Rugosa like a big dinghy, tiller in one hand, sheet in the other and she is perfectly balanced. If it is a gusty day, you can put on all sail, then ease the main till it luffs in gusts, sheeting it back in again in the lulls.

The mizzen can also be used for holding the bow into the wind or pushing the stern where you want it, such as dropping off a mooring in a crowded anchorage. Back the mizzen, the stern is pushed around, drop the mooring, sheet in the jib, and off you go. No worries about drifting onto the boat behind you, tiller useless in your hand.

What about those light days when you wish you had a couple more sails to put up? You can put up a genoa or an asymmetrical, like any other boat, but only on a ketch or a yawl can you put up the saltiest of sails, the mizzen staysail!