Welcome to the forum! While I share Joe's frustration with the lack of punctuation, I thought I should at least try to be helpful while expressing that sentiment:
"Hi! This is my first post on sailboat owners. After taking my Skimmar Seagull out in the water I had a dumb idea that I thought could work, so I figured I would ask some people with a lot more experience than me as this is my first boat and I don’t have but about 6 months of experience. The idea was could it be possible to put a genaker sail on it for better light wind sailing, like I am doing. Like I say I apologize if this is a really dumb question, but I guess you don’t know until you ask. The mast is an 18 foot Damco and I’ll add some pictures. I will update with better photos in a little while as it is in the water right know and it’s fairly early in the morning. any replys will be strongly appreciated."
Not a dumb idea at all, and your boat looks like a ton of fun!
Wanting a sail that I could use in light wind (especially on downwind runs), I am in the process of ordering a light wind genoa, which some refer to as a "drifter". In my case, I am ordering it without hanks (my foresails are hank-on as opposed to roller-furled), so instead of hanking the sail to the forestay, the tension between the head and the tack is what holds the luff in position to achieve proper shape for sailing. Gennaker rigging is, in essence, similar to spinnaker rigging and usually calls for a bowsprit, which your boat is not equipped with.
For my requirements (and perhaps yours?), the drifter is a logical choice. It is far simpler to deploy and manage since it does not require a bowsprit, spinnaker pole, and as many control lines. It also can be sailed to windward, though not as close to the wind as a standard foresail. For instance, on my boat my sailmaker (Mike Lipari at thesailwarehouse.com) says that I should be able to sail around 55 degrees to the wind (as opposed to the 40 to 45 degrees I can do with my regular jib). You can't do this with a spinnaker or a gennaker.
"My requirements" are a sail that:
-I can deploy and manage single-handedly and that my crew can handle without additional training. I know there are some sailors that can single-hand a gennaker, but it is significantly more complex a matter than managing a drifter.
-I can use to sail to windward. As mentioned, a drifter will not point as well as a regular foresail, but at least is usable beyond a beam reach, which a gennaker is not.
-Will not require the addition of winches, pulleys, cleats, or other hardware. I like to keep things simple. Mike is designing my sail to work with my current rigging.
-Stows easily. (Using .75 ounce nylon)
-Is reasonably affordable.
-Will not have too adverse an effect on my PHRF rating (only matters if you race).
After reviewing several options, I have decided to go with the drifter design. It probably will not perform quite as well as a gennaker or spinnaker, but I'm OK with as I feel the advantages outweigh that.
You had asked about the addition of mast hardware hardware. I would say regardless of what you go with, you will want to add a halyard pulley at or near the top of the mast. With a gennaker or spinnaker, you will likely need to add a bowsprit. This would be the most challenging addition.
Keep in mind that all of these solutions significantly complicate a course change (such as jibing) that would require changing which side of the boat the sail is flown on, but that just comes with the territory.
Hope this helps!
