Leopard 46 downwind sails

[MikeFergie]

Wow thanks for all the input guys. Some good reading and suggestion.

So am I reading right that an asymmetrical CAN be used without a centre bow sprit on a cat ? As the boat had no low down hull supports I was reluctant to start what seemed like a lot of work setting this up.

I have done this all before when I used to race a Tornado and the key was a decent bow sprit and lines to the hulls to take the pressure off the pole and help lift the bows




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[Training Wheels]

Some say running the asso on a bridle off the bows is faster than using a sprit.


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[admiralslater]

i have a Pdq 36 which I race a lot and run a symmetrical chute on it we run it from the 2 bows only using snatch blocks for gybing .it works very well. We now use a snuffer which helps with short handed sailing .If i get organized I can do it single handed .I also have an Outremer with a code zero and an apc which I have yet to use . It came with a brand new never hoisted Doyle offshore symmetrical and snuffer which I am selling as the wind in Caribbean are strong enough to require more crew than I normally have. It has a 15 meter hoist and is 1.5oz
David

[mark_morwood]

I guess it's not surprising I agree with Dave above as he built our main, code 0 and asymmetric. All of which we use pretty much as he describes, except we will use the code 0 as deep as 170 when we need a sail between the jib and spinnaker in size and are heading downwind. We used to fly a reefed main off the wind, but for the last couple of years of cruising now always drop it and just use a head sail of some form once we are passed about 130.

The asymmetric works great with a tack line lead to each bow. You can then trim it to windward for deep downwind work, and bring it back to the center line as the apparent wind comes forward.