[C320-list] Foresail

[Scott Thompson]

On the size decision, a lot depends on how you use your boat. If you 
mostly day sail and don't care about getting anywhere, and if conditions 
tend to be light, then a 150 is a fine choice. In my case, when we sail 
we are usually trying to go somewhere, and if the wind is really light 
we motor instead. For that reason I went just a bit smaller (145) which 
gives me a bit more high end range before I need to start furling the 
sail. This gives better performance when the wind is up, which is when 
it is most fun to sail in my view.

Racing brings in completely different considerations. Generally, you 
will lose performance whenever you sail with a partially rolled up sail 
compared to using a smaller sail in the first place. I haven't raced 
boats with masthead genoas in years, but when I did we had the light #1, 
heavy #1, #2, #3, #4 and spent a lot of time dealing with sail changes. 
More recently I've raced on one designs with fractional rigs and smaller 
jibs and we never sailed with a partially furled sail, depowering 
instead by bending the mast to flatten the main, followed by feathering 
the main, followed by reefing if the wind is really up.

BTW, if you still have the OEM sails from 1997 you will be AMAZED at how 
differently the boat sails with a new jib, especially if you upgrade to 
a tape drive or similar.

Scott
Surprise, #653, 1999

On 1/13/2018 9:24 AM, Ted Harrison wrote:
> Great news. That admiral has approved the acquisition of a new Genoa. I currently had a 150. It is the original sail so I assume it is 100 percent Dacron.
>
> I would like to stay with the 150.
>
> I have read you can get a batten built into the sail for better furling when you reduce sail in higher wind conditions. Is this true?
>
> I also thought about a radius cut on the foot for better visibility. Does this impact furling or tightening in the sail in high winds?
>
> Is the length of the foresail standard or does the sail have to be measured when the mast is up?
>
> Comments on the size (150) as well.
>
> Happy new year everyone and thanks in advance for your comments.
>
> Ted Harrison
> 1997 hull 424
> Whitby Ontario