Submitted on May 15, 2007 by Henry Gattone

Question: I recently purchased a 1989 Pearson 27. It has a wheel that is not easy to get around quickly. I am a senior citizen that wiil do quite a bit of solo sailing, and will be replacing the furling jib. Is a 130% genoa with a cruising cut (higher clew) a good choice for an all around headsail?

Hank

Answer: Hi Jon,

Choosing the size of your primary headsail would depend to some degree on where you sail. If you were sailing in a windier region of the country where the average winds were above 15 knots, I'd say a 100-115% might be a better size. If where you sail has more moderate to lighter conditions, a 130-135% would be the best option. I always prefer a relatively high clew for cruising headsails as the higher the clew the less "lead sensitive" the car position is for variant wind angles. Keep in mind that the higher clew will hurt your boats pointing ability to some degree so I wouldn't go too extreme. Somewhere in the 4' range would seem about right for your boat. To maximize the range of this headsail you may want to go with the Rope Reefing option. This allows you to reduce the size of the sail and maintain a better sail shape in the roller reefing process.

Let me know if we can help you any further.

Regards,
John

Best of luck!
John Gladstone

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