I have just purchased a C36 tall rig 155% geonoa. Sailing instead of motoring in light winds was my goal in selecting this rig. However, I do want to be able to handle heavy winds - 30 - 35 knots with higher gusts - my previous boat (a cutter) handled that and more without problem. I am not particularly keen on roller reefing the 155% down to 50% for any length of time - the sail will be very baggy and the Centre of Effort high. I am also not keen on removing the 155% genoa and changing to a small head sail in 30 knots of wind ( I would really need a separate inner head stay - which would be only justified if I was going off shore for lengthy periods). I have done an archive search on Gale Sail (a sail that is attached to a sleeve at the luff which goes around a furled genoa - it has the advantage of allowing the furled geona to stay on and in fact encloses it preventing accidental unfurling). I found some information in the archives 2003/2002 - several opinions from non owners and one owner who bought one and has hoisted it in lighter winds and commented - but I haven't heard of anyone putting one up in 30 knots of wind. Can anyone give me the benefit of their experience with a Gale Sail in this type of situation. How difficult is it to hank on around the furled genoa? (I realize that nothing is going to be easy at 30 knots - but can it be done with reasonable perserverence)? How does it fly using sheeting angles normally available on a production boat. Are their any other ideas that will meet my needs for occasional use (given that I don't see a justification for the expense of making the boat into a cutter - deck reinforcement etc).
- Status
A simpler alternative in heavy weather...
We do carry a Gale sail on our cutter-rigged Legend 43. It is primarily meant to be deployed over the furled staysail, i.e. on the inner stay. We have not yet had to deploy it "in anger" although we deal with 30-35 knot winds (gusting to 40 knots or higher) about once per season. Having examined the Gale sail carefully, I think it is a high quality piece of gear that should be readily deployable around the inner stay, even in winds up to 40 knots. However, I share the often voiced misgivings about the potential difficulties of deploying a Gale sail around a forestay-mounted furled genoa, both from a point of crew safety as well as heavy weather effectiveness... Personally, I do not see an overriding need to deploy a gale sail, or any other type of special gale and storm gear, in winds below 35 knots, or so. Instead, one should simply be able to use a deep third reef in the main while completely furling the genoa. As long as the deeply reefed main is nice and flat the vessel should balance easily without a jib on most points of sail but behave especially well when slowly jogging to windward. The advantage of a deeply reefed main is that the Center of Effort (COE) is carried low and close to the mast while a deeply reefed genny or Gale sail around the forestay tend to put the COE higher up and further away from the mast, thereby making the vessel more sensitive to sudden gusts. Moreover, if the helmsman (or autopilot or windvane) loses control due to a gust and/or big swell, the vessel will tend to broach downwind and perhaps even gybe, whereas a deeply reefed main will turn the bows into the wind under such conditions. Fair winds, Flying Dutchman
We do carry a Gale sail on our cutter-rigged Legend 43. It is primarily meant to be deployed over the furled staysail, i.e. on the inner stay. We have not yet had to deploy it "in anger" although we deal with 30-35 knot winds (gusting to 40 knots or higher) about once per season. Having examined the Gale sail carefully, I think it is a high quality piece of gear that should be readily deployable around the inner stay, even in winds up to 40 knots. However, I share the often voiced misgivings about the potential difficulties of deploying a Gale sail around a forestay-mounted furled genoa, both from a point of crew safety as well as heavy weather effectiveness... Personally, I do not see an overriding need to deploy a gale sail, or any other type of special gale and storm gear, in winds below 35 knots, or so. Instead, one should simply be able to use a deep third reef in the main while completely furling the genoa. As long as the deeply reefed main is nice and flat the vessel should balance easily without a jib on most points of sail but behave especially well when slowly jogging to windward. The advantage of a deeply reefed main is that the Center of Effort (COE) is carried low and close to the mast while a deeply reefed genny or Gale sail around the forestay tend to put the COE higher up and further away from the mast, thereby making the vessel more sensitive to sudden gusts. Moreover, if the helmsman (or autopilot or windvane) loses control due to a gust and/or big swell, the vessel will tend to broach downwind and perhaps even gybe, whereas a deeply reefed main will turn the bows into the wind under such conditions. Fair winds, Flying Dutchman
I'd urge you to consider a Solent Stay...
