560: Parasailor or Not for a Multihull?

[Ozbullwinkle]

Thanks Careka, I anticipate that when flying the Parasailor in heavier breezes say around 20 Knots that due to the load on these brace lines they will need to run to a winch. Using the blocks at the base of the mast will reduce the angle to the mast winches from the bow blocks but I'm not too keen about the sheet running from the sidedeck in a right angle across to the mast which is one of my potential configurations which I see as a safety issue as crew could trip over it.

I bet that you can't wait for summer to come around.

All the best,
Steve

[Amara]

Originally Posted by Ozbullwinkle

Hi Kym, We also have a Parasailor being made at the moment for a FP Eleuthera 60. It will be 188 square metres. It would have been even larger if we had went for the Masthead model but this will be large enough for us especially when short crewed.

Coincidentally ours will be delivered to St Maarten for our passage across the Pacific to Vanuatu which will commence in early March.

What size will your Parasailor be?

Steve

Hi Steve-
We ordered one that is 252 sq meters. We'll let you know how/if we like it. So far my husband is stuck in a marina in France until the weather dies down. He is hoping to leave this week and then him, his captain and crew will attempt to cross the Atlantic. Maybe we'll all meet in St. Mararten around the same time and be able to compare notes on our parasailors?
Safe travels!
Kym

[roetter]

Originally Posted by caradow

This thread is unbelievable!
I sincerely do not want to offend anyone but I must say
it sounds like you people advocating a parasail may have just fallen victim to a sailmaker's marketing skills.

From someone who has come from a very competitive racing background and racing with numerous sailmakers for over 40 years I think the parasail is a goofy invention.
For cruising dead down wind a slightly blown out racing kite would do just as well and a lot cheaper!
A symmetrical kite is one of the easiest sails to fly especially on a cat. It is not like you have to jibe the thing.
You guys have talked about how easy it is to fly, not having to worry about it overnight and it just cares for itself. Well I guess it's no problem when you get hit with that squall line that is always lurking.
Please, I encourage someone from a racing background to convience me otherwise.

Maybe it is something I am missing so I would like to be educated. I really don't need to hear from someone who has 7000 miles experience with one unless they have used a symmetrical kite extensively in the past and under the same conditions of your parasail.
Please please spell it out for me and if you can provide me logical explanations then I will go and buy one because my asym is quite disappointing when you need to go deep.

So again please do not be offended just have a different opinion.

Caradow

I have flown symmetrical and asymmetrical spinnakers in racing and for cruising for many years. During my Atlantic crossing I had a friend on board who has raced his boats (36') almost every week for 25 years in the Pacific north west. He could not believe how well behaved our Parasailor was. We were in up to 33 knots of wind (during our nightly squalls) and around 25-28 during the days. We had 5m swell ( not only our guesstimate but also in the daily weather forecast we got from a first class weather router) with up to 2 m wind waves at about 45 degrees to the swell. We flew the Parasailor for over 3 days straight through until we blew both of our mast fittings for the halyard out of the mast. Flying it from the top was just too dangerous. Flying a Genoa with a triple reefed main was no fun at all and much harder on the auto pilot. So we reduce to just genoa to give the autopilot a break until the waves and wind went down a little. We slowed down for, 200+ Nm days to below 170Nm days.


Please take a look at the design of parachutes. They have a hole at the top. Why? Because it makes them more stable. They will not swing back and forth. The Parasailor has a hole too, but not only that. It has the parasail too, which is double chambered and inflated by the ram air. With that it acts as an inflatable batten across the width of the sail, pushing the shoulders out.

By the way the guys that make the Parasailor also make top notch parachutes.