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I don't think shunting buys that much. The crab claw sail is still limited in how close it can sail to the wind. It's always going to be easier sailing when t
by curtis 8y ago
I don't think shunting buys that much. The crab claw sail is still limited in how close it can sail to the wind. It's always going to be easier sailing when the wind is favorable. And it turns out that in some parts of some years, the winds are more favorable for sailing east in the South Pacific. Of course sooner or later the prevailing winds will return, and then it will be easier to get home.
- gerbilly 8y agoIIRC shunting meant that they could keep the outrigger down wind at all times, which is supposedly more efficient than sailing an outrigger canoe 'the wrong way' half the time.
- curtis 8y agoI had to look "shunting" up -- I'd heard of it before but then forgotten. The big oceangoing voyaging canoes like Hokule'a are double canoes so they are symmetric, unlike outrigger canoes. There still might be an advantage to shunting depending on what kind of sail the canoe is using. According to Wikipedia, some types of lateen sails (of which the crab claw sail is a variant[1]) suffer from a "bad tack" due to the position of the mast[2], which shunting would address. I don't think hokule'a is shunted, but I'm not actually clear on that. Hokule'a isn't a perfect replica anyway since it's built of modern materials. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_claw_sail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_claw_sail [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateen (look for "bad tack")
- gerbilly 8y agoHokulea is not shunted, but it is a decent replica of a double hulled Polynesian ocean canoe.[1] The craft that were shunted were the smaller outrigger canoes. [1] When it is rigged with lateen sails. It often is rigged with a Bermuda sail.