![]() ![]() But when the speed gets up to say 20-25 knots we would have to furl the genoa a bit, which makes the sail inefficient, and at that point, we would be better off with the jib. This will slow us down a lot because the jib is much smaller, so it would be better to switch to a genoa, which is somewhere in size between the Code-0 and the jib. Once the wind goes above 15 knots the Code-0 is too powerful, so we have to change down to the jib. The Code-0 is a massive sail, and from very light wind up to about 15 knots we can use it to get maximum power. Let’s take the example of sailing upwind at 60 degrees apparent with a sailplan that consists of a Code-0 and a jib. This works out OK on a catamaran because we try and avoid sailing too deep downwind as it’s a relatively slow point of sail. Note that the Code-D can go further upwind than the spinnaker, but not as far downwind. ![]() This graphic shows the different apparent wind angles where each type of sail can be used. ![]() And because we’re only two people on a cruising boat, we don’t want to have to be constantly changing sails, so having some overlap of performance is important. The problem is at the boundaries, where the wind is too light to get the most out of one sail, but too strong to change up to the next. Obviously this isn’t possible, so we have to choose sails that will handle most of the conditions we will experience. The trick is to have just the right sized sail to provide the maximum amount of power in every wind speed. In light winds we need bigger sails and in strong winds we need smaller sails. When sailing, the wind speed and direction is constantly changing, so what we want to do is carry as much sail as possible at all times without overpowering the boat. There is actually a 4th stay on this 5X which is used to fit a storm jib. 5X with 3 headsail stays – The inner stay has a furled staysail, the main forestay has the furled genoa, and the forward stay on the bowsprit is used for the gennaker (not rigged in this photo). ![]()
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