Extreme mast rake in old schooner designs...

[Brian Duff]

I'd say that all boats weren't rigged this way because there are so many disadvantages, and runners really aren't that bad either.

Some negatives of aft raked spars are - The boom swings to centerline in light conditions, destroying sail drive; masts so steeply raked tend to develop a bow forward as the middle of the mast falls down (aft) with gravity(no joke, look around!); masts raked so far aft harm windward performance and lessens overall sail area for a given mast legnth; masts raked so far aft are a pain to climb and work on, and step; masts raked so far aft are no so pretty to some ; i am sure there are more.

You want to see really steeply raked masts check out our Pride of Balitmore II.


thats now 4 cents....