Submitted on February 13, 2006 by Michael McGuire

Question: Hi,

I am an experienced racer currently working up a 1982 Pearson 37R for distance racing on LIS and beyond (Annapolis-Newport; Marblehead-Halifax), often shorthanded. What type of headsail and downwind inventory would give me the greatest "bang for the buck"? While keeping this boat as competitive AND simple to handle as possible? The boat has a late model (1999) Harken Roller Furling.

Would an asymmetric alleviate some of the IOR handling characteristics in heavy air reaching/running? If so, what would you recommend for weight and cut (wind angles the asym could handle at various wind speeds?).

How high would you cut the genoa clews to allow for good reaching characteristics while not giving up to much hard on the wind?

Best regards,
Michael McGuire

Answer: Michael,

To answer your first question, regarding heads'ls, I need to know if you plan to use your Harken headstay as a furler or as a two-groove foil. If you use it as a racing foil, the simplest, bare minimum inventory would be an All-purpose #1 genoa and a #3 jib. Sailing shorthanded, your boat will be much less stable than a fully crewed race boat, so you'll need to shorten sail at a lower wind speed. An AP #1 (assuming your local handicap system allows up to 155% unpenalized) would work in light wind and be able to take you to the point where the boat needs less sail area as well as flatter shapes. This may be as low as 10 kts TWS which is about 14 apparent. At that point the boat will be up to full speed and be ready for a smaller, flatter sail to point higher. To cover large wind speed ranges and hold optimum shape, these two sails will need to be built of low-stretch material, ideally aramid or Spectra.

If you choose to use your Harken unit as a furler, then you'll need one sail to do everything except serve as a storm jib. A full sized 155% roller-reefing genoa can be reefed up to 20% of the foot length which reduces the area by 36%, as both the luff and foot get shorter. That's about the same area as a #3 jib, but in a lower, wider configuration.

A Rope-Luff reefing pad improves the shape of the roller-reefed sail and allows one sail to adequately, (but not optimally) cover a large range of wind strengths.
Regarding genoa clew heights.....I recommend clews at or slightly above lifeline height. Such sails, when sheeted to the rail, reach well without giving away upwind performance when tacked on the furling drum. They also catch less of the bow wave and chafe less on the lifelines than true "deck sweeper" genoas.

The IOR handling problems downwind usually showed up in 2 conditions. On windy close reaches, the boat wanted to round-up. Dead running in a big breeze the boat rounded down. On a reach, an asymmetrical Code 3A would be a big improvement over a symmetrical spinnaker. It's longer, rounder luff combined with a shorter, more twisted leech provides more forward force with much less healing and turning force.
Downwind in a big breeze, a small, easy-to-trim sail of either type (A-sail or S-sail) is the key to control of "IOR boat syndrome". This sail should not be too flat. Flat running sails are hard to trim and can promote rolling and steering problems. Reduced size allows running deeper with less risk of rounding-down.

Good luck,
Steve Reed

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