Defining The Rig
The lugsail is an evolved version of the classical square sail. In both rigs, the upper side of the sail is attached to a spar, the yard, which is hoisted up the mast by a rope known as the halyard. The lower side of the sail is held in place by a separate set of ropes, the sheet and tack downhaul.
The main difference between the lugsail and square is the location of the yard in relation to the mast. A square sail is lifted with the halyard in the middle of the yard, lifting the sail so it lies evenly on either side of the mast. In the lugger, the halyard is attached much closer to one end or the other of the yard, and when lifted the majority of the sail will lie fore or aft of the mast. Since the luff of the sail is shorter than the leech, the after end of the yard is peaked up by the combination of the upward force of the halyard and the downward force of the tack downhaul. This allows the mast to be shorter than the sail, the peaked yard making up the difference in height.
The lugsail is somewhat similar to the gaff rig as well, which also uses a spar— the gaff— which is hung at an angle to the mast. The difference is that the gaff is mounted such that it lies entirely behind the mast, as opposed to both in front and behind as in the lugger. While the gaff rig is "cleaner" in that the mast does not interfere with the sail, it requires more complex rigging and handling than the lugger.
Read more about this topic: Lugger
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