[C320-list] One Sail in High winds

[resloat]

Sean-Agee that only one sail up in high winds when heading to wind results 
in a very unbalanced condition.  I have been out in 20 Kts with the main 
only and not reefed and the weather helm is very strong with just the main. 
You have to luff it a lot which eats away at sail life.  The wind center of 
effort way back and the wheel is decidedly harder to turn.

I prefer two sails and reefs for better control and balance.  One advantage 
of furling head and main sails is that you can easily fine tune both sails 
by furling in each.  I have a traditional main with a Dutchman sail flaking 
system on a loose footed main and a furling Genoa so  it is a little more 
work.  Here on southern Lake Michigan, we do get big winds, but not as a 
regular daily cyclic event like SF bay or Lake Tahoe.

Bob Sloat
S/V Savannah 894 (2002)
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sean Kaldor" <spkaldor at yahoo.com>
To: <c320-list at lists.catalina320.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2012 2:15 PM
Subject: Re: [C320-list] One Sail in High winds


We are rigged with a single line to double reef. So when it looks windy, we 
tighten that down first, raise the double-reefed main, and trim the jib. 
I've found it gives us a very balanced boat especially when dealing with 
variable winds.

Have you had any trouble with balance (weather helm, etc.) in heavy winds 
within only the jib, or only the main? Has one been better than the other?

I'd think that jib-only would move the center of effort pretty far forward 
and require a fair bit of helm to compensate when sailing upwind. Downwind, 
I suppose it wouldn't have a big effect.

Just curious...

Sean
Liberté #499
San Francisco