Considering the standard rig for a Catalina 310 is:
S.A. Fore: | 251.16 ft² / 23.33 m² |
S.A. Main: | 242.13 ft² / 22.49 m² |
It is rigged as a mast head sloop The query stated low winds and you responded with inexperienced crew, “day sailing” not racing.
I would be inclined to spend money on an asymmetrical. I would invest in a sock and an ATN for the sail rig. There are days when you might sail with just the asymmetrical fore going the main and the work to trim/control it. Day sailing is the type of sailing that generates the quote “Gentlemen don’t sail to windward.”
Gentry stated well…”Sailing a boat to windward requires, above all else, concentration. And this concentration, by the best helmsman, is more intense than any beginner can even hope to comprehend.”
Not to be put off by such phrasing, it is easier on crew, boat and skipper to make long reaches across the lake than to challenge wind and wave bashing to windward. It is easier to sail to windward with a standard jib than a 135 or 150 (my opinion). In light breezes the weight of standard 8oz cloth sail is more difficult to capture the wind than with a 1.5oz nylon asymmetrical. (my opinion).
Lastly the Asymmetrical just looks pretty.
But it is your money, your boat, and your choice that is important.
It might make the decision easier if you talk to a fellow boater and solicit a sail on a boat that has the type of sail you are considering.
Fair winds.
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