sail barge

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Homeworld:
  Tatooine

• Size:
  30 meters long

• Weapon:
  Laser cannons

• Affiliation:
  Criminal

• Type:
  Luxury sail barge

• Manufacturer:
  Ubrikkian

• 

From the Movies

The huge antigravity pleasure craft that Jabba the Hutt used to travel the dunes of Tatooine was called a sail barge. The craft had three decks, its top one covered with large sails. When the repulsorlifts are shut off, winds alone can move the craft. Jabba armed his barge with a large turret-mounted laser cannon, and with portable blaster cannons lining the upper deck rails.

The last voyage of Jabba's sail barge was a trip into the Dune Sea, for the ill-fated execution of Luke Skywalker and his friends. Little did Jabba realize that he was playing into Luke's plan, that by bringing the young Jedi out into the open, the advantage fell to Skywalker. Armed with a previously concealed lightsaber, Skywalker was able to cut through many of Jabba's guards.

Princess Leia Organa used the slaver's chain that kept her bound to the repulsive gangster to strangle Jabba. Freed from her bonds, Leia then used the barge's laser cannon to fire into the lower decks, unleashing a chain reaction of explosions that consumed the pleasure craft.

From the Expanded Universe

Jabba's beloved Khetanna was an odd mixture of opulent splendor and crude depravity. The craft began life as a standard Ubrikkian Luxury sail barge, though Jabba had much of its amenities refitted to fit his indulgent tastes. The largest addition was an elaborate kitchen and banquet area. Jabba's personal chef, Porcellus, kept a well-stocked pantry, including tanks of live food, to feed the gluttonous gangster.

The heavy sail barge can achieve a flight ceiling of 10 meters, and a top speed of 100 kilometers per hour. Relying solely on its sails to catch the winds, the craft can achieve a leisurely pace of 30 kilometers per hour.

Behind the Scenes

The initial concept sketches of the sail barge depicted a much more ornate craft, reminiscent of baroque sailing ships or pirate craft. The designs were refined into a more utilitarian vessel by Ralph McQuarrie. To capture the sail barge on film, it was constructed both as a miniature for shots of it in motion, and as a full-sized set built on location in Yuma, Arizona.

The sail barge set was one of the largest constructions undertaken by the Star Wars crew, consisting of a 30,000-square foot platform topped by a 60-foot tall incarnation of the sail barge. Since the barge would only be seen from one side during the execution sequences, only the port side of it was built. Despite its size, the sail barge set was built in 38 days.

The sails adorning the pleasure craft were created by a Sausalito-based seamstress, who transformed 4,000 square feet of 6.8-ounce polyester material into the red-orange sails.