Malcolm, I concur with FD's comments wherein he questions the functionality (re: effort, safety, etc.) of hoisting a Gale Sail once you get to the point of needing it. Etienne (owner of ATN) confided in my after he introduced this product that it was a real handful to deploy but worked well (given what it was...a storm jib) once it was hoisted & sheeted. (Consider the context in which I heard that comment: Etienne is about 6' 2", younger than me and used to sail singlehanded around the world...). I also agree with your reluctance to add a staysail stay, making your boat into a cutter. It's expensive, clutters the deck, and isn't suitable for a broad range of conditions on all points of sail...so it's like going to a good deal of expense/effort/inconvenience for only an occasional (but when you need it, critical) benefit. Based on some posts by Brion Toss (dig them out of his archives at www.briontoss.com), I decided to install a Solent Stay on my Pearson 424 ketch. We were heading further offshore and I wanted to bring the CE down & keep it centered. (Where I diverge from FD's comments if I understood him correctly is that I don't favor giving up on a foresail in the heavier winds, both in general with a deeply reefed main but also because in our case we're a ketch and a small inner foresail and mizzen is a wonderful combo). As our departure time grew nearer, I couldn't find even one other boat off of which to steal (errr...learn from) the details of this approach and apply them to our 424. After some correspondence with Brion and a bit of a gut-check, I went ahead and installed a masthead-mounted inner stay (see the details in the link). First in Bermuda, moreso in the Azores and in abundance once we got to England, we increasingly found this same set-up on all kinds of boats (including the new large Beneteaus, apparently a factory option). The conclusion I've reached is this must be the latter-day alternative to adding an inner 'staysail' stay. Benefits: no running backs or fixed intermediates, no inner tracks & blocks for sheet leads, heavy weather ability of a staysail but you could also use a Solent Blade with a longer luff and better weatherly performance, it can be (and in our case, usually is) easily removed to open up the foretriangle, and this mod is usually easily done on stock sloops (like your Cat 36). Our cost, me working with a local metal shop and doing my own installation, was less cost than a Gale Sail (for my size boat). I've been trying to accummulate and pass along lessons on prepping (and cruising) a North American boat in Europe with its different infrastructure, and a range of topics can be found at www.svsarah.com/Whoosh/Whoosh%20Main%20Page.htm...but the link below is specifically for some boat mods I'm glad I did, including the Solent Stay. (Thanks as always to John Stevenson for hosting all this content at svsarah.com). Let me know if you want detail on the installation; I think I saved a write-up on that from a Pearson Newsletter. Jack
Malcolm, I concur with FD's comments wherein he questions the functionality (re: effort, safety, etc.) of hoisting a Gale Sail once you get to the point of needing it. Etienne (owner of ATN) confided in my after he introduced this product that it was a real handful to deploy but worked well (given what it was...a storm jib) once it was hoisted & sheeted. (Consider the context in which I heard that comment: Etienne is about 6' 2", younger than me and used to sail singlehanded around the world...). I also agree with your reluctance to add a staysail stay, making your boat into a cutter. It's expensive, clutters the deck, and isn't suitable for a broad range of conditions on all points of sail...so it's like going to a good deal of expense/effort/inconvenience for only an occasional (but when you need it, critical) benefit. Based on some posts by Brion Toss (dig them out of his archives at www.briontoss.com), I decided to install a Solent Stay on my Pearson 424 ketch. We were heading further offshore and I wanted to bring the CE down & keep it centered. (Where I diverge from FD's comments if I understood him correctly is that I don't favor giving up on a foresail in the heavier winds, both in general with a deeply reefed main but also because in our case we're a ketch and a