How to Make Chinese Lug Sails

A lug sail, also known as a sampan rig or junk rig sail, is used on Chinese-style sailboats known as junks. Chinese junks have been around since the Han Dynasty (around the 2nd century) and are still being used in locations in eastern Asia, such as Hong Kong. The lug sail is noteworthy for its segmented look. There are five different types of rigging for lug sails, depending on the size and number of sails on the vessel: the catboat, ketch, yawl, schooner and ship. You can make a Chinese lug sail with sail material wood for the battens and heavy-duty thread.

Things You'll Need

  • Sail material
  • Bricks or other heavy objects
  • Measuring tape
  • Yardstick
  • Scissors
  • Thread
  • Needles or portable sewing machine
  • Nylon packcloth
  • Duct tape
  • Wooden batten material
  • Rough-grit sandpaper
  • Power drill
  • Screws
  • Flat head screwdriver
  • D-Rings
  • Batten straps
  • Grommets (optional)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Create a sail plan based on the type of sail you are going to make for your boat or refer to a plan that is already prepared. Decide how much camber you need to have based on the center of effort in your sail plan. Calculate the needed rounding to achieve the camber for each panel; the camber will be created by the size of the darts you create in the sail.

    • 2

      Lay a tarp on a flat surface so you can place your sail fabric, such as polytarp, on top of it. Place your sail fabric in an area where it can lay flat on the ground. Anchor the edges with bricks or other heavy objects.

    • 3

      Measure the sail using a measuring tape to determine where the darts (long triangular folds) in the sail will go (the darts are used to set up the camber in the sail). Mark where the darts should go using a marking pen and a yardstick. Cut the sail shape using heavy-duty scissors, allowing for extra room for the battens, yard and gurney flap.

    • 4

      Sew the darts into the sail using heavy-duty thread that is the same color as the sail, either by hand or with a portable sewing machine. Use large stitches when creating the darts. Do not cut off the finished darts, as they will be folded down between the batten halves, which will result in strengthening the seam line.

    • 5

      Reinforce the luff, leech and gurney flap using nylon packcloth or other strong material with a tight weave. Attach the packcloth with a row of stitches on both edges of the sail.

    • 6

      Place a strip of duct tape, preferably the same color as the sail material, along each batten line and on the head and foot of the sail in order to give the yard and battens a better grip on the sail.

    • 7

      Sand any sharp edges on the battens and yard with rough-grit sandpaper. Drill holes into the screw side of each batten using a power drill. Flatten the batten halves together, sandwiching the sail along the batten lines, using 1-inch flat head wood screws and a screwdriver.

    • 8

      Insert the battens and the yard into the darts on the sail. Place the best looking battens on the upper part of the sail where there will be the most stress.

    • 9

      Attach D-rings for the lazyjacks to the bottom batten piece with short pieces of strap connected by batten screws. Connect the yard halves together using 1-1/2 inch flat head wood screws. Place the yard between a 1-1/2 inch strip sewn at the head of the sail.

    • 10

      Install grommets (or D-rings) on the edge of the gurney flap to allow for sheetlet attachment points.