Anybody here sail with a kite? Was looking at (http://www.kiteship.com) and it seems cool. Downsides to it beside the extra line needed?
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done it
I've tried it a couple times, both in high winds and low, and am not impressed. It's very difficult to launch the kite behind the mainsail, easier when there's only one sail. It performs very poorly in light air, but is much more safe than a conventional spinnaker in winds over 25 knots. One of the advantages of this system is that the control lines pull UP from the deck, rather than DOWN from the mast, making a broach much less likely. On the downside, despite claims being made by some, it's not a great rig for shorthanded sailing, especially on a course where gybes are necessary. My experience is that you'll sail along nicely for ten minutes, and then all of a sudden the damned thing's in the water. Again. Pretty cool, though, in heavy wind, to be on the foredeck and feel the bow lift up in a gust. Decided not to order one for my boat until they work out a few more bugs. Last thing I need is a sail that's more tempermental than my crew.
I've tried it a couple times, both in high winds and low, and am not impressed. It's very difficult to launch the kite behind the mainsail, easier when there's only one sail. It performs very poorly in light air, but is much more safe than a conventional spinnaker in winds over 25 knots. One of the advantages of this system is that the control lines pull UP from the deck, rather than DOWN from the mast, making a broach much less likely. On the downside, despite claims being made by some, it's not a great rig for shorthanded sailing, especially on a course where gybes are necessary. My experience is that you'll sail along nicely for ten minutes, and then all of a sudden the damned thing's in the water. Again. Pretty cool, though, in heavy wind, to be on the foredeck and feel the bow lift up in a gust. Decided not to order one for my boat until they work out a few more bugs. Last thing I need is a sail that's more tempermental than my crew.
Is it legal per RRS?
I might guess that the rules would prohibit this. Though "AAPT" is a world class boat, that I think came in second in the Sydney to Hobart. So, I guess it's OK. I thought there was something that said a boat needed to have its main up all the time while racing. I would imagine that it is a handful and would require total concentration to avoid it colapsing and taking a dunk. I wonder how they douse it. John Richard s/v Jack's Place
I might guess that the rules would prohibit this. Though "AAPT" is a world class boat, that I think came in second in the Sydney to Hobart. So, I guess it's OK. I thought there was something that said a boat needed to have its main up all the time while racing. I would imagine that it is a handful and would require total concentration to avoid it colapsing and taking a dunk. I wonder how they douse it. John Richard s/v Jack's Place
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