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Hokule'a in 2009, with crab claw sails where the upper spars also function as fixed masts. Another evolution of the basic crab claw sail is the conversion of the upper spar into a fixed mast. In Polynesia, this gave the sail more height while also making it narrower, giving it a shape reminiscent of crab pincers (hence "crab claw" sail). This ...
The simplest form of the crab claw sail (also with the widest distribution) is composed of a triangular sail supported by two light spars (sometimes erroneously called "sprits") on each side. They were originally mastless, and the entire assembly was taken down when the sails were lowered.
A mast-aft rig is a sailboat sail-plan that uses a single mast set in the aft half of the hull. The mast supports fore-sails that may consist of a single jib, multiple staysails, or a crab claw sail. The mainsail is either small or completely absent. Mast-aft rigs are uncommon, but are found on a few custom, and production sailboats. [1]
The crab claw configuration used on these vessels is a low-stress rig, which can be built with simple tools and low-tech materials, but it is extremely fast. On a beam reach, it may be the fastest simple rig. Another evolution of the basic crab claw sail is the conversion of the upper spar into a fixed mast.
The fore-and-aft rig is believed to have been developed independently by the Austronesian peoples some time after 1500 BC with the invention of the crab claw sail.It is suggested that it evolved from a more primitive V-shaped "square" sail with two spars that come together at the hull.
Sail plans may include lateen, also known as crab-claw or half-crab-claw, Latin, or triangular. Hull formats include catamarans, doubles, proa, and singles. Presence of a beam spanning a double hull is optional. Likewise, hull end forms and shapes vary greatly. Masts for these type of sailboats can be made with one or two poles.
Sail plan of what Taumako builders call a tealolili (a smaller, simpler design than tepukei), The simplistic image below was drawn from photos of the Maunga Nefe and the Vaka Taumako Project. It shows a symmetrical double-ended hull, and long-armed claw sail, with windward and leeward booms.
Sail components include the features that define a sail's shape and function, plus its constituent parts from which it is manufactured. A sail may be classified in a variety of ways, including by its orientation to the vessel (e.g. fore-and-aft) and its shape, (e.g. (a)symmetrical, triangular, quadrilateral, etc.).