Staysails

Marin said:

The two terms I have heard and read and that I use for the sail in question are "steady sail" and "riding sail."

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Marin, that is what a GB has. The primary purpose is slowing the period of roll or weather cocking the vessel at anchor. It would always fly aft of the main if that's all you got. If you have a mizzen as well the steadying sail flies off the main and the riding sail off the mizzen. A staysail always flies forward of the mainmast and always inside another sail, be it another staysail, jib, Genoa, etc. On smaller boats they are used to breakup the sailplan to make it easier to handle, which is a feature hardly needed on a trawlers whose sails, if any, are dinky.

Greetings,
The ONLY experience I've had with a steadying sail is an aprox. 30 sq.' "fabric" I flew from a mast on the FB and amidships of a 34' Marine Trader DC and the ONLY time I noticed any effect was with a following and quartering steady wind of aprox. 25 knts. The wind induced a heel of 10 degrees or so and seemed to dampen the roll. The BAD thing was the boom impeded access to the cooler where all the cold drinks were stored and the mate kept banging her head on it....enough said.
The GOOD thing about it was I could yell and scream "right of way" to all our boating buddies arising in nasty replies and a substantial amount of hilarity.
So I suppose there IS some advantage under specific conditions and one could always hold a cold container of drink to the newly induced cranial topography.

RT Firefly said:

The GOOD thing about it was I could yell and scream "right of way" to all our boating buddies...

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I think, but I'd have to go look it up, that if a sailboat has its sails up but is also under power that the basic powerboat stand-on, give-way rules apply.

Delfin--- I understand your explanation, thanks. I've posted this shot that I took in Maine before, but I'm assuming that this would be considered a steady sail?

Greetings,
Mr. Farin. You're absolutely correct. If a boat is motor-sailing, it is considered a power boat. THAT's what made it all the more hilarious.

Aha! I get it. Slow on the uptake today.

Marin said:

I think, but I'd have to go look it up, that if a sailboat has its sails up but is also under power that the basic powerboat stand-on, give-way rules apply.

Delfin--- I understand your explanation, thanks. I've posted this shot that I took in Maine before, but I'm assuming that this would be considered a steady sail?

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Marin, since they are at anchor, the sail is a "riding sail". If they were underway, it would be a "steadying sail", although with the mast so far aft, it would more like be a "pain in the ass sail", a nautical term not yet discussed.

A pain would be right. But as I'm sure you know and as it was explained to me by the owner of the boat pictured these masts and sails are made to be quickly set up once the boat is on a mooring or at anchor. They use them to keep the boats pointed into the winds, rain, and waves. My guess is that, like the mast on our saiing dingy, the mast pictured comes apart into a couple of sections for stowage. Quite a few of the boats moored in this bay had them when I took this shot.

Marin said:

A pain would be right. But as I'm sure you know and as it was explained to me by the owner of the boat pictured these masts and sails are made to be quickly set up once the boat is on a mooring or at anchor. They use them to keep the boats pointed into the winds, rain, and waves. My guess is that, like the mast on our saiing dingy, the mast pictured comes apart into a couple of sections for stowage. Quite a few of the boats moored in this bay had them when I took this shot.

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I wonder if that sail doesn't help them in fishing for whatever they're going after. It might be useful to be weather cocked while doing their work. Know what they're fishing for? I don't see a puller....

It's a lobsterboat. The pot puller on most of them is on the starboard side next to the helm and that side of the pilothouse is open. Occasionally one sees a lobsterboat with the pot puller on the port side. And on Prince Edward Island and perhaps otehr areas in the Maritimes and Maine the port side side of the pilothouse has a hinged side and a sliding aft bulkhead so te pilothouse can be closed of when the boat is running in crummy weather.

My first shot is a new port-puller lobsterboat in Maine, second shot is a PEI boat with the aft and starboard sides of the pilothouse opened, third shot is a PEI boat with them closed.

The pot puller if you don't know already is the small powered drum next to the helm. In this position the fellow running the boat can also pull the pots up.

The boat in the riding sail shot has a closed-off aft bulkhead. I don't know if it opens nor do I know if the starboard side of the pilothouse is open or can be closed off, too.

Fishing trawlers used them:

Wanderbird has one plus twin headsails (jibs, reachers, assymetricals? What would you call them?)

Marin, thanks. Perhaps the sail is useful for holding the angle into the wind while pulling pot and that is why some boats have it. I suppose it could serve as a get home engine in a pinch as well.

dwhatty said:

Wanderbird has one plus twin headsails (jibs, reachers, assymetricals? What would you call them?)

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I've always admired Wanderbird. You named them correctly - twin headsails, in this case on roller furling. Reachers are just full bellied headsails that don't pull well, but catch a fair amount of wind when reaching - the apparent wind 90 - 160 degrees off the nose. Assymetrical spinnakers are also good reaching sails, but only work when the wind is over 120 degrees and work great when running downwind. What Wanderbird has is what I had on my sailboat for running. Very easy to balance and that rig kept the boat tracking really well in apparent winds up to 35 knots or so.