Head Sail Sizing

[Slaterstm]

This summer I sailed my Venture 25 using the original working jib. In light winds she barely moved. I'm looking to get a 125 or a 150 furling genoa. The question is, can my venture 25 handle 150 genoa? Someone told me you can make a 125 out of a 150, but you can't make a 150 out of a 125. Which will work the best?

[NiceAft]

Is the wind where you sail regularly very low. That’s the only reason for a 150. If the area where you sail only occasionally has low wind, go for the 120.

Ray

[sailboatmike]

Stick with the jib and get a Assy spinnaker or blooper, a genoa isnt going to help any going up wind as they are built of off the wind sailing, so you will be using the jib upwind or making many many more tacks to cover the ground using the genoa. Of course it may be that your sails are totally naffed being 30 odd years old (if they are the originals) so you will struggle no matter what

[NiceAft]

Well, now I don’t agree.

The situation you example is limited. For all other low wind conditions, the Genny is what is needed. Whether a 120 or 150 is needed is the question. As I earlier posted, the wind conditions that you sail in determines your cloth.

I chose a 150 for my because where I used to sail, the wind sometimes is negligent. More than I would like. Today I sail where that is no longer the case. I roller furl the Genny a lot now.

Ray

[Highlander]

Well the best of both worlds is a cutter rig !
but today I might go with a Jib & code zero + spinnaker

J

[kadet]

Well the best of both worlds is a cutter rig !
but today I might go with a Jib & code zero + spinnaker

J

That's how I go with a solent rig. Furling 110 jib with luff pads and a top down furling asym. Makes life so much easier

[Slaterstm]

Thanks so much for the replies. About 25% of the time the winds were around 3-5 mph. I'm sailing in Long Island Sound. In most cases there is a 1.5 knot tide current. So, my thoughts are more sail surface is better. When the winds are 10 + mph, she moves well. I read the thread "Jib vs Genoa". Outside of a genoa being larger then the jib, what else is the difference?

[NiceAft]

The difference is dollars.

If you have the disposable income, having an assortment of sails is the best way to go, but if you don’t, then you get a Genoa on a roller furler. It comes down to $$$. Less wind, more cloth. More wind, less cloth. With a roller furler you adjust to your situation, but you loose performance. That’s it in a nutshell.

Ray

P.S. Where along the sound are you? Throngs Neck end, or farther out?

[Tomfoolery]

Outside of a genoa being larger then the jib, what else is the difference?

It also moves the center of pressure farther back. In medium winds, I will often use the genoa alone (no main), and it sails ok. I can't do that with the working jib, or at least, it's a rather unsatisfactory way to sail.

I often sail under just the genoa if I'm feeling too lazy to go through the motions of unwrapping and raising the main then putting it all back at the end. It's also easy, with a roller furler, to sail into the very narrow and often very busy inlet to the bay I sail it (with a swing bridge open for the season) and be confident that I can just roll it in if I need to get off the gas (in a manner of speaking).

[Ixneigh]

For light winds I added a removable bowsprit. I think its on YouTube somewhere under username lastlionmonday.
This equipment works well, sets up easily and stores lashed to the lifelines. It is a stought section of fiberglass tube like an old dinghy mast. Aluminum might be stronger. This allows me to set a nice gennacker.
The bad part is that the sail has to be manhandled around the headstay. But if I'm on a course for an hour its a small hassle only.
Its lashes to the anchor roller and my anchor windlass.

Ix