We found the foresail steadied us dead downwind as effectively as with the wind on the quarter.  We would usually have two panels up with the fan, occasionally just one and, of course in heavy conditions, it would be reefed accordingly.  As you say, a very comfortable ride, with no problem with your cup (or glass) tipping, sliding or spilling.

I have visited the River Bourgeois, having had the extreme good fortune to be a friend of a friend of Farley Mowat.  (I had dinner with him and his wife - one of the most stimulating evenings of my life.)  It will be a grand place to have as a land base.  There is a lot of mud there: I'm sorry that you managed to find some of the rocks.  We covered our keel with epoxy and cloth and it was the chipping on the sharp edge that bothered us.  It was partly because we wanted to be able to dry out on a regular basis without worrying, that we went for the wing keel.  We also wanted to get our draught back to 4ft 6ins.

Yes, Newfoundland is magic.  I have cruised there several times and am presently planning to join Trevor for a month or so, in NS/NL next summer.

I don't see why a trim tab would overreact with a balanced rudder, so long as you got the proportions correct, but as you seem to be perfectly happy with Reggy, why would you bother?  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.  You obviously don't belong to the school of perpetual 'improvers'.  How relaxing that must be!  Nor, bless him, does Alan.  He loves Zebedee and apart from throwing caution to the winds and ignoring everyone who told him otherwise, by varnishing all his teak (which he has never regretted); and making new sails, I don't think he has done anything substantially to alter the boat.

I heard from Alan, about a month ago, a rather truncated piece:

I've met up with Labarque in Dewhurst bay and they've very kindly towed Z up the river to the interior.There is no flood tide only current against.Incredible scenery with misty mornings, amazing sunsets,and fireflies at night.There are very few locals  or tourists and no plastic debris,amazing in SE Asia!  We've seen lots of Macaques,rhinoceros, hornbills, proboscis monkeys  with their huge noses and potbellies. We saw a wild b

Whatever the wild b was, I hope it didn't eat him!

To be fair, Zebedee's hull didn't crack -   I think a joint worked and the epoxy/glass  sheathing split.  There are some timbers in her construction which seem a bit big for epoxy construction. There's a lot to be said for building your own!  Once, anyway.

The Tom Thumb sounds an interesting little ship and her junk sister seems to go well.  I have had no experience with  sliding the sail back and forth, but remember some interest in the idea a few years ago.  Broaching is rarely a problem with junk rig, as long as you reef soon enough.  It is the only rig on which I have sailed, where I shake reefs out when turning to windward, but I suspect you don't do this if you have a cambered sail.
Running under Bermudian (or gaff) main is a bit nerve-wracking, even with a preventer. This downwind thread continues ...

Annie: The balancing of the sails, and even the subtlety of the sail construction contribute to the way the boat behaves. Adding wider tabling to the sails, for example, made the sails pull better. This made Easy Go sail faster. Just a little fluttering on the sails made for a slower boat. 

Great to see discussion on the many ways we all find to get our boats safely to the end of a passage. I particularly enjoy seeing the different ways that boats of similar design and displacement behave.

Patric Albutat wrote:I never really know what to make of it since most of these reports tend to describe schooner rig configurations. Unfortunately I'm in the Badger junior class and don't have the luxury of multiple sticks and sails. Roger Taylor strongly advocates the Jordan Series Drogue, stating that "no yacht should put to sea without one". They're not exactly cheap though! Easy Go has a pre-balanced rudder, something TIN HAU lacks. Mine's just a skeg-hung job and not terribly efficient. Still haven't fitted the Atoms windvane, bit of a hassle on a double ender (Annie almost put me off it but haven't decided yet).

Patrick, I totally agree with Roger on the Jordan Series Drogue. No yacht should go to sea without one. I have yet to use mine in earnest but I can tell you when I deployed it (for testing and educational purposes)  in a nice and very solid force 8 in the Southern Ocean it worked as advertised. You can easily make one yourself. The nylon rope is exspensive but you will still build it for about a third of the cost of a bought one plus a couple of weekends labour. If you need instructions etc... let me know.

I never really know what to make of it since most of these reports tend to describe schooner rig configurations. Unfortunately I'm in the Badger junior class and don't have the luxury of multiple sticks and sails. Roger Taylor strongly advocates the Jordan Series Drogue, stating that "no yacht should put to sea without one". They're not exactly cheap though! Easy Go has a pre-balanced rudder, something TIN HAU lacks. Mine's just a skeg-hung job and not terribly efficient. Still haven't fitted the Atoms windvane, bit of a hassle on a double ender (Annie almost put me off it but haven't decided yet).