Parasailor Spinnaker

[rpwillia]

At the Annapolis sailboat show I ran into the Istec racing booth where they were talking about their parasailor spinnaker. Looked very cool and useful, and the guy was saying that with the wing and opening in the sail about 2/3 up that if you got a know the wing and the opening made the spinnaker very easy to control. I was definitely intrigued until he gave me the price ($6500 to $7500). Are these things any good, anyone used one, are there alternate sources? I have a Catalina 310, that is now outfitted with a spinnaker pole, ring, etc which the guy claimed I would not need. I would definitely like to hear more opinions. Ray

 

[Joe]

Pricey!!!! Ask him what the re sell value is on this specialty sail... in case you don't feel like you're getting your $7,000 worth of fun. If you can afford this sail you can afford a Hinckley.

 

[Ed A]

I guess i will show my age here.
i had what they called a vented spinnaker years ago. After a lot of study i concluded that the concept is flawed and defies what we know about how spinnakers work. If your letting the pressure flow thru, do you loose more than if it were conventional and you presented all the area to catch the wind.
mine had large openings with flaps on the outside that would fill and lift the sail. It did that, it flew high, but it turned out not to be nearly as good as a conventional spinnaker. thats my view..