The Story of a Jib and a Balanced Lug

With Musings on a Lateen.

There was once a lonely Lug who didnt know what he was missing until he met Jib. He sailed to windward, off the beam and dead down, all with apparent equanimity.

Then one day Jib came along and spiced up his life. Now he had someone to get hung up on. Jib liked to languish on his yard and get tangled in his boom. Just the life for a Lug.
Jib had many fine qualities, but fast tacking was not one of them. More like a perpetual holiday for Jib.

Doryman has gotten used to having both of them around. Jib and Lug work well together. The occasional tangle of sheets, boom, leach and yard bother no one.

"Faerings arent suppose to have Jibs". "A balanced Lug and a Jib wont work on the same Boat.".

Let people talk. They are just jealous.

Thanks to Jamie Orr for the photos.

The inspiration for this sail combination came to me from David Oliver of the excellent blog, Lutes which celebrates the traditional fishing vessels of the Balearic Islands. The Balearic sailing rigs developed as a way to facilitate work on deck, while offering performance for navigation. David reminds us it is important to view these rigs as a tool for fishing to understand how they are used. There are types of working craft from around the world with provision for the same or similar sail combinations.

The lutes employ a lateen rig, yet by adding a jib far forward, windward performance is improved.

The addition of a mizzen on a retractable boomkin gives more sail options, not the least of which is the ability to strike that huge main, allowing more room to work. 

While the lateen can be mounted far enough forward to act as a jib and main combination, the option of a jib plus main is more versatile.


The balanced lug rig is very similar to the lateen in function. The ancient lateen is possibly the most beautiful sail in the world.


Davids blog is written in Catalan, but for those of us who have trouble with that complicated language, he offers a translator and we thank him for that! He owns a beautiful lute and its a treat to see one under sail. I recommend a long visit to Lutes.

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