[C320-list] Genoa Replacement

[Larry Frank]

I¹ll take a stab at this question.  Here is my 2 cents worth.

I have the following head sails for WindSwept:

No 3. 100 % Dacron from North with UV protection
No 2. 135 % Tape Drive from UK with foam luff and UV protection
No 1. 155 % UK made with Dimension Polyant FLEX Polyester.  This is a
laminated material but does not carry the reinforcing fabrics along the
load paths.  They are just orientated in a triangular pattern.  It is a
light sail.

I also have a racing grade dacron main that is only about 2 years old and
had about the maximum amount of roach possible.

I am in a pretty heavy weather area in Corpus Christ along the Gulf Coast
of TX.  Our average wind speed is greater than Chicago, known as the windy
city.

I only use the No 1 when racing in less than 10 knots of true wind.
Actually I could probably say less than 6-7 knots.  Above that WindSwept
will be overpowered going upwind and heal too much.  Plus it takes two men
and a boy to trim the thing coming out of a tack.

The No 2 is my favorite sail.  The thing about modern laminates is that
they have much better durability than their rather outdated reputation
would indicate.  A new dacron sail will hold its shape well initially but
after 1-2 seasons the laminate will still have a like new shape and sail
much better.  I can roll up 10-20% of this sail and it still holds its
shape better than a few year old dacron sail would do even if it was a
110-120 to begin with.

When the wind is about 15 knots apparent I consider putting on the No. 3.

All these sail decisions only come into play when racing.  When cruising I
either use the number 2 or 3, depending on what was left on the boat after
the last race.

The point of saying all this is to make the point that I have a lot of
choices.  For cruising I would recommend a 135% like mine because it is so
versatile. If you spring for the laminate it will hold its shape very well
meaning if you trim it well you won¹t get overpowered any more than with
an older dacron 110 or 120.

The other point is to remember if you are sailing with a 320 consistently
healed more than 15% you are not sailing efficiently.  I talked to Gerry
Douglas at the Miami Boat Show last weekend and this was one of the first
thing he mentioned when we discussed racing a 320.  It is one thing to say
you can carry a lot of sail area.  It¹s quite another thing to maximize
speed, comfort, safety and minimize stress on the rig.

Larry
1995 C320 #246    

On 2/23/16, 2:17 AM, "David MacKinnon" <david.mackinnon99 at gmail.com> wrote:

>It is time to look at replacing our old 150% genoa and we are looking at
>our options. The 150% genoa is to be replaced with a smaller genoa
>somewhere, we believe, between a 120-135%.
>
>Most of our sailing is a mixture of weekend cruising and weekend racing
>in wind speeds up to 25Kts (or over if the forecast is incorrect), with
>an average of 15Kts, and I would like to get a new genoa that gives us
>good racing performance but also reasonable cruising performance.  Our
>sailmaker has provided options of high quality dacron or laminate sails
>and whilst I would like to go to the laminate, the cost is most likely
>going to be the factor.
>
>I am tending to a 135% dacron, as it seems to be the most common and also
>the best sail plan for a variety of conditions,  but what is the
>experience of the members of the association in terms of size for these
>type of conditions? Would we notice any real difference in going to a
>125% dacron sailplan? Also, would a smaller laminate sail be better than,
>say, a 135% dacron genoa. I realise that the dacron sail most likely has
>better longevity than the laminate but that is not the main consideration
>at this point in time.
>
>Thanks for your valued inputs.
>
>
>David MacKinnon
>Figment #162
>Brisbane, Australia
>
>
>
>