Next the question of the companionway hatch. The drawing stated that it should be in the center of the forward cockpit bulkhead but Ann and I had not decided which type of rig we would have.
To explain, in her book “Voyaging on a small income” Annie Hills had raved about Junk Rig and how good it was for short handed sailors. In fact her yacht “Badger” was junk rigged and her book gave me a good insight into sailing with this rig.
ll the lines are led back to the cockpit. No climbing around on deck, no sail changes and no storing large sails down below to mention but a few pluses for this ancient well proven rig. Many people will be mumbling about windward performance etc. so later I will be devoting a full page on this subject.
I commissioned Sunbird Marine who specialise in the design of Junk Rig yachts and Rigs to convert our ketch sail plan to a schooner junk rig sail plan. Cost for this conversion was £800 and within a few days I knew where I could place the companionway hatch.