Hi all,
We need a sail. More specifically, we need a light air sail.
We have a main sail. We have a large genoa on roller furling. We have a staysail (although we dont use it often as we haven't figured out how to tack the genoa around the staysail.... is there an obvious trick we've missed??
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Anyway, back to the point, we are missing a light air sail and are completely confused by what on earth we need. We dont have any poles or even know how to use them. We are not racers, and have never used anything even resembling these bits of tissue paper. There desn't seem to be any fittings on the mast or elsewhere which indicates a sail was used previously, so we will need to add a complete system.
I've read books. I've read internet sites. There is some great info on here, but Im still completely confused over what on earth we want! What is the difference between all the sails listed above? Which is best for a couple to handle offshore on a 36' heavy displacement full keel boat with absolutely no experience. We are not interested in going lightening speeds, but we would like to keep moving in light airs, especially in fairly rolly seas.
Do I need a magic lamp? Am I asking for too much from one sail? Will these thin things even pull 15 tonnes of boat? It all seems a little like black magic.
Any help, guidance, comments, opinions or general ribadry appreciated.