Help identifying possible sail??

[teqmod]

Hi All,

I am going through the boat I purchased and came across this. At first I thought it was some sort of sail but now I am not so sure as it is a rectangle. It has two metal poles at one end and is sewn together down the center. The metal poles are approx. 3-4 feet in length each and I would guess the length of material is ~20ft. Anyone have any idea what this is?

 

[jibes138]

a tent to go over your boom and keep you and the boat cool in the hot sun. The split in the back is for your backstay. The poles add rigidity to the aft end so it isn't flapping around in the wind.

 

[FastOlson]

Looks like a nice sun shade covering the boom to the end of the cockpit. If too large for your boat, perhaps purchased from a larger boat at some swap meet? At the right price, the po figured he'd modify it to fit?
(I did this for our prior boat, and later sold that well-used and well-enjoyed sun shade to someone else who was planning to modify it for their boat.)

 

[Justin_NSA]

Your viking longboat sails!

 

[teqmod]

Thanks for the quick responses. I guess I will fool with it to see how it fits. Being a smaller boat I did not think of this as the clearance is pretty low.

Your viking longboat sails!

Excellent, I was thinking of converting it a square sailed vessel!!

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

would look something like this

 

[agprice22]

+1 on the boom tent! One end may wrap around the mast while the other wraps around the back stay.