Submitted on September 2, 2003 by Michael B. Ricb

Question: I have an Irwin 37 which sails miserably although I recognized this before I bought the boat. The problem is the yankee cut headsail which
barely reaches past the mast. The clew is nearly 8 feet off the deck.

Would I achieve better pointing and more speed under light air with a
bigger headsail? Thanks, Mike

Answer: Hi Mike, Your yankee probably has an "LP" measurement of about 90% of the boat's "J" dimension. A true upwind headsail built for light air would have an LP measurement of 150%. Compared to that purpose-built light air sail, you are down about 1/3 of the sail area. Also, your yankee does not overlap the mainsail so you are missing the upwind bonus of the overlap between the mainsail and headsail. The overlap area accelerates the air flowing around the mainsail and makes the two sails much more efficient on close-hauled sailing angles. So the short answer is; yes, a bigger headsail will allow much better pointing and speed in light air.

On the other end of the wind speed spectrum, your yankee is a versatile sail. In winds over 12 knots the high clewed yankee will give you reasonable performance when sailing to windward and will allow you to sail through a wide range of wind angles without having to move the sheet lead forward and aft or inboard and outboard. It should prove to be a great sail for beam reaching in moderate conditions and broad reaching in strong winds. It is also an ideal sail for use with a "J-length" spinnaker pole set to windward.

Regards,
Dan Neri

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