Since 1960 there has been a revival of interest in the Chinese, or junk, rig for small sailing yachts, and an increasing number of seagoing cruising boats are now appearing with it. It may therefore be appropriate to consider what, if any, application the rig could have to commercial sailing vessels in the western world.

The rig carries only one fully-battened sail on each mast, and may have any number of masts from one upwards. In its larger sizes the sail, complete with its yard, battens, and boom, is very heavy, and the whole weight has to be carried by one or more halyards from the masthead. Traditionally, and preferably, the mast is completely unstayed, being supported only at the step and the partners and standing up like a tree, or cantilever.