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KC7CC · 30-03-2007, 00:15

In light WX auto furling head sails are OK ,
but i would take them down in bad WX .
Get out your tools !

Even tethered , trying to right something ,
in bad WX is too dangerous . Not worth it .

They are especially handy , short handed
in a marina , any place where you must tack
freq' .

Head sail alone worked far better tacking
short-handed .

Its in the much lower drag of main .
Head sail drags so much , you may not
be able to reach speed , pinching .

--------------------------------------
this did not work for me , either :

www wiki on sailing ....
"An old adage describes beating as sailing for twice the distance at half the speed and three times the discomfort.An old adage describes beating as sailing for twice the distance at half the speed and three times the discomfort. "
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Discomfort ?!

Nothing smoother than beating into
a 30knot wind 6 foot swells , a storm jib ,
full main and a hike out stick ...
Head off as you crest to keep pulling....
----------------------------

In 70's i had to teach myself , books
are all wrong ...
17' Montgomery Tall rig , only headsails are
70 , 120 .
I spent hours trying to flatten the 120 ,
headsail , beating back to Rocky point
MX , Sea of Cortex ... about 20 knots wind
------
Down with the 120 , up with
the 70% storm sail .

I never overpowered , from that time on !
Encredible speed , all for the flatter headsail .
Less heel , less noise , faster speed .

The problem with drag , is , you maybe able
to reach , say 5 knots , but its a threashold ,
a large headsail will NOT let you get there , no
matter how flat it is .
Pinching requires gradual trimming all
the way up to 5 Knots .

KC7CC .need to crew a cruiser in TX .
62 Y.O. , W.M. , non-Liberal ,
165lbs , good nite vision , E.E. , engine mech' ,
inventor , Ham , No drink/smoke. Smoked for 30 years
it dont bother me . werty swissinfo org