small inner foresail and mizzen is a wonderful combo). As our departure time grew nearer, I couldn't find even one other boat off of which to steal (errr...learn from) the details of this approach and apply them to our 424. After some correspondence with Brion and a bit of a gut-check, I went ahead and installed a masthead-mounted inner stay (see the details in the link). First in Bermuda, moreso in the Azores and in abundance once we got to England, we increasingly found this same set-up on all kinds of boats (including the new large Beneteaus, apparently a factory option). The conclusion I've reached is this must be the latter-day alternative to adding an inner 'staysail' stay. Benefits: no running backs or fixed intermediates, no inner tracks & blocks for sheet leads, heavy weather ability of a staysail but you could also use a Solent Blade with a longer luff and better weatherly performance, it can be (and in our case, usually is) easily removed to open up the foretriangle, and this mod is usually easily done on stock sloops (like your Cat 36). Our cost, me working with a local metal shop and doing my own installation, was less cost than a Gale Sail (for my size boat). I've been trying to accummulate and pass along lessons on prepping (and cruising) a North American boat in Europe with its different infrastructure, and a range of topics can be found at www.svsarah.com/Whoosh/Whoosh%20Main%20Page.htm...but the link below is specifically for some boat mods I'm glad I did, including the Solent Stay. (Thanks as always to John Stevenson for hosting all this content at svsarah.com). Let me know if you want detail on the installation; I think I saved a write-up on that from a Pearson Newsletter. Jack
Yet another choice
We sail a Tall Rig C36 on Lake Superior so our winds may be similar to what you get on Lake Huron. I do carry a Gale Sail, although primarily because the ORC rules require me to (we do some offshore racing). I have hoisted it in rather modest conditions and, with sheets pre-attached and everything carefully stowed, I THINK I should be be able to get it deployed in heavy conditions, but I'm not looking forward to it. I also don't expect I'll need it: We supplemented our 150 with a heavy 135. In June and September, we have winds in excess of 15 knots most of the time and the tall rig will move just fine with the 135. The 135 will furl down to a working jib and still have a decent shape. In combination with a double-reef in the main, we are fine in 30-35 knots of wind. The third reef would probably keep us working above 40 knots, but I haven't tested that. In July and August, the winds often are MUCH lighter (less than 10 knots, sometime less than 5) and in those conditions, our Asymmetric does much better than the 150 would except very close to the wind. We do still carry the 150, but the 135 is the one on the furler almost all the time: its easy to drop the 135 and hoist the 150 if the winds are light rather than doing the reverse when you're out in 3-5 foot chop.
We sail a Tall Rig C36 on Lake Superior so our winds may be similar to what you get on Lake Huron. I do carry a Gale Sail, although primarily because the ORC rules require me to (we do some offshore racing). I have hoisted it in rather modest conditions and, with sheets pre-attached and everything carefully stowed, I THINK I should be be able to get it deployed in heavy conditions, but I'm not looking forward to it. I also don't expect I'll need it: We supplemented our 150 with a heavy 135. In June and September, we have winds in excess of 15 knots most of the time and the tall rig will move just fine with the 135. The 135 will furl down to a working jib and still have a decent shape. In combination with a double-reef in the main, we are fine in 30-35 knots of wind. The third reef would probably keep us working above 40 knots, but I haven't tested that. In July and August, the winds often are MUCH lighter (less than 10 knots, sometime less than 5) and in those conditions, our Asymmetric does much better than the 150 would except very close to the wind. We do still carry the 150, but the 135 is the one on the furler almost all the time: its easy to drop the 135 and hoist the 150 if the winds are light rather than doing the reverse when you're out in 3-5 foot chop.
