The drifter—also called a reacher—is a time-honored, handy, and versatile sail. … A drifter generally allows a vessel to sail close hauled and to tack, and it’s very easy to control when set and struck. This sail is essentially a large, powerful, hanked on genoa built of light weight fabric.
What does sailing by the lee mean?
What is sailing by the lee? … “Sailing downwind with the wind blowing over the leeward side of the boat.” L-36.com. Think of sailing by the lee as “bearing off past dead downwind.” The shroud telltales will point away from the mast.
What’s the difference between a jib and a genoa sail?
Colloquially the term is sometimes used interchangeably with jib. A working jib is no larger than the 100% foretriangle. A genoa is larger, with the leech going past the mast and overlapping the mainsail. … Working jibs are also defined by the same measure, typically 100% or less of the foretriangle.
What is a drifter sail?
UK Sailmakers’ Encyclopedia of Sails
A Drifter is a full-draft, lightweight nylon No. 1 genoa that does away with the frustration and aggravation of sailing in light air. Drifters are a hybrid designed specifically for cruising sailors. Its wind range is from 1-15 knots when the apparent wind angle is 30-90 degrees.
What is the difference between a gennaker and spinnaker?
But what is the main difference between gennaker and spinnaker: The spinnaker has a symmetrical design. The spinnaker halyard at the head of the sail, the afterhaul upwind on the spinnaker pole, and the sheet downwind on the clew. A gennaker is cut asymmetrically.
What does the lee side of an island mean?
An island’s windward side faces the prevailing, or trade, winds, whereas the island’s leeward side faces away from the wind, sheltered from prevailing winds by hills and mountains.
What is the term by the Lee?
(Naut.) to incline so rapidly to leeward of the course, when a ship sails large, as to bring the lee side suddenly to the windward, any by laying the sails aback, expose her to danger of upsetting.
What is a spar on a sailboat?
A spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fibre used in the rigging of a sailing vessel to carry or support its sail. These include yards, booms, and masts, which serve both to deploy sail and resist compressive and bending forces, as well as the bowsprit and spinnaker pole.
What is a Code 0 sail?
A code zero is strictly a downwind sail.
A code zero is often classified as a spinnaker in terms of racing, hence the restriction on the length of the mid-girth, but it’s not a true downwind sail. If you’re going downwind, you’ll use either a symmetrical or asymmetrical spinnaker.
What is a 100% jib?
Jibs and Genoas are triangular sails which are affixed to a stay in front of the mast. … Jibs are typically 100% to 115% LP and are generally used in areas with heavier winds. The smaller area of a jib allows it to be able to perform more efficiently in greater wind speed without the need to furl away sail shape.
What is a windseeker sail?
Wind Seeker
This is a very light sail for drifting conditions. … Wind Seekers are commonly made in forgiving cloth to handle slatting conditions and designed to sheet at or near the shroud base, to make tacking and sheeting in zephyrs easier.
What is Code 2 sail?
The Code 2 sails are made to be used with the apparent wind generally between 90 degrees and as deep as your boat can sail efficiently and in 7 knots of wind to 20 knot of true wind. This would be considered your “All Purpose” spinnaker.
What is a cruising spinnaker?
The Cruising Spinnaker is an asymmetrical pole-less spinnaker that combines the ease of handling of a jib or genoa with the pulling power of a spinnaker. Because the generic name is so long, and because it improves a boat’s light-air downwind speed so much, we named the sail The UK Cruising Spinnaker.
How much faster does a Code 0 sail make sailboat go?
“You can put up three times more sail when you hoist a code zero, compared to reaching with your non-overlapping jib”
What is an asymmetric sail?
An asymmetrical spinnaker is a sail used when sailing downwind. Also known as an “asym”, “aspin”, or “A-sail” it can be described as a cross between a genoa jib and a spinnaker. … The sail can benefit greatly and be much larger if the boat is equipped with a bowsprit.
What is the purpose of a gennaker?
The gennaker is a specialty sail primarily used on racing boats to bridge the performance gap between a genoa and a spinnaker. It is sometimes the only downwind sail on board because it is easier to use and less expensive than a spinnaker. Due to its geometry, the sail is less prone to collapsing than a spinnaker.