Spinnaker or gennaker

[tolly]

Can someone please enligthen me in the pros and cons with spinnaker sailing compared with gennaker sailing, when cruising catamaran sailing.
I have my own ideas, but I would be glad to get other opinions in the matter.
I have a Prout 50 Quasar and have so far sailed with a gennaker as light and down wind sail, but my wife has her mind set on a spinnaker also.
So, please share with me if you have experience in this matter.

[2Wind]

Gennaker: Sits on a furler and is easy to manage when shorthanded. Will fly at perhaps 20 degrees higher into wind ( say up to 65-70 degrees AWA - esp in light air) than an ASI. Less effective when on a deep reach and useless when running at AWA of 150 or more. Probably the better choice is you are always short handed and don't want to sail deep down wind optimally.
ASI: see above. Can use a furler, but generally used with a sock that requires at least one other experienced hands to get it down. Can be used with the wind a little forward of the beam but best on a reach of a deep reach and being larger will serve well in these circumstances. Will struggle deep down wind, but OK up to 55-160 AWA.
SPI: You'll need a good mate to douse (like the ASI). Optimal for Deep down wind. Always better to sail a little off DDW regardless. Better for the long down wind passage. Correct sizing for you purpose, likely wind range and crew skill become important.


There will be many more views.


Cheers.

[mstrebe]

If you have both a gennaker or code-0 and a roller furling Genoa, you can sail both at the same time wing-on-wing for reasonable dead downwind performance with the main furled. You'll need two whisker poles in lighter air. Easier than dealing with a spinnaker and possible to do single handed.

Expect furling problems with assyms on most furlers, although I hear good things about the new Selden furlers. No real experience with this other than watching others trying to furl them in the bay.


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[monte]

We had a gennaker on our lagoon 380 and now have a parasailor on our lagoon 400
I think the parasailor covers 90% of our off the wind sailing needs and aren't really considering adding a gennaker for the marginal gap.
The gennaker might find some use when sailing 60-80 degrees in under 15kn TWS. Over 15kn it can be a problem to furl on the endless furler, and when furled the roach can unfurl and flap so it's always completely dropped on deck and stowed when not in use.
The parasailor has a range of 8-30+ kn TWS and we fly it from 70-180 degrees. Very easy to use and makes DDW sailing a breeze. When the wind is on the beam the boat speeds are similar to main and jib but increase as the wind moves more aft to around 160 degrees.

[mark_morwood]

We have and use both a 200m2 Asymmetric in a sock that we usually fly from the windward bow, but can fly from the sprit, and a 100m2 code 0 on a continuous line furler that we fly from the sprit. In our case they are very different sizes so not only have different preferred wind angles, but cover different wind speeds.

The code 0 will point higher and take more wind, so we keep it up to about 15 knots apparent. The asymm we fly up to about 10 knots apparent.

We started with the asymm and added the code 0. Now we have both we tend to use the code 0 more, including for deep down wind for which it is not ideal. The asymm however is great in light winds.

Given our usage, we could easily substitute a symmetrical for the asymmetrical.

[yeloya]

Not all the ASI's are the same; there are light ones and rather heavy ones. Mine is on the light side and I can fly it between 10 to 25 knots of true. There are also different cuts; mine is a runner cut and can easily go DDW without issue.
I also don't agree that you need to be two to fly the ASI, provided that you have a sock. Tacking the ASI shorhanded though is a different matter and I don't do it when I am singlehanded; I first take it down and rig it on the other side if I need to gybe..
Genneaker is easier to use but equally uneffective if the AWA is above 140-150 degrees.
Cheers
Yeloya

[xxuxx]

Originally Posted by mark_morwood

We have and use both a 200m2 Asymmetric in a sock that we usually fly from the windward bow, but can fly from the sprit, and a 100m2 code 0 on a continuous line furler that we fly from the sprit. In our case they are very different sizes so not only have different preferred wind angles, but cover different wind speeds.

The code 0 will point higher and take more wind, so we keep it up to about 15 knots apparent. The asymm we fly up to about 10 knots apparent.

We started with the asymm and added the code 0. Now we have both we tend to use the code 0 more, including for deep down wind for which it is not ideal. The asymm however is great in light winds.

Given our usage, we could easily substitute a symmetrical for the asymmetrical.

This is the answer to your question in a nutshell. People also tend to rely more on the code zero because its easier and faster to deploy. However in really light airs the asym with sock will yield more hull speed for sure.

[1paulg]

Sailing deep down wind with a gennaker is possible if you drop the main - makes about 20 degrees difference and still quite efficient .
My choice is a gennaker and screecher - both of which I use a lot.
One word of advice on a screecher - don't sail it tight in any more then 12 knots as apparent climbs fast and the loads increase exponentially.

If sailing downwind with a symmetric and a following swell be careful of it possibily collapsing when surfing down the waves and wrapping round the fore stay into a nice wineglass - don't ask how I know !

[RaymondR]

I wing and wing with a genoa and a genaker and take the genaker down from behind the genoa, makes it easier to handle when single handing.