Here is a little additional information to the picture of Manfred Curry’s Aero, a 20 square meter racing dinghy or also known as Z-Jolle (with capital Z) or 20sqm Rennjolle built around 1928.
At one point, Aero’s mast was made from two pieces, joined at the top and standing on the sidedecks where shrouds would usually be located. This mast looked more or less like a capital “A”, and the boom extended forward of it, with the foresail attached to the forward extension of it. The luff of the mainsail was attached to a streamlined profile with a wire running from the mast’s top to the deck and this wire was also the axle for the boom. The tack of the foresail would rotate windward when the mainsail moved leeward. It was called Schwingrigg – swingrig. It is now known as Aero-rig, guess why!
Later, a conventional mast with a gaff-rig was installed. (I guess that eliminating the gap between foresail and deck increased sail efficiency). If you look at the back of Aero, you can see two flippers, which functioned as a brake! Curry invented this brake to give him more tactical options at mark roundings and starts.
– Anarchist Laszlo