Excellent Answers - need to gather more info
Thank you all! I had not dreamt that I would get a real good look at the options so quickly. The three of you provided clear answers and rationale and all have done a lot of sailing. I must admit that choosing is not going to be easy. Jack - your website provided excellent pictures and information. I have bookmarked it as it provides some good ideas in other areas as well. It is a real resource for North American sailors travelling far afield. Jack, I would like to see the detailed information that you mentioned that you might still have on installation of the Solent Stay. I have some concerns about the installation of the deck fitting and the ease of making it strong enough to stand up to the forces that may be placed on the stay. Obvously you accomplished this - is it fastened only to the deck or somehow through to the hull? How is the mast fitting backed up? Your solution is probably the best for crossing an ocean. Henk - your answer is the simplest and least expensive - however I am not sure the boat is going to sail well in high winds with just a reefed main. I have no sailing experience yet with the Catalina - it will be launched in April. The previous cutter would have been hard to handle to windward in strong winds without the staysail balancing a reefed main and the windward helm caused by the heeled hull shape. With the staysail balancing this it handled well. On the other hand with a sloop and a deeply reefed main the Centre of Effort is further forward than on a cutter with just the main so it is worth tryin on my boat (once it is in the water). Colin, you made a suggestion that I had not considered - getting a smaller genny (130%) and reefing when high winds come. The benefit vs the Solent Stay is that I don't have to go on the foredeck and the sail shape is still better than furling a 155% genoa. The problem is that I can see myself having the 155% genoa up when I wish I had the 130% - I understand the case you made of always using the 130% and then an asymetrical spinnaker when winds are light and stepping up to the 155% genoa as winds die and we need to sail close hauled. Thank you all - you have given me a lot to think about and do more research. One thing that is clear is that at this point the Gale Sail looks like it is not for me.
Thank you all! I had not dreamt that I would get a real good look at the options so quickly. The three of you provided clear answers and rationale and all have done a lot of sailing. I must admit that choosing is not going to be easy. Jack - your website provided excellent pictures and information. I have bookmarked it as it provides some good ideas in other areas as well. It is a real resource for North American sailors travelling far afield. Jack, I would like to see the detailed information that you mentioned that you might still have on installation of the Solent Stay. I have some concerns about the installation of the deck fitting and the ease of making it strong enough to stand up to the forces that may be placed on the stay. Obvously you accomplished this - is it fastened only to the deck or somehow through to the hull? How is the mast fitting backed up? Your solution is probably the best for crossing an ocean. Henk - your answer is the simplest and least expensive - however I am not sure the boat is going to sail well in high winds with just a reefed main. I have no sailing experience yet with the Catalina - it will be launched in April. The previous cutter would have been hard to handle to windward in strong winds without the staysail balancing a reefed main and the windward helm caused by the heeled hull shape. With the staysail balancing this it handled well. On the other hand with a sloop and a deeply reefed main the Centre of Effort is further forward than on a cutter with just the main so it is worth tryin on my boat (once it is in the water). Colin, you made a suggestion that I had not considered - getting a smaller genny (130%) and reefing when high winds come. The benefit vs the Solent Stay is that I don't have to go on the foredeck and the sail shape is still better than furling a 155% genoa. The problem is that I can see myself having the 155% genoa up when I wish I had the 130% - I understand the case you made of always using the 130% and then an asymetrical spinnaker when winds are light and stepping up to the 155% genoa as winds die and we need to sail close hauled. Thank you all - you have given me a lot to think about and do more research. One thing that is clear is that at this point the Gale Sail looks like it is not for me.
Passing on some info.
I can't speak to the 36, but we have a C320 with a wing keel. Last July we were going to windward, about 60 deg. off of apparent. The wind built all day and so did the weather helm. We had reefed (single is all I have yet)the main early and wound in the 135 until I couldn't stand the sight of it anymore. At about 30 knots steady, gusts in the mid thirties, I gave up and furled the jenny. She dropped to a little better than 5 knots of speed but sailed fine. I've got to believe that the tall rig 36 should do better. If you want to be able to change furling headsails easily and safely, go to www.anzam.com and check out the info on the Reef Rite pages about Kiwi Slides. Had them on my Cal and loved them, gave me the best features of foils and hanks. I'll add them to the Cat's sails when I break down and buy my blade.
I can't speak to the 36, but we have a C320 with a wing keel. Last July we were going to windward, about 60 deg. off of apparent. The wind built all day and so did the weather helm. We had reefed (single is all I have yet)the main early and wound in the 135 until I couldn't stand the sight of it anymore. At about 30 knots steady, gusts in the mid thirties, I gave up and furled the jenny. She dropped to a little better than 5 knots of speed but sailed fine. I've got to believe that the tall rig 36 should do better. If you want to be able to change furling headsails easily and safely, go to www.anzam.com and check out the info on the Reef Rite pages about Kiwi Slides. Had them on my Cal and loved them, gave me the best features of foils and hanks. I'll add them to the Cat's sails when I break down and buy my blade.
