Sail rigs and how they changed from 1907 to 1932

Benson Gray, Contributing Editor, Falmouth, Maine

The Old Town Canoe Company catalogs show an interesting progression of the standard sailing rigs over the years as shown in the catalog pages attached below. The first sailing canoe was shown in 1907 with tear drop shaped leeboards and no rudder. The next major change was to a more square leeboard with a handle on top in 1913. A larger leg-o-mutton rig was also introduced this year. A square rudder was first offered in 1917 and shown in a small picture in the top, left-hand corner. A shallow triangular rudder was first offered in 1924 with stronger custom made pintle and gudgeon fittings. This rudder was enlarged to a more tear drop shape in 1928. The leeboards changed to a deeper and more rectangular shape in 1932. Many variations of these were also built including ones with twin sails and built in centerboards. Hopefully there will be many of these on The Green at the WCHA Assembly this year!