What's the difference?

Which would be better for solo sailing? (fancy 40 footer - as Mr C said)

I see some have snuffers and others have a furling system.

Can any be left up when not in use?

It would be nice to have a light wind sail that didn't require a pole.


Now, I already have a spinnaker with a sock but for some reason it always goes up when the wind is down but the wind always comes up before I get it back down. It would be nice to have something that's easy to handle. Also I hardly ever run square as its not very comfortable and down wind tacking is more my style.

Any other sail suggestions would be welcome.

Beware Thread Pirates. There is a button on your screen for starting a new thread if you want to talk about another subject. It looks like this.

if i had the readys i would go for one of those sails on a furler , no brainer for short handed sailing . you need a short bow sprit pole to use them .

An interesting topic. Problem with Aysmetrics is you can't fly them dead downwind, or deep downwind. Doesn't matter so much on a boat that can plane but limiting on a displacement boat.

Dead downwind, or deep downwind the only solution in lighter conditions is a symmetrical spinnaker on a pole. Sailmaker Jamie Gifford on his blog has some interesting thoughts on this. He suggests a symmetrical for deep downwind plus a cruising Code Zero (rather than a regular cruising asym) is a combination worth considering.

www.sailingtotem.com/2014/08/best-sails-for-downwind-cruising-reader-questions.html

Agree with SandS re furler...a no brainer. Just a question of where to mount it and how deep are the pockets

For solo sailing it's hard to beat the convenience of a furling screecher (a.k.a., gennaker). I have a spinnaker too, but I seldom use it went single handed, since even with a dousing sock, it's easy for things to go wrong. In contrast, about the only challenge the single-handed sailor faces using a screecher is furling. Even then, it's not too hard if you take your time. Having a winch for furling is helpful too.

Thanks guys for the input. I wonder if there would be some way to rig one on the inside the pulpit instead of on a (non-existent) dolphin basher (bow sprit). My anchor roller (built like a brick $hit house) doesn't extend far enough out past the pulpit to do it but there is probably enough space between the pulpit and forestay to fit something. I know this mean I would lose a percentage of the sail area but isn't boating always a compromise.

Hi crusoe
I have a suggestion that i have found works really well on my small boat and i could not see why it could not be scaled up
it is an aluminum prodder that attaches either side of the push pit area (i did not have to drill a single hole) , braced down by a double purchase which leads back to the cockpit and a running clew that also runs back to the cockpit
one of its beauties is that it can be pivoted up when needed and represents little danger to others in berthing situations
it has proved to be enormously strong laterally and handles my generous (for the size of the boat) assy
when necessary to douse under load i fire the clew and retrieve into the cockpit with the leward sheet , i do this solo
although you was not inquiring about assy's i must say mine is just a fantastic short handed sail much more manageable than my symetric
i find i can carry it very close to the wind and dead down wind i am competitive with symmetric's by goose-winging it and when cruising i often drop the main and it runs dd wind just fine
have a look at the photos they explain quiet a bit better than i can ...if you have any questions about the various down haul and clew lines i could detail them better

I had a screetcher on my old yacht.
I put a eye bolt through my forward mooring cleat ,
It was on a harken micro endless line furler.
great for light winds up to 15 knots.

Select to expand quote

madmission said..
Hi crusoe
I have a suggestion that i have found works really well on my small boat and i could not see why it could not be scaled up
it is an aluminum prodder that attaches either side of the push pit area (i did not have to drill a single hole) , braced down by a double purchase which leads back to the cockpit and a running clew that also runs back to the cockpit
one of its beauties is that it can be pivoted up when needed and represents little danger to others in berthing situations
it has proved to be enormously strong laterally and handles my generous (for the size of the boat) assy
when necessary to douse under load i fire the clew and retrieve into the cockpit with the leward sheet , i do this solo
although you was not inquiring about assy's i must say mine is just a fantastic short handed sail much more manageable than my symetric
i find i can carry it very close to the wind and dead down wind i am competitive with symmetric's by goose-winging it and when cruising i often drop the main and it runs dd wind just fine
have a look at the photos they explain quiet a bit better than i can ...if you have any questions about the various down haul and clew lines i could detail them better

that is a wild setup MM , very interesting ... your idea ?

Thanks for the pickies on your set up MadMission. I had thought about trying to rig up a removable bow sprit but It would probably require me to weld an attachment point on the hull below the bow sprit and I wasn't too keen. It would mean slipping the boat +++ Boat bucks. I want to keep it as simple as possible so will work on mounting it behind the pulpit just in front of the existing forestry. There is already a few attachment points in front of the forstay.

I've sent an email off to the sail maker to see what he thinks about this location and I've also asked about using the endless curler instead of the snuffer.

Do you guys normal stow the Screacher/(code zero) below deck after use or leave it up if you think it maybe required in the near future?