Malcolm, please email me directly...
...and since we have web access right now, I'll email you a few pics along with the write-up I mentioned. Yes, the deck connection is actually in 3 pieces and very robust; I think we could lift the front of the boat with it. What choice will ultimately make sense to you will probably depend on: 1. the waters you'll be sailing in 2. how long you anticipate owning the boat 3. what likelihood that you'll want to be able to 'grow into' the boat over time (e.g. coastal alongshore cruising; a Bermuda run; a sabatical into the islands) The nice thing is that you can approach this incrementally and try Colin's approach in the near term while mulling your conclusions about the variables listed above. My sense is that Colin's approach is more of a step along the path rather than an alternative in its own right for sailing in higher sustained winds. IOW it might work acceptably when trying to reach the anchorage on a blowy afternoon passage but you might not want to live with it longer-term out of concern for the sail and the boat's performance. E.g. when we were approaching Bermuda we'd suffered thru a long afternoon and night of convective junk and came out the other end with a building wind on a close reach but only had a few hours sailing to reach the lee side of the island. I'd equipped WHOOSH with a fresh 135% North genny before we left, a nicely shaped sail built out of their proprietary Nordac cloth and with a reefable polyproplene luff. Thinking that this is why I had this sail in the first place and also out of laziness and fatique more than thoughtful consideration, we finished the run with the reefed down main and jib. It worked fine but when I sat there watching the abuse the jib was taking (25-30 kts relative) I felt guilty as hell and wished I'd put up the Solent. I can't imagine leaving that arrangement up in any more wind simply because I was asking a lot of a good sail unnecessarily. Jack jack_patricia@yahoo.com
...and since we have web access right now, I'll email you a few pics along with the write-up I mentioned. Yes, the deck connection is actually in 3 pieces and very robust; I think we could lift the front of the boat with it. What choice will ultimately make sense to you will probably depend on: 1. the waters you'll be sailing in 2. how long you anticipate owning the boat 3. what likelihood that you'll want to be able to 'grow into' the boat over time (e.g. coastal alongshore cruising; a Bermuda run; a sabatical into the islands) The nice thing is that you can approach this incrementally and try Colin's approach in the near term while mulling your conclusions about the variables listed above. My sense is that Colin's approach is more of a step along the path rather than an alternative in its own right for sailing in higher sustained winds. IOW it might work acceptably when trying to reach the anchorage on a blowy afternoon passage but you might not want to live with it longer-term out of concern for the sail and the boat's performance. E.g. when we were approaching Bermuda we'd suffered thru a long afternoon and night of convective junk and came out the other end with a building wind on a close reach but only had a few hours sailing to reach the lee side of the island. I'd equipped WHOOSH with a fresh 135% North genny before we left, a nicely shaped sail built out of their proprietary Nordac cloth and with a reefable polyproplene luff. Thinking that this is why I had this sail in the first place and also out of laziness and fatique more than thoughtful consideration, we finished the run with the reefed down main and jib. It worked fine but when I sat there watching the abuse the jib was taking (25-30 kts relative) I felt guilty as hell and wished I'd put up the Solent. I can't imagine leaving that arrangement up in any more wind simply because I was asking a lot of a good sail unnecessarily. Jack jack_patricia@yahoo.com
Why our comments are all over the place...
