Anyone have experience cruising with soft wing sails?

[dustman]

I am strongly considering building a soft wing sail rig. Does anyone have significant experience cruising with soft wing sails?


Is the more limited effective wind angle range really much of an issue?


Did you have to trim the sail constantly?


Any significant advantages/disadvantages you have noted?

[boatman61]

Have sailed gaff wing rigs, basically a short gaff on top and a soft foot.. gives one more options with the main than having a rigid boom.. I quite liked it though reefing is a bit more complicated with the soft foot.
Only used them on my Wharram Tiki's though with a wide mainsheet traveller so don't know how well it would work on a mono if that's what your considering.

[dustman]

Thanks for the input. The Wharram wing sail rig probably behaves quite differently than a true wing shape. I really like the idea of that rig though. Nice boat, you should consider yourself lucky. Is that the Tiki 21?

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by dustman

Thanks for the input. The Wharram wing sail rig probably behaves quite differently than a true wing shape. I really like the idea of that rig though. Nice boat, you should consider yourself lucky. Is that the Tiki 21?

In my younger days, owned a Tiki 21 and a Tiki 26.. strangely I had more fun on the 21.
This was my 21..

[boatman61]

I think the gaff wing can be adapted for a conventional mast with the gaff rigged with a mast slide.
I doubt you will achieve the same control without it, also it can give you the same effective sail area on a shorter mast than a Bermudan main.
But that's just my opinion..