Phinisi Sails and Rigging: Two Masts, Seven Sails Explained

The phinisi rig carries two masts and, when fully set, traditionally seven sails: three headsails on a long forestay running to the bowsprit, a large mainsail and topsail on the taller forward mast, and a mizzen with its own topsail aft. The layout reads as ketch-like to Western eyes — the forward mast is the taller — and it is this rig, not the hull, that the word pinisi originally names.

This page breaks the rig down sail by sail and explains how it is actually used on modern charter vessels. For how the hull under it is built, see phinisi boat building.

The Seven Sails

A distinctive habit of the traditional rig: the sails often furl against the standing rigging rather than dropping to the deck, so a phinisi at anchor shows bundled canvas aloft — one of the silhouette’s signatures.

Two Masts, Unequal Heights

The main mast stands forward and taller — on a 30–40 m hull it commonly rises 25 m or more — with the mizzen noticeably shorter aft. In Western taxonomy that mast hierarchy defines a ketch, not a schooner, which is why the “Sulawesi schooner” label is loose; the full argument is in phinisi vs schooner. Traditional masts were built as tripods or bipods of heavy timber; modern charter builds use solid laminated spars, steel wire standing rigging and modern chainplates through the ironwood structure.

How Modern Charter Phinisi Use the Rig

Honestly: as motor sailers. Engines provide primary propulsion and schedule-keeping; sails are set when wind, course and guest experience align — typically the beam reaches of the dry-season monsoon. On a set-piece afternoon under canvas a large phinisi will make 4–7 knots in a fresh breeze, heeling gently; the rest of the time the rig stands as working reserve and as the vessel’s identity. On traditionally built boats the rig is structurally real: masts, stays and sails are maintained and inspected like any other ship system, a routine covered in phinisi maintenance.

Fleet examples make the point. The 2021-built Natural Phinisi carries the full two-masted profile on a 3-deck hull; larger ships such as the 52.5 m LASHA scale the same plan up to flagship size — see the fleet directory for the documented list.

Reading a Rig for Authenticity

• Bowsprit length: a real pinisi rig carries a long, heavily stayed bowsprit for its three headsails — a stub bowsprit usually signals a decorative rig.
• Mast proportion: forward mast taller; equal or aft-taller masts mean the builder followed another tradition.
• Running rigging: working halyards, sheets and blocks with wear on them tell you the sails actually fly.
• Sail stowage: canvas furled aloft against the rigging is the traditional practice; bare poles year-round suggest the sails exist for the brochure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do phinisi really sail with all seven sails?

Historically yes — engineless trading pinisi worked the archipelago on canvas alone. Modern charter vessels set a practical subset (typically the mainsail, mizzen and one or two headsails) in favourable conditions.

How fast is a phinisi under sail?

A working traditional pinisi made passage speeds of a few knots; a modern charter phinisi motor-sails at 7–10 knots on engine and can add 4–7 knots of honest sailing in a fresh beam wind, depending on hull and load.

Why is the forward mast taller if it’s called a schooner?

Because the name is a colonial-era shorthand, not a technical classification. By mast hierarchy the layout is ketch-like; by heritage it is simply the pinisi rig.

Are the masts original timber?

On modern builds masts are laminated timber engineered for the loads, stepped through the deck to the keel structure. Traditional tripod masts survive mainly on smaller working boats.

Related Reading

• Phinisi vs schooner: what separates the two
• Phinisi boat building: shell-first, stage by stage
• Phinisi specifications: dimensions, GT and cabins
• More rig and specification notes on the blog