Customer Reviews

The Chinese Sailing Rig: Designing and Building Your Own

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After reading pages of information about Chinese lug sails (junk rig) on the web and still finding lots of gaps in the details, I ordered this thin book. Despite it's size, it contains a wealth of information.

The only areas I found really lacking are in mast design (especially since unstayed masts are outside the norm of most design books) and information and pictures of actual boats.
I can't imagine going from a stayed mast design to an unstayed mast without professional help, but it would be nice to have more information regarding design.

The photos and descriptions of boats are limited to somewhat similar boats. The critical information for most people would be identical hulls with different rigs, and detailed closeups of dealing with lines. Photos of properly trimmed sails (on various points of sail) would be nice for those attempting to sail a junk rig for the first time.

Complaints are minor, and am quite pleased with the overall presentation and amount of information.

Overall, book is worth the money for those wanting to go beyond simple curiousity to doing it. Inspired enough to want to attempt a junk rig on a sailing dinghy (in progress)

The Chinese Sailing Rig: Designing And Building Your Own by Derek Van Loan and Don Haggarty is a thoroughly user-friendly guide to constructing a seaworthy boat just like the ones that have served the Chinese throughout history. Numerous black-and-white sketches clearly illustrate the individual steps vital for proper construction. Every step in the guide is "practical" in that it has been successfully done, and can be performed by any lay reader willing to invest some time and effort into learning the art of construction. The Chinese Sailing Rig is a highly recommended addition to nautical history and design reference collections.