I have been told many things lately such as I need a genoa and I do not need a genoa for my Daysailor 17'. Next, If I do need a genoa, what size should I get? Thanks, Dan
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Are You Satisfied With What You Have?
If your not, and prevailing wind conditions (light winds) leaves you ghosting rather than moving, going to a larger headsail may be appropriate. Remember though, shortening sail on a smaller boat will be necessary as things tend to happen more quickly on a smaller boat. Will you be able to change from a genoa (say a 150%) to your nominal jib relatively easy on your 17' daysailor? If not, one other consideration would be to have a set of reefing points put in your genoa that would allow you to roll the foot up and tie it off. This could change your 150 to a 110. I had this setup on my hanked on 150% genoa, and it allowed shortening the headsail when the wind piped up.For optimum sail efficiency though, having 2 dedicated headsails on board and the ability to change them as conditions change is preferable. Another option would be to have a small roller/furler installed and have a 150% made to fit. This would allow you to vary the headsail as befitting the conditions. Don
If your not, and prevailing wind conditions (light winds) leaves you ghosting rather than moving, going to a larger headsail may be appropriate. Remember though, shortening sail on a smaller boat will be necessary as things tend to happen more quickly on a smaller boat. Will you be able to change from a genoa (say a 150%) to your nominal jib relatively easy on your 17' daysailor? If not, one other consideration would be to have a set of reefing points put in your genoa that would allow you to roll the foot up and tie it off. This could change your 150 to a 110. I had this setup on my hanked on 150% genoa, and it allowed shortening the headsail when the wind piped up.For optimum sail efficiency though, having 2 dedicated headsails on board and the ability to change them as conditions change is preferable. Another option would be to have a small roller/furler installed and have a 150% made to fit. This would allow you to vary the headsail as befitting the conditions. Don
Clarification
First, I am new to sailing having strated just this fall. I have taken to it rather quickly I am told but am still limited on experience. Second, I sail primarily alone so changing sails on the water would not be easy, I could do it but not easily. Third, I trailer the boat so I feel that a roller furler is not practical. And finally, during the summer, here in Indiana, we do get quite a few days of light wind. Spring and fall are a different matter!!!
First, I am new to sailing having strated just this fall. I have taken to it rather quickly I am told but am still limited on experience. Second, I sail primarily alone so changing sails on the water would not be easy, I could do it but not easily. Third, I trailer the boat so I feel that a roller furler is not practical. And finally, during the summer, here in Indiana, we do get quite a few days of light wind. Spring and fall are a different matter!!!
I would think chute, first
Dan, I have never felt the need for a genny on my DS, but I have wished my chute was rigged to be easier to use. The problem with the genny is that the foretriangle on the DS is very small because of the fractional rig. This means that regardless of how big a percentage of the triangle it is, its still a small jib. Learning to use the mainsail controls effectively is one step. Make sure that you are loosening everything (vang, outhaul, cunnigham) in light air to allow the draft in the sail to increase. Does your boat have a chute? If so, I'd check out using that for light air work. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
Dan, I have never felt the need for a genny on my DS, but I have wished my chute was rigged to be easier to use. The problem with the genny is that the foretriangle on the DS is very small because of the fractional rig. This means that regardless of how big a percentage of the triangle it is, its still a small jib. Learning to use the mainsail controls effectively is one step. Make sure that you are loosening everything (vang, outhaul, cunnigham) in light air to allow the draft in the sail to increase. Does your boat have a chute? If so, I'd check out using that for light air work. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
spinnaker
Dan, Sorry about that - I do mean a spinnaker. People sometimes call the chutes because of their visual similarity to parachutes, and I tend to choose to type the shorter version.
Anyway, I would look into doing a spinnaker on your boat before I went for a genny. As I said in my last post, the Daysailer foretriangle is pretty small, so you will get only a marginal improvement. The downside to the spinnaker is that you can't use it to go to windward. Not much to be done about that, I'm afraid. Learn to trim the sailcontrols, and stay very still. Also, make sure your hull is as fair as possible, as well as your rudder and centerboard. In extremely light stuff, lift the centerboard half-way. You will slip sideways more, but you will find under certains conditions that your speed to windward is better by enough of a margin to justify not being able to point quite as high. Another thing you might try is a single long oar and a single lock mounted in the aft-deck. I've never done this on my own boat, but I tried it out on another Daysailer in the anchorage and with a pretty easy sculling motion I could really make the boat fly. Remeber, the thing only weighs about 700 pounds, so you don't need a tremendous amount of force. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
Dan, Sorry about that - I do mean a spinnaker. People sometimes call the chutes because of their visual similarity to parachutes, and I tend to choose to type the shorter version.
Anyway, I would look into doing a spinnaker on your boat before I went for a genny. As I said in my last post, the Daysailer foretriangle is pretty small, so you will get only a marginal improvement. The downside to the spinnaker is that you can't use it to go to windward. Not much to be done about that, I'm afraid. Learn to trim the sailcontrols, and stay very still. Also, make sure your hull is as fair as possible, as well as your rudder and centerboard. In extremely light stuff, lift the centerboard half-way. You will slip sideways more, but you will find under certains conditions that your speed to windward is better by enough of a margin to justify not being able to point quite as high. Another thing you might try is a single long oar and a single lock mounted in the aft-deck. I've never done this on my own boat, but I tried it out on another Daysailer in the anchorage and with a pretty easy sculling motion I could really make the boat fly. Remeber, the thing only weighs about 700 pounds, so you don't need a tremendous amount of force. Justin - O'day Owners' Web- Status