Sailing
Dave wrote:
If I correctly understand you, you're suggesting putting a 140 multi-weight
or foam luff on the furler as the regular sail, and removing that from the
furler and replacing it with a light 155 for light air. Yes?
That would be one way, but not really what i meant to suggest.
The multi 140 would most likely be a better sail for light
air then the medium weight 150 you have now; and would offer
good potential to change gears without a lot of work or
expense sunk into sail inventory.
A light 155, and changing down to successive smaller &
heavier sails would be the best way to go; but it also leads
to storing bulky & sometimes wet sails in limited space down
below. The light 155 is not going to roll up well, and is
not going to roller-reef worth a crap. A sail left on a
roller needs to a bit flatter & heavier; to be a good roller
furling sail requires most of the fullness up forward and/or
a foam luff. I have seen a few sails with a very cool
inflatable luff, but am not sure how well these last or who
is making them nowadays (last saw one about ten years ago).
IIRC your boat has an IOR style rig, mast head with small
main & big foretriangle; very much a headsail-driven boat.
If you have only one headsail, since light air is so common
in your area, a 140 seems to me to be about the smallest
you'd want. If you could have 3 headsails, you could get
better performance (especially to windward & in light air)
but that may not be worth it to you, it's hard to justify
the extra work & expense (not to mention giving up much of
the cabin to sail stowage).
A good heavy air jib is also really nice, have you tried a
90% or 100 'blade'? This is a low-clewed narrow & flat sail
for beating, makes a HUGE difference in how the boat goes &
is much easier to handle.
Hope this is a little more clear.
Fresh Breezes- Doug King
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