Malcolm, I am glad to hear that this discussion has been useful to you. Clearly, you are an experienced sailor and have carefully considered the various options. In reading the entire thread, however, it struck me that in spite of the clear consensus about not needing a Gale sail in 30-40 knot winds, the overall discussion might well be rather confusing to the less experienced sailors on this board. After all, my advice (reinforced by Chris' comments) was to drop the genny altogether in 35-40 knot winds (while deep-reefing the main). Contrary to that, Jack's advice is to use a removable inner (masthead) stay with a proper staysail or blade jib whereas Colin feels that one should more or less be able to keep sailing on by simply furling the genny to the size of a working jib (while deep-reefing the main). IMHO these major differences in opinion are primarily due to differences in vessel type, sailing objectives and sea state. To start with sea state: inland water sailors - even when sailing on very big lakes - will often be able to focus primarily on the strength, stability and direction of the wind whereas offshore sailors more often than not need to be primarily concerned with the height, shape and direction of waves and swells because of the much longer fetches involved. Not only is the ocean sailor more likely to encounter larger waves but the effect of winds blowing against strong ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream, can create disproportionally heavy seas. Finally, in heavy seas wind strength and direction tend to vary a great deal depending on whether the vessel is on or near the wave tops or down in the troughs. Whereas in high winds a sailor's main concern is not to gybe, broach or damage the sails, in heavy seas the overriding concern for smaller sailing vessels becomes not to capsize, pitchpole, be rolled or get pooped. Consequently, in heavy seas the paramount strategic objective is not to sail beam-to the direction of the waves in order to avoid excessive rolling and possibly capsizing. Important secondary objectives are to avoid sailing straight into the waves (in order to avoid excessive slamming, hobby-horsing and loss of boat speed plus rudder control) and not to sail straight down the waves (to avoid burying the bows and possibly pitchpoling). In heavy seas, this often leaves only two reasonable points of sail, namely: (a) slowly jogging into wind and waves at a 45 (+/- 15) degree apparent wind angle; or (b) sailing downwind at a 135 (+/- 15) degree angle. With a sloop rig upwind points of sail in heavy seas are most easily maintained by means of a deep-reefed main (plus a very small jib or no jib at all) since the tendency for the bow to be pushed away by the oncoming waves will be compensated by the mainsail's tendency to make the vessel round up again when hit by the wind gusts near the tops of the wave. On the downwind points of sail, however, a small genny or staysail can help provide stability against being broached by quartering waves. As already mentioned by Jack Tyler, the optimum heavy weather sail plan for a ketch rig tends to be fundamentally different from that of a sloop rig, because of the different location of the the COE of each sail relative to the CLR. On top of that, a classic full-keeled vessel, a full-keeled vessel with cutaway forefoot, a deep draft fin-keeled vessel and a shallow-draft finkeeler all may have different optimum heavy weather sail plans. Finally, a racing crew will nearly always select more agressive heavy weather sail plans than the conservative sail plans favored by short-handed cruisers. Have fun! Flying Dutchman
Malcolm, I am glad to hear that this discussion has been useful to you. Clearly, you are an experienced sailor and have carefully considered the various options. In reading the entire thread, however, it struck me that in spite of the clear consensus about not needing a Gale sail in 30-40 knot winds, the overall discussion might well be rather confusing to the less experienced sailors on this board. After all, my advice (reinforced by Chris' comments) was to drop the genny altogether in 35-40 knot winds (while deep-reefing the main). Contrary to that, Jack's advice is to use a removable inner (masthead) stay with a proper staysail or blade jib whereas Colin feels that one should more or less be able to keep sailing on by simply furling the genny to the size of a working jib (while deep-reefing the main). IMHO these major differences in opinion are primarily due to differences in vessel type, sailing objectives and sea state. To start with sea state: inland water sailors - even when sailing on very big lakes - will often be able to focus primarily on the strength, stability and direction of the wind whereas offshore sailors more often than not need to be primarily concerned with the height, shape and direction of waves and swells because of the much longer fetches involved. Not only is the ocean sailor more likely to encounter larger waves but the effect of winds blowing against strong ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream, can create disproportionally heavy seas. Finally, in heavy seas wind strength and direction tend to vary a great deal depending on whether the vessel is on or near the wave tops or down in the troughs. Whereas in high