By Erik Shampain
In the last few years I have
learned more then I can remember when it comes to sailboat racing. One thing
that keeps coming back is this lesson:
Genoa Staysails can add speed to a lot of boats.
During a sail development program
for a local Santa Cruz 50, we started to incorporate a Genoa Staysail into the
inventory. With these ‘lighter’ boats that carry the apparent wind forward, the
Genoa staysail proved more efficient than a spinnaker staysail in all
conditions except true running conditions. We discovered that we could carry
the Genoa staysail efficiently under the Code Zero, the #1 Genoa (when the
outboard lead is used), the 1A Spinnaker and the 135% Jib Top! We witnessed
speed gains of over a half of a knot.
Given the results of our testing,
I started to use a Genoa Staysail on my Hobie 33. We even used it on shorter
legs of the Hot Rum Series in San Diego like the last leg of race 3 under our
Code Zero. It gave us enough speed to win overall and beat much faster boats. I
believe we were the only boat to fly this sail! We saw the knot-meter increase
by one to two-tenths after hoisting the Genoa Staysail. While this may not seem
like much, it is a large percentage of the overall boat speed on a smaller
boat.
Now consider larger, high profile
race boats. If you look at some of the
24-hour Monohull speed records, you’ll notice that the majority of these boats
did not achieve their records with spinnakers, but with smaller jib tops and
Genoa staysails. Check out this video of the Volvo 70 ‘Pirates of the
Caribbean’ during the 2005-2006 Volvo Ocean Race: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBcfMFm6pns.
Here are some more of the technical benefits
of the Genoa Staysail to consider:
- Because
the Genoa Staysail is generally smaller and flatter then a traditional
spinnaker staysail, it doesn’t affect the trim of the sail behind it or
take away its wind.
- The
Genoa staysail actually accelerates the wind through the slot between then
main and the sail in front.
- It provides balance to a boat that has a
lot of ‘weather helm’ in heavier reaching conditions.
- It moves the apparent wind forward as it
flows through the mainsail. Thus the ‘apparent wind’ has less of a desire to
push the boat over, which actually will have the effect of increased
righting moment.
It is free
sail area. It is easy to use. It is relatively inexpensive. Why don’t you have
one?
Contact Ullman
Sails Newport Beach for more information on these speedy sails.
www.UllmanSailsNewportBeach.com
/ Ullman@UllmanSails.com /
714-432-1860
Written by
Erik Shampain – Ullman Sails Newport Beach / One Design Coordinator
