"Stephen Trapani" wrote in message
...

Getting to the point, should I convert to hanks? Does going up and down
in the foil damage the sail significantly? Is there some other
advantages either way I should consider?

Unless you're racing, a luff foil has no advantage (other than aerodynamic)
over hanks. If you set up a reasonable downhaul system, the hanked
headsail is nice because it comes down when you want it. With a foil
you have to go forward to douse, and when you're dowsing the
sail is gradually getting less attached to the boat and can be
hard to control in a big wind, which is why the sail is coming
down in the first place

As far as wear goes, there should be no difference if you handle
the sails correctly. I have seen headsails damaged in a foil but it was
because someone thought that when the sail sticks you just grind on
the winch harder, instead of taking the sail down and releading the tape.

Actually I lied about the hanked sail. The hanks can sometimes leave
stains on the sail (which doesn't happen with a foil), the pistons on the
hanks can get salt encrusted/corroded and hard to remove from the
stay (that's what McLube is for), the hanks can chafe the sail when
it's stowed, and they can bark your knuckles when you're packing
the sail. These are all pretty minor though.

Matt