MIZZEN STAYSAILS

[bob mitchell]

One of the great attributes of a ketch is the different sail combinations available to match the weather conditions. Clyde got me interested enough in the mizzen stays'l for me to pull together a little info. Since I have limited experience with mizzen stays'ls (none) I am simply going to post comments and information provided by others. The first photo is of Adele's mizzen stays'l with comments by the captain.

"She is a ketch and is therefore also more versatile, when reducing sail in hard weather, and in light winds it is easy to set a mizzen staysail, when reaching or running. The mizzen staysail substantially increases the sail area, but is still easy to set and handle. (Adele) Reaching, Adèle can also carry a mizzen staysail of 500 m2. This is a very useful sail and is easy to set and furl. It substantially improves performance in light wind and we expect to carry it quite often. It can be worn in anything from 70 degrees apparent in up to 20 knots on a beam reach and downwind in up to 28 knots of true wind speed.
The mizzen staysail is designed as a reaching sail and is cut relatively flat." This last comment, about the cut of the sail, implys that the mizzen stays'l can be cut fuller if downwind is the primary use.
What I like about the staysail, since I am basically a solo or perpetually short handed
sailor is the rigging. The tack connects on the weather side of the deck near the main mast (arrangements vary see diagrams and photos), the clew at the end of the mizzen boom, and the head, of course, is hoisted up the front of the mizzen mast. Two running stays are rigged from the mizzen mast top to the back of the boat, but only the weather side is used at any given time. So not only is the sail light weight, but also is simply set in a relatively sedate area of the boat. The following diagram from Clyde's Newporter Shipyard site is worth a thousand words.

(you can right click on this diagram and save to your pictures, where you can magnify for clarity) Clyde's site Newporter Shipyard also has a complete rigging setup list for a Newporter stays'l. Clyde says " The backstays are used one at a time. On port tack (booms off to the starboard) the port backstay is used, therefore the boom has all the room it needs. The starboard backstay is hooked by the mizzen upper shroud chainplate. Here’s the cost of flying the mizzen stays’l: while going about, the sheet must be removed from the sail and passed to the opposite side, the tack pendant and the halyard also must change sides (in short, the sail is taken down and then reset). The process would go like this: take down the mizzen stays’l, come about and set the ‘other’ sails to suit, and then reset the stays’l. This sail sheets on the lee with tack pendant and the halyard are to the weather."
"The sheet is normally runs from the clew of the sail to a snatch block hanging on a boom bail (same as used on the main stays’l boom) at the outboard end of the mizzen boom, through a double block (that replaces the single block for the mizzen sheet) hanging under the gooseneck fitting fastened to the mast then down to the top action winch and cleat on the aft face of the mast. "
I found the diagram from Spurr's (1983) Upgrading The Crusing Sailboat to be helpful.

Other references in Newporter 40 literature to the mizzen stays'l are so numerous one has to assume at one time they were common place. Gerald Muffley posted "Drawings of Sails" on an early Forum, which are four excellent diagrams of sail combinations for different conditions by Louis Larsen (whom Clyde said was a Newporter sailmaker back when) which show the mizzen stays'l uses.
In Volume 2, No. 2, of the Newporter Eagles (see last Eagles post on this site) Mr. Collins, owner of the famous Newporter 40 Leprechuan, discusses his racing record from 1961 till 1964. In the article he mentions his mizzen staysail as having 500 square feet, as well as his 1000 square foot spinniker. There are also a couple low quality xerox photos of Newporters carrying mizzen staysails.

And finally I end with a photo of Marion Seamen on board Newporter 40 Etiole with all sails set, including the mizzen stays'l. Note that you can only see part of the mizzen stays'l, the rest is hidden behind the mizzen sail and the mule.