Dimitri-2000X-Tampa wrote:That does look like a full featured Genoa Judy, what is the weight of the Dacron? As I mentioned, I'm going to be in the market for new sails one of these days when I finish all my current projects. One thing that concerns me is the boat's better pointing ability when sheeted inside the shrouds. Can you go larger than 100% jib and still sheet inside or is 100% pretty much the maximum for that? The stock Genoa is so baggy when furled that you don't get all that much benefit I've noticed by just rolling it up to 100%. I'm sure those luff pads help, but I've heard that even with that, you still can't match the shape of a jib when furled down to 100.
For sheeting inside the shrouds, 100% is pretty much the limit. The leech on anything bigger would hit the lower shroud.
Luff pads do a very good job of removing the draft from a genoa. It might cost a degree or two of pointing, but that's all.
However, if the 150% genoa is too powerful for the winds where you sail, I believe one could design a 125% (approximate size because I don't have exact boat measurements) that would sheet outside the shrouds just like the 150% does. The 125% wouldn't point as close as the jib though.
It might be possible that you could use the 125% to advantage when you furl it about an 88% if you put sheet leads at the back of the cabin top. It would have a decent shape for pointing when furled. However reaching wouldn't work well with it furled to 88%, because the sheets would hit the shrouds and put a hook in the clew.
The 125% might work ok, without hooking the clew, if you furled it up to about a 40% and ran the sheets to the existing cabin top genoa tracks next to the mast. I haven't spent a lot of time figuring out if a 125% will work furl to 40%, because I'd have to construct a CAD drawing in 3D, and that' waaaay too time con$$$uming to do. There's no money in it for me to do that.
From a sailmaker's perspective, the biggest limitation for reefing headsails is the location of the genoa tracks on the Mac 26X & M's. As you reef the headsail, you need to move the genoa car forward to the right place to get proper tension on both the leech and the foot. Between the existence of that lower shroud and the shortness and location of the genoa tracks on the Mac26's X and M's isn't set up to take full advantage of furling headsails.
Fair winds,
Judy B
Sailmaker
Fair winds,
Judy B
