Helia 44: Wingaker vs. Parasailor

[CatNewBee]

Forgot to mention, no pressure on the rudder in contrast to code0 sailing. Awesome...

[ozsailer]

We have a wingaker 110 m2 for our Lagoon and love it. We did a huge amount of research b.efore chosing the Wingaker. At the time what got me past the hurdle was that the Wingaker was tested to destruction in a wind tunnel. Tell me how many sailmakers go to that extreme. Dont know if Lothar still does this but it gives great confidence in the testing and resilience of the sail. I shoudl mention that we sized the sail on our old boat being a Lagoon 410 so its probably a tad small for the 440 but still works well.


Greg H
Lagoon 440

[dooleedooroo]

Originally Posted by CatNewBee

Well, the code 0 is a great sail for low winds, especially apparent, you can sail very slowly down to 3kn of wind with 1.5kn. Downwind it works too quite well and it is easy to furl for tacking if necessary, downwind jibing is even easier, but you need then more wind to get it around the bow.

We had it out up to 20kn downwind, it is slightly slower than the Parasailor in strong winds, the sail area is similar, our Parasailor has 148 m2, so not really small.

Downwind above 10kn, the Parasailor outperforms the Code zero in any sense, faster to sail, more comfy, easier to jibe, and you have a great visibility around.

We really like it, changing sails from code 0 to the Parasailor takes about 10 minutes.

Where did u get your code0?

[Catamaranbliss]

Really nice summary even I can understand, beautiful, thanks!

[CatNewBee]

Originally Posted by dooleedooroo

Where did u get your code0?

It came with the boat, the first owner has ordered it with the bowsprit and the deck hardware from Lagoon.

[Zzmeyer]

I notice almost all the pictures of either sail the main is down. Is there a reason for this. I ask in part because my Saona 47 has 1,367 square feet of main and genoa and a 168 square meter sail is 1,800 square feet. I'm probably going to go with a code zero for ease of use and probably an asymmetrical. I have found on my current boat I'm using my 2,000 square foot asymmetrical less and less as I get older. If I had the extra lines of the parasail or wingaker AND had to take the main down and put it back up each time it is set or doused it would stay in the bag a lot. Not true?

[CatNewBee]

Originally Posted by Zzmeyer

I notice almost all the pictures of either sail the main is down. Is there a reason for this. I ask in part because my Saona 47 has 1,367 square feet of main and genoa and a 168 square meter sail is 1,800 square feet. I'm probably going to go with a code zero for ease of use and probably an asymmetrical. I have found on my current boat I'm using my 2,000 square foot asymmetrical less and less as I get older. If I had the extra lines of the parasail or wingaker AND had to take the main down and put it back up each time it is set or doused it would stay in the bag a lot. Not true?

We use the Parasailor and most of the time the Code0 alone. Main sail makes no sense with the Parasailor on a catamaran, causes only trouble (gibe prevent or,...) and irritates the sail.

You can also fly Code0 and Jib or Genua wing on wing without the main...

[northwestsailor]

We have a parasail for our Meta Dalu 47. Went down to Florida for training and to pickup the sail. Love it and have been in 20kts plus with it. Would highly recommend it for mono or cat.

[Zzmeyer]

Catnewbe - Thanks. Very helpful. Everything I've read by owners and reviewers say they love them. Some of the advantages are of little interest to me (offshore we take the Asym down at 20knots apparent, 15 at night as we are always shorthanded). Having it up in stronger wind because it is more stable doesn't mean much to me. How do you take it down in a breeze since you can't blanket with the main? Do you unfurl the genoa? Given you are flying without the sail area of the main versus an asymmetrical do you find any speed disadvantage in lighter airs?

[northwestsailor]

Zzmeyer- Training center in Florida does not recommend sailing with main. My sail came with a sock so no issues collapsing the sail with the downhaul. One could always head up a bit to collapse the sail before pulling the sock down.

[CatNewBee]

Originally Posted by Zzmeyer

Catnewbe - Thanks. Very helpful. Everything I've read by owners and reviewers say they love them. Some of the advantages are of little interest to me (offshore we take the Asym down at 20knots apparent, 15 at night as we are always shorthanded). Having it up in stronger wind because it is more stable doesn't mean much to me. How do you take it down in a breeze since you can't blanket with the main? Do you unfurl the genoa? Given you are flying without the sail area of the main versus an asymmetrical do you find any speed disadvantage in lighter airs?

We can fly the Parasailor on our Lagoon up to 70°, then it collapses. There is a sock to take it down. In strong winds, you just turn into the wind until it starts collapsing, release the sock and it comes down almost alone, then ease the sheet and tear the sock down, hook up the sock to the sail sheet rings to secure it. Then bring the furled sail down on deck with the halyard.

To set the sail, bring the vessel to 120° to the wind, rigg the halyard and take the sail with the sock up, connect the downhauler and the sheets to the respective rings, unhook the rings from the sock, pull the sock up and adjust the leeward sheet. It is always operated on the winward downhauler and the lee sheet, the other 2 lines are in standby. It's really easy.

[Luc bulterys]

Great help, also for me. Thanks everyone.
I will order one very soon, just waiting for the quote.

[VP and the Fox]

Hi Luc. I'm not sure if I shared this with you but this is the parasail I have ordered. There is another A 42 owner, Thomas Huhn, has bought one before I did. See attached. Ken

[Luc bulterys]

Originally Posted by VP and the Fox

Hi Luc. I'm not sure if I shared this with you but this is the parasail I have ordered. There is another A 42 owner, Thomas Huhn, has bought one before I did. See attached. Ken

Super. Thanks Ken. Certainly an interesting quote !

[VP and the Fox]

You're welcome Luk. The inflatable snuffer was a big plus for us as we have been told if we get a fibreglass one (that comes with the Istec and the Wingaker) it will be too big to fit through the forepeak hatch so it will have to be stored in the locker next to the windlass (which I don't think is an ideal place to store a sail).

It was also suggested that we can run the guys through blocks that are attached to the bow cleats with a dyneema 'loop', thereby removing the need to put another hole in the hull. We can then run the guy through pad eyes attached to the safety rail poles and the guys can be tied off to the stern cleats. We will set the guys so the parasail runs about 3m above the bow so they won't need to be on the winch.

The sheets will just run down to the block fitted at the stern when FP put the bowsprit pack in and then up onto the winches. Simple, effective and cheap. I can't see why this set up wouldn't work with the Istec parasail or the Wingaker.

Hopes this helps. Ken and Karen - The Cunning Plan.