This thread was originally about problems tacking a large
genoa. The suggestions to improve tacking have been great. I really appreciate all of them. I'll look at adding rollers to the forward lower shrouds. I should have thought it.
It also raises the question - why have a large genoa? I have owned frac rigged sport boats with blade jibs, so I was surprised that I grew fond of my 155 and old masthead rig.
My 155 is certainly dated - this
boat is a Nelson Marek design from the late 80's. I prefer to think of her as an American
Classic ...oh well, silly me. I'm a little reluctant to change their sail plan.
It is a good sail up to 15 kts. Very good below 12. With a shortened main, good up to 18-20. It'll furl and still point okay up to ~22 kts. The luff is padded and that helps for moderate
furling (10-20%).
After that, the sail must be deeply furled and that is the end of any close-hauled upwind
work. Of course, bashing into 22+ kts close hauled is not something a geezer like me looks forward to. I'll run when I can, and would have to be clawing off a very scary lee shore with clogged
fuel filters to beat close into a gale. But you can go upwind - just not at a 45 deg true
wind angle.
Changing to smaller jibs on the fly is for my younger
racing days. I've done it. It was fun. Furling certainly hurts the pointing angle and loses races. This sail comes down easily, but is literally too heavy to
lift when rolled up on the
deck (which is also no small feat). You really don't want to take down a sail like this in a seaway and it would take 3-4 guys. It could not be done safely.
One nice thing about the 155 is you can really get rid of a lot of sail area in a hurry if you need to - like when a summer squall is bearing down out of nowhere. It's actually not too bad to furl in heavy air if you can fall off and blanket it with the main. But, an overpowered 155 with no main is a very ugly beast to tame. Be careful doing that. It's tempting to just throw out the genoa, leave the main on the boom, and run off
wind. But it can be a real PITA to furl later. I never
winch the furling line unless there is just no other way. That is inviting disaster.
If I had a good, tabbed-in bulkhead under my foredeck for a
chain plate, I would put in an inner forestay and move to a real
cutter rig. If I had it to do over again, I would have bought a
boat with that sail plan. But there is a lot of cost converting to it. Wire,
sails, furlers, chain plates, tangs, winches, tracks, runners and their chain plates. I would then probably discover my new main is too small. Too costly for me. A real
money pit, I fear. It is also just - well - complicated. I dislike it, aesthetically. Too much wire,
rope, and stuff on the
deck.
I'll probably just cut the genoa back (as I get older) or buy a 90-100 working jib. I considered a Solent rig with a jib. More affordable than moving to a
cutter rig, and less complicated - but these are, I hear, also very poor setups for upwind work, with a big furled genoa blocking the luff. A friend who did it ended up added a staysail to go upwind.
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