Spinnaker Weight? .75 oz or 1.5 oz

[Roniszoro]

I'm thinking of geting a cruising asymetrical spinnaker but am wondering about the weight....75 oz or 1.5 oz. I sail mostly single handed so would be inclined to take it down relatively early as the wind came up. Of course I'd have a sock to snuff it.

Thank you for your thoughts.

[Tin Tin]

For cruising I would go for 2.5oz. The light ones tear too easy, unless you are handy on a sewing machine.

[Joli]

Usa 3/4 oz, the 1.5 oz kites aren't flown till it's blowing 25 or so, the 2.2 oz kites were mostly for tight reaching. Those sails have largely been replaced by code 0's.

If you tear your sails in lighter conditions your doing something wrong or you have something sharp in the rigging causing a problem.

We'll carry our 3/4 ounce kites to about 22 true while cruising. Racing we carried then into the low 40's.

[chrisr]

i'd go for 0.75oz. certainly a little more fragile than 1.5oz (which we used as bullet proof S3 kites on race boats), but it will fly in the softer breezes you are talking about

on the other hand 1.5oz needs 20k+ to sit up there...which i'm guessing is about when you'd be taking it down

side benefit is a 0.75oz kite takes up a lot less storage room in the locker than the heavier ones

fyi our A-sail is 0.75oz

cheers,

[robert sailor]

All I've ever used offshore is 3/4 oz. chutes....a good choice.

[BuenaOnda]

Amazed by what I read...
I have a 1.5 oz cruising asymmetrical spinnaker, I use it between 5 and 15 knots wind, mainly sailing single handed and I'm very happy with it...

[davecalvert]

Yes, I am surprised to hear some saying 1.5 oz spinnakers need 20 kit of wind.
Because of the size of spinnakers, 1.5 oz works well in light true winds.
Of course the weight of nylon depends on the size of boat and spinnaker. For a Cruising boat, needing longer life and more tear resistance, the 1.5 Is a good way to go. To take it a step farther, go with the Bainbridge Airx 900. This is one of the best for strength.

[Ardbeg]

I use a .75 oz A chute on Lake Ontario. Up to max 10 knots. As I have a 150 Genoa, once wind is 7-8 knots the heavy Genoa is full and gives more power anyway. I would say it depends on how you plan to use it and what your sail inventory is.

[FabioC]

I am surprised as well about what people are saying that you need a lot of wind to fly the 1.5.
In reality, the 1.5 cruising asym is a more versatile sail than the .75 if you are single-handed.
Above 10 knots, flying the .75 single handed is a hand-full. I have a 1.5 and a .75 and I try to fly the .75 as much as possible, but I have to say, above 10 knots is a workout and a bit stressful as well. The 1.5 "just flies", much more relaxing.
Also, the range of angles where you can fly it comfortably single-handed is wider with the 1.5 over the .75 (in fairness, that depends on the cut as well, but generally speaking for "cruising asym" cuts).
It is true that in very light breezes (below 6-7 knots), the 1.5 may be frustrating, but you can take care of that at least in part by sailing hotter angles.

[Eder]

I used my 1.5 oz asym in 5 -7 knots to cross the doldrums...flopped a bit but was fine.

[Boatguy30]

I have a 1.5 actually 2.2 weight 30 y/o Sobstad symetrical. Bought it on EBAY for about $250. Like new condition, leathered corners. Heavily 6 oz Dacron clew patches.

Flies fine in 5-6 knots of wind and in that I'm making a few knots of apparent. It's a sail you can use offshore at night and not worry about.

A .75 is a good daysail play toy. For a boat over 35' it's not a good serious cruising choice

[CarinaPDX]

I can't speak to the asymmetrical aspect, but for a cruiser 0.75oz is pretty light for a spinnaker.They are great for squeezing out the little force available in ghosting conditions, but that is not something cruisers typically do. And 0.75oz is going to stretch if carried too long.

My sailmaker built a 1.5oz symmetrical spinnaker for Carina, and told me to think about bringing her down at 10 knots of wind. Being symmetrical, and with the large foretriangle of a cutter, the sail is huge and does need to come down in the 10-15 knot range (because of overdriving the boat and the potential for "death rolls"). While it can be good fun in the inland waters of the PNW I did not find it very useful for ocean cruising (an asymmetrical would have been better). I also have a 2.2oz Dacron drifter that I used a bit more but the effort to change hanked-on sails wasn't often worth it.

Asymmetrical is the way to go, but I would not get something as delicate as 0.75oz. The heavier 1.5oz will tend to set better and survive longer. Unless of course you are racing, but that is a different website.

Greg

[Moontide]

Joli, are you the C&C 61? If so I'm impressed you fly the 3/4 in that much wind. The boats I race on fly a 1/2 oz ofter and 3/4 almost all the other times but for cruising I prefer going heavier. Not as worried about a little loss of speed. Plus since cruising boats tend to be slower than race boats the apparent wind is greater.

[Joli]

The problem with a heavier chute is, they're too heavy they tend to sag. 3/4 oz kites fly well in the wind we find ourselves needing to add downwind horsepower. The goal in the lighter stuff is to get the boat moving, reach up a bit, bring the breeze forward and get flow across the sails. It's more comfortable and the boat will have much better motion. 3/4 oz kites fly well in these conditions.

We're comfortable with this weight sail but understand others may not be. We fly kites on the ocean and use a snuffer to bring them down. Our kites are around 3,600 sq ft so 20 true for 2 or 3 of us aboard is about all we want to play with without a larger crew.

[roverhi]

Seems some are confusing cloth weight with sail square footage. 3/4 oz sails are typically built to the maximum dimension for use in very light to medium conditions where max area is easier to handle. 1.5 oz chutes are typically built for heavier air with reduced shoulders and foot length for less square feet and easier handling.

I had to talk my sail maker into making me a 1.5 oz asymmetrical chute. He argued the lesser weight fabric would fill better in light conditions and would be doused in winds that would be best for the heavier fabric. Wish I'd listened. The 1.5 oz sail is much more weight to handle and only really comes into its own in conditions I'm pulling down the sock. The heavier cloth works okay but lighter would have been better.

Spinnakers almost always get tears in the fabric from sharp objects on the boat. Tape all those cotter pins and other sharp objects that the cloth can catch on. Kites blow out at the seams when carried in too high wind.