winds a sailor's main concern is not to gybe, broach or damage the sails, in heavy seas the overriding concern for smaller sailing vessels becomes not to capsize, pitchpole, be rolled or get pooped. Consequently, in heavy seas the paramount strategic objective is not to sail beam-to the direction of the waves in order to avoid excessive rolling and possibly capsizing. Important secondary objectives are to avoid sailing straight into the waves (in order to avoid excessive slamming, hobby-horsing and loss of boat speed plus rudder control) and not to sail straight down the waves (to avoid burying the bows and possibly pitchpoling). In heavy seas, this often leaves only two reasonable points of sail, namely: (a) slowly jogging into wind and waves at a 45 (+/- 15) degree apparent wind angle; or (b) sailing downwind at a 135 (+/- 15) degree angle. With a sloop rig upwind points of sail in heavy seas are most easily maintained by means of a deep-reefed main (plus a very small jib or no jib at all) since the tendency for the bow to be pushed away by the oncoming waves will be compensated by the mainsail's tendency to make the vessel round up again when hit by the wind gusts near the tops of the wave. On the downwind points of sail, however, a small genny or staysail can help provide stability against being broached by quartering waves. As already mentioned by Jack Tyler, the optimum heavy weather sail plan for a ketch rig tends to be fundamentally different from that of a sloop rig, because of the different location of the the COE of each sail relative to the CLR. On top of that, a classic full-keeled vessel, a full-keeled vessel with cutaway forefoot, a deep draft fin-keeled vessel and a shallow-draft finkeeler all may have different optimum heavy weather sail plans. Finally, a racing crew will nearly always select more agressive heavy weather sail plans than the conservative sail plans favored by short-handed cruisers. Have fun! Flying Dutchman
I use a gale sail
I purchased a gale gale sail for my Oceanis 350.I used it crossing the Gulf of Mexico from Houston, TX to Key West and onto Miami in April '02. We used it the second night out in about 30-40 Kts. gusts. I was able to hank it as my crew hauled on the halyard. They did have to stop to cut away the remaining pieces of the bimini as it carried away in the breeze. We reefed the main each time and ended up using that sail about 4 times during the 9 day crossing to Key West. I personally like the sail and reccomend it. Good Luck, Marc
I purchased a gale gale sail for my Oceanis 350.I used it crossing the Gulf of Mexico from Houston, TX to Key West and onto Miami in April '02. We used it the second night out in about 30-40 Kts. gusts. I was able to hank it as my crew hauled on the halyard. They did have to stop to cut away the remaining pieces of the bimini as it carried away in the breeze. We reefed the main each time and ended up using that sail about 4 times during the 9 day crossing to Key West. I personally like the sail and reccomend it. Good Luck, Marc
Even more excellent points
Thank you once again for your input. I do appreciate the trouble people have gone to in order to provide useful information. Every one of the replies provided information that I found useful. Jack - thank you again for the information you sent. Henk - I understand much more clearly your rationale - your explanation should be kept for future reference - Chris - your experience on just the main with the Cat 320 is encouraging - I will do some testing once my new 36 is launched and I do the sea trials before I sail it home. I had already decided to have the another set of reef points put in the main as part of all the approaches so that should address the short term need. Capt Marc - you have made it clear that the Gale Sail shouldn't be ruled out too quickly. I have also heard positive information about it from other sources. I now have a lot more information about the different approaches and pros and cons. As Jack has mentioned my approach can be incremental based on my needs. I need to do some testing on the boat (which I have yet to sail) and I need to define my immediate and long term needs more clearly.
Thank you once again for your input. I do appreciate the trouble people have gone to in order to provide useful information. Every one of the replies provided information that I found useful. Jack - thank you again for the information you sent. Henk - I understand much more clearly your rationale - your explanation should be kept for future reference - Chris - your experience on just the main with the Cat 320 is encouraging - I will do some testing once my new 36 is launched and I do the sea trials before I sail it home. I had already decided to have the another set of reef points put in the main as part of all the approaches so that should address the short term need. Capt Marc - you have made it clear that the Gale Sail shouldn't be ruled out too quickly. I have also heard positive information about it from other sources. I now have a lot more information about the different approaches and pros and cons. As Jack has mentioned my approach can be incremental based on my needs. I need to do some testing on the boat (which I have yet to sail) and I need to define my immediate and long term needs more clearly.
- Status