Iris 2 Sailing Dinghy
Iris 2, just to differentiate her from just Iris, is the same Iris hull with a changed sailing rigging. The initial project is a lugger catboat. Iris 2 became a sloop rigged lateen. The mast was stepped further back, the main became a lateen with an almost vertical yard, so vertical that it’s almost a bermudan. To balance the boat, a small jib was propped on a stay. The mast is short and unstayed.
The first variant was fun and simple to sail, but archaic and somehow sluggish on the water, with relatively poor upwind performance.
The sloop rigged vessel, due to its vertical yard, behaves almost like a Bermuda rigged dinghy, having better upwind performance, better agility and better balance, being able to be sailed hands off, only by balancing the sails.
It comes in two variants: at 3.5sq m total sail area, a configuration designed for children, and at 5 sq m total sail area, a configuration designed for adults. Each configuration is capable of taking any of the above categories, the 3.5 being sluggish and underpowered for adults and the 5 being quite springy for the children, both gravitating around a load of maximum 130kg (over 130kg, even the 5 sq m becomes underpowered).
The boat is not designed to race but to learn sailing and have fun, both the 3.5 and the 5 being well within the powers of an adult or a well built teenager.
For small children Iris 2 is like a larger, more comfortable, and more powerful Optimist.
Steps to follow for the Iris 2 upgrade
Step the mast at 85 cm from the bow. Use the method described in the Iris Building Manual
The mast is 3m long and 6cm in diameter
Yards dimensions : 4 cm diameter soft wood without knots
The main boom should be lifted enough to clear the heads of the sailors when siting on the floor of the boat.
Use small pulleys to pass the control lines and the halyard.
Sail dimensions (flat cut) – cut 3 pieces of rope at the exact dimensions described below. Pin them on your favorite sail material. After pinning 2 points of the triangle, just arrange the ropes until they intersect at the third point. By using this method you don’t have to calculate the angles. Remove the ropes and unite the obtained points with chalk lines. Cut the sails out.
