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Construction[edit]

Background[edit]

The Dutch were the major ship-builders of Northern Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. They were innovators of design (e.g. the Fluyt) and technology (the windmill driven sawmill). They did, though, use the "bottom-based" construction sequence, which is a shell-first system used with planking that is laid edge to edge.^[a] This technique was used on the cog and some argue is a Romano-Celtic tradition.

Gunter rig is a configuration of sail and spars used in sailing. It is a fore and aft sail set abaft (behind) the mast. The lower half of the luff (front) of the sail is attached to the mast, and the upper half is fastened to a spar which is approximately vertical and reaches above the top of the mast. To the purist, this spar is called a "yard", but it is common for some to call it a "gaff" (as in Gaff rig). The overall shape of a gunter sail is roughly triangular, so having a superficial resemblance to Bermuda rig.

A gunter sail may also be called a "gunter lug" - a name which suggests developmental origins from increasing the angle of a high peaked standing lug.

Gunter rig is generally used in small sailing craft. One important advantage is that the shorter mast required usually fits within the hull when unstepped, together with the boom and yard. This is helpful for a dinghy that is towed behind a car, stored in a garage, or used as a tender for a larger boat. The performance to windward comes close to that of Bermuda rig.

There are a number of variations of gunter rig: these include whether the sail is hoisted with one or two halyards, and the ease with which reefs can be taken in.

Developmental History[edit]

Origin Terminology Use on Seine Later technical developments ? Kenneth Gibbs, Sheperton who was building gunter rigged dinghies in the late 1940s and 1950s Mirror dinghy

An early form of gunter rig was the sliding gunter. The lower part of the yard has 2 metal fittings ("gunter irons") with metal hoops that slide up and down the mast when the sail is hoisted and lowered. These keep the yard on the same vertical alignment as the mast. The single halyard is attached to the top fitting (or fed through it to the heel of the yard). This arrangement makes reefing relatively simple, with the yard kept close to the mast throughout the process. An inherent risk is the gunter irons jamming on the mast. The yard should detach from the top iron and hinge on the lower one so that the sail may be stowed. A variation of this (using parrels, not iron hoops) is used today on the Drascombe Lugger.

A development from the sliding gunter, found on sloops raced on the River Seine circa 1870—1890, was to use two halyards. The (lower) throat halyard is fastened to the heel of the yard, where a single gunter iron connects the yard to the mast. It incorporates a gooseneck that allows the yard to pivot away from the mast. The upper part of the yard is hoisted up to the mast by the other halyard (the "peak halyard"), which fastens to a traveller that runs on a wire span along the top of the yard. Once the sail is hoisted, it can be reefed by slacking the throat halyard and leaving the peak halyard untouched, as the traveller allows the yard to slide down parallel to the mast.

Configurations[edit]

Sliding gunter Single halyard 2 halyards

Example of use[edit]

???conflicts with history?????

Notes[edit]

^ The construction of timber-planked vessels can be split into three overall groups: shell first, frame first and framing first. A common example of shell first is clinker construction, where the planks of the hull are shaped and joined in an overlapping manner – then the reinforcing ribs and floors are added. Another example is the edge-to-edge joining, by tongues fitting into mortises of the plank edges, as used in the Roman classical period. Carvel construction is a frame first method, where the shape of the hull is determined by the frames which are set up on the keel, with the planking being applied over the frames.
Bottom-based construction uses planks that are shaped and then fitted edge to edge with temporary cleats to hold them in place. Once the bottom of the hull is constructed, the floors are fastened to the plank shell, then the frames are continued up, piece by piece (each piece is called a "futtock"), with planks being added as the framing of the hull rises above the bottom. Hence a bottom-based building sequence has the superficial appearance of carvel construction, whilst actually being built by a very different method.

[1] The construction of timber-planked vessels can be split into three overall groups: shell first, frame first and framing first. A common example of shell first is clinker construction, where the planks of the hull are shaped and joined in an overlapping manner – then the reinforcing ribs and floors are added. Another example is the edge-to-edge joining, by tongues fitting into mortises of the plank edges, as used in the Roman classical period. Carvel construction is a frame first method, where the shape of the hull is determined by the frames which are set up on the keel, with the planking being applied over the frames.
Bottom-based construction uses planks that are shaped and then fitted edge to edge with temporary cleats to hold them in place. Once the bottom of the hull is constructed, the floors are fastened to the plank shell, then the frames are continued up, piece by piece (each piece is called a "futtock"), with planks being added as the framing of the hull rises above the bottom. Hence a bottom-based building sequence has the superficial appearance of carvel construction, whilst actually being built by a very different method.

[a]