How to choose your sails when you know that there are nearly thirty of them différente?? It all depends on your sailing program, your experience and of course your boat. But to get started and to enjoy the cruise without any problems, in all simplicity, two sails are enough.
"There are the basic sails, which are the mainsail and the genoa." explains Stéphane Hebert. Most cruising yachts are sold with these base sails.
A versatile mainsail
The mainsail is the one used most often, it is the most versatile sail. It operates upwind downwind and can be used by the engine to stabilize the roll. Mainsails - GVs - are generally equipped with a surface reduction system, reefs to adapt to the wind power. Some mainsails are fully battened, these are the GV full batten.
A genoa at the front
The genoa is a front sail with a large overlap. It was also used in the Bay of Genoa, where the wind is light (hence its name). Thanks to its large surface area, it is effective in light airs.
We can complete with a downwind sail, like a spinnaker, but we will see that it is rarely used, "because it's a scary sail" explains Stéphane Hebert.
Be careful, prefer versatile sails to specialized sails. Poorly chosen or complex sails will eventually rot at the bottom of a trunk.
To fully enjoy the pleasure of sailing, do not hesitate to improve your skills through clubs or sailing schools. It is also necessary to define your sailing programme, a round the world trip or a round the sea trip does not require the same set of sails.
And the spinnaker, is it utile??
The spinnaker is scary, because this sail is capricious. It is not held like the mainsail by a mast and boom. It is flying and fickle. However, when you know how to use it, it provides a very pleasant extra speed for long distances.
With these 3 sails (mainsail, genoa, spinnaker), you can therefore sail on a cruise, even if, on the water, you can see very few spis. "We see a lot of people coming in with a tangled genoa, or scissors. Spis are rarely sold. People consider it to be the light wind sail. When they send the spinnaker, it's often when there's no wind." stéphane explains.
However, the spinnaker is a sail that can be used in any weather, even if light airs are favoured, as it is difficult to handle. "It's not a sail you furl, like the genoa."
So symmetrical spinnaker or asymétrique??
If there is a spinnaker to choose, we will start to ask ourselves the question of the shape
"It is the shape of the downwind sails that is the subject of the debate" supports Stéphane. There are two types of spis, the symmetrical, "to be able to descend low enough downwind" and the asymmetrical spinnaker, "a sail that is easier to handle and more tolerant."
The difference between the two is therefore generally based on ease of use, but we do not sail at the same downwind angles "With an asymmetrical spinnaker, you stop at the maximum wide beam (150/160°), whereas a symmetrical spinnaker theoretically allows you to sail full downwind (180°)."
A sail on the way to extinction
"The symmetrical spinnaker is almost only sold to sailors, very rarely for cruising. It represents 2% of my sailmaking activity."
And for which raisons?? "Because it requires a pole, a little manipulation. And then it must be said that the average age of boaters is 60 years. They want to simplify their lives."
Of course, lowering 90 m2 of spinnaker requires a good physical condition. Especially when you know that the majority of spis are sent on the fly. "90% of boaters sail on boats under 35 feet, and they do not have a sock or spinnaker furler to facilitate implementation."
And the avenir??
Since the spinnaker socks, popularized by Eric Tabarly, spinnaker furlers have appeared. So far, few models have been perfectly convincing.
OEMs and sailmakers are looking for solutions to make this sail accessible. In pleasure boating, we are looking for simplicity and ease. But don't hesitate to learn or improve: the holding of a spinnaker gives real satisfaction to the sailors who use and abuse it.
