3rd sail recommendation for catamaran

[kakeochi]

About to take ownership of a 2015 Lagoon 39 which comes with a square top mainsail and a working jib. As I understand it the working job can be a bit underpowered so looking for a recommendation for another sail that will give us the most value. We will mostly be a “husband and wife” team sailing within the Mediterranean.

Have tried researching and it quickly gets confusing with spinnakers, code zero, gennakers, screachers and the like. I am leaning towards a code zero but interested to hear about experience from others and what you would recommend and why.

[CatNewBee]

Hallo and congrats to you new cat.

Whatever you chose, you will need to install some deck hardware before.

A Code-0 or a code-D will need some additional blocks, maybe even another winch and a bowsprit installed on the vessel besides of an additional halyard line (spi) . A code zero is a great upwind sail from 60 degrees for light winds with a good performance downwind too to almost 180 degrees. A code-D in contrast is meant for downwind, similar to a assymetric spinnaker, both can be furled on the bowsprit. The code 0 is a flat cut sail, while the code D has a bigger belly. We like our code0 on or L400 and use it quite often you can fly it from AWS of 4kn to what you can cope with downwind, above AWS 16kn it gets difficult to furl.

Spinnaker, Wingacker or Parasailor are downwind sails. Best between - 90 degrees to +90 degrees and AWS from 6kn to 20+kn depending on the sea state. They do not need a furler and a bowsprit, but different deck hardware, blocks on the bows and preferably 4 winches for the lines and of course the spi halyard. They are furled usually by a sock and more difficult to set and get down than a Code0. We have an IsTek Parasailor too, for the right conditions a great sail, worth considering for steady downwind sailing e.g. on passages with the trade winds. Best visibility, no pressure on the rudder, no accidental jibing. We love it, but it is a pita to rig it (take down the code 0, detach / reattach all the lines, get the sock up and trim it properly) and take down and store. One person need to go to the trampoline to set or remove the sail, can be dangerous in severe conditions.

If you look for the most versatile 3rd sail I would suggest a Code0. You can even fly it wing on wing with the job / Genoa downwind if necessary as a "spi light".

One downside is, you should not use the Code0 by night, because the sail on the bowsprit shades the navigation lights and you become invisible to other vessels, also visibility from the helm is reduced, you see only half of the picture in front of you.