Sailing the Junk

[MrKellet]

Just picked up my old savegame where I got the Sandbuq, sailed to Emerald Archipelago, and part of the way there glitched through the deck and straight to the bottom of the ocean.

Anywho I sailed around for a couple weeks building the capital to get the Junk and I was looking for some tips on sailing it. I thing I've noticed is a few times when tacking, if I faff it up and end up in iron the wind will push me backwards (duh) but it seemed to catch the sails and continued to push me backwards until I was nearly running with the wind, only changing my angle seemed to correct this.

I'm just looking on some general advice and tips on how to get the most out of the Junk because it clearly doesn't sail like a Sandbuq or Dhow. Also if there are any upgrades worth getting on it (getting it to the shipyard is such a hassle since they removed the springy ropes).

[Flacido Domingo]

One thing about the Junk is that it's very susceptible to heeling if you put on too powerful sails, especially at the very top of the mast, so you need to be careful about balancing as it will tilt and take in water. For example, just because the big gaff sail fits, doesn't mean it's the best option.

On the flip side, if you're not heeling a bit, are you even sailing? (:
You can't sail fast without a bit of tilt.

Another thing to watch is the cargo space. There's plenty, especially when stepping up from a small ship, it will take loads of medium and small crates, all fitting snugly near the sides. Bigger crates and wood, on the other hand, that will be problematic. Two logs in a storm will be a handful to manage. Don't expect to fit as much as you would on the Sandbuq or Brig.

While I don't claim it's the best way to sail L'Jonque, it's what I find the most enjoyable.
I start by bringing it to dock and removing the entirety of the superstructure. In my opinion, it opens up the boat and gives you a lot breathing space.
Sure, that oriental house-on-a-boat feel is gone now, but you now have a viking longboat.

Next thing to go is the foremast, I opt for a proper bowsprit with three staysails. Three jibs really make is sail like a dream, even very close to the wind if you set them to different tightness, at least one will catch wind and propel you forward. Add a decent-sized gaff on the main sail and you now have a schooner setup that will take you everywhere you need to go real fast.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3444984303
Here's an example budget build, straight outta shipyard.

I also like to put a small gaff on the mizzen for stability. Overall, I'm finding the mizzen and the flag on it very useful.

Biggest problem is you can't really make L'Jonque sing with what's available in Emerald Archipelago, so brace yourself to cross the ocean. To get the good gaff sails and the wide squares which work really nice on it. you need to go to Gold Rock City. People who like breaking speed records seem to favor the setup based on one jib and one Fin sail on the main mast, for this you need to go to Fire Fish Lagoon.

Final note on heeling, there's a balancing act (no pun intended) which you can do, if you have some spare coin lying about to invest into a crate of gold, you can position it to set the boat straight if you're worrying about taking in water. Can be done with regular cargo as well, but if you put too much sail on the boat, it's something to try to adjust the center of gravity.

[MrKellet]

Originally posted by Flacido Domingo:

One thing about the Junk is that it's very susceptible to heeling if you put on too powerful sails, especially at the very top of the mast, so you need to be careful about balancing as it will tilt and take in water. For example, just because the big gaff sail fits, doesn't mean it's the best option.

On the flip side, if you're not heeling a bit, are you even sailing? (:
You can't sail fast without a bit of tilt.

Another thing to watch is the cargo space. There's plenty, especially when stepping up from a small ship, it will take loads of medium and small crates, all fitting snugly near the sides. Bigger crates and wood, on the other hand, that will be problematic. Two logs in a storm will be a handful to manage. Don't expect to fit as much as you would on the Sandbuq or Brig.

While I don't claim it's the best way to sail L'Jonque, it's what I find the most enjoyable.
I start by bringing it to dock and removing the entirety of the superstructure. In my opinion, it opens up the boat and gives you a lot breathing space.
Sure, that oriental house-on-a-boat feel is gone now, but you now have a viking longboat.

Next thing to go is the foremast, I opt for a proper bowsprit with three staysails. Three jibs really make is sail like a dream, even very close to the wind if you set them to different tightness, at least one will catch wind and propel you forward. Add a decent-sized gaff on the main sail and you now have a schooner setup that will take you everywhere you need to go real fast.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3444984303
Here's an example budget build, straight outta shipyard.

I also like to put a small gaff on the mizzen for stability. Overall, I'm finding the mizzen and the flag on it very useful.

Biggest problem is you can't really make L'Jonque sing with what's available in Emerald Archipelago, so brace yourself to cross the ocean. To get the good gaff sails and the wide squares which work really nice on it. you need to go to Gold Rock City. People who like breaking speed records seem to favor the setup based on one jib and one Fin sail on the main mast, for this you need to go to Fire Fish Lagoon.

Final note on heeling, there's a balancing act (no pun intended) which you can do, if you have some spare coin lying about to invest into a crate of gold, you can position it to set the boat straight if you're worrying about taking in water. Can be done with regular cargo as well, but if you put too much sail on the boat, it's something to try to adjust the center of gravity.

Thanks for the tips, I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to to make a bit of the Brig style set up, replacing the front two Junk (lugsails) with square sails and a healthy number of staysails for sailing close to the wind. My current plan is to finish building my capital and my ship's outfit before I make a run to Kicia Bay where I'll probably put the game down for awhile then come back later to probably buy the new ship there and likewise sail back to Gold Rock. Therefore I use the predominant trade winds to get me from point A to B.
Does that sound like a solid plan for my sails or would that maybe hurt me in the long run?

[Flacido Domingo]

That's probably personal preference, but I prefer the stock lugs over junk squares, which I am not a big fan of anyway. Other squares work fine on this boat in my opinion (I particularly like wide squares, but brig squares are fine too), you'll still have to make an ocean voyage to get those.

There's plenty of rigs to explore with this ship, if you like triangles, you can mix the jibs with a lateen on the main sail. A brigantine-style of rig is also achievable, although in my opinion you need to be careful with topsails because they tend to tip the boat too much, depending on the weather. In any case, most of this won't be available to you until you at least take her to Gold Rock, which should be quite comfortable. Personally, I like to have decent upwind performance (perhaps to a fault), because running with the wind is pretty much always good.

All in all L'Jonque is a pleasure boat which can take you all over the world with good speed,i t's not really a high capacity hauler, but there's no wrong way to sail in this game so long as you keep the wet side outside.