Is it possible to convert the Hitia 17 Sprit Rig to a Wingsail Rig?
Quite a few people have converted the Spritsail rig into the Tiki gaff rig. This is actually only a small change as the shape and cut of the Mainsail doesn’t actually change. They have just replaced the sprit with a gaff. Personally James prefers the sprit rig on this boat. She is small enough that the sprit is light and easy to handle. The spritrig has the advantage that you can brail the sail (“geien”) – very good when sailing up to a beach and needing to take off sail quickly. For the gaff rig there is also the complication that you need a longer mast and you need two halyards to hoist the sail. If you already have a sail, we advise you to use exactly the same sail shape for the gaff main as for the sprit main. You only need to add a pocket along the top edge of the sail for the gaff. In order to be able to fit the halyard blocks high enough to peak the gaff, the mast needs to be longer, so you will have to fit an extension to the mast. This extension can be thinner than the main pa
