Let’s get the basic understanding about spinnakers

Generally, the spinnakers are available for three major applications: Cruising, Racing Symmetric and Racing Asymmetric. Each of these categories has their different options based on the intended conditions and that is wind angle and wind condition. 

So, start figuring out the theme of spinnakers designation and the meaning of the codes. The running sails, also known as the even number sail are basically designed for sailing at an apparent wind angle more than 90 degree. On the other hand, reaching sails which are known as the odd number sails are designed to deal with the wind angle 90 degree or less. The higher number tells the higher amount of the wind they can deal with. For example, Code 0 is the sail developed for tight reaching; the numbers are used for all types of spinnakers including the symmetric spinnakers and asymmetric spinnakers. The Code 2A or Code 2S are especially designed to be used for medium air sail.

While sailing in the light air fewer than 7 or 8 knots the sail needs to make an apparent wind angle for providing the boat enough speed for extra distance sailing. Here the use Symmetric Code 1A is quite beneficial. It is quite difficult to achieve the same results with symmetric spinnakers as their shape and design do not support with these sailing conditions.

While you are looking for an all purpose spinnaker for sale, you can go with Code 2 sail that is perfect for 90 degree wind apparent. As per the level of rig you can consider buying A2 or S2 models.  The next type is Code 4 line that is much similar to the Code 2 in the matter of shape but due to stronger material and strong build, it can face the heavy wind with the speed of 18 knots.

For the lovers of cruiser spinnaker a general purpose cruiser provides the benefits of stability and easier sailing. One more thing taken care while selecting a spinner for you that extra weigh if spinnaker simply ensures the durability,  on the other hand, it somehow stops the boat to swift in the wind of 12 to 15 knots.

Tips to buy a spinnaker that will last long

Sometimes clients knock our door with loads of complaints about the spinnakers they bought from other suppliers. Some of them complain about the longevity issues, some of them think that the design is too bad but they couldn’t visualize before buying. (This is why we have kept design your own spinnaker section on our website)

Many of them say that the sail couldn’t survive tough winds and they had to be in deep waters. Now, we prefer to remain tight-lipped. We can only talk about our quality and we know that we don’t have to say anything out loud. Performance speaks and our Marketing department makes merry.

Believe us, we never go fishing customers, they in fact hunt us down. And here are a couple of words to help you out buying a spinnaker that will last long.

Quality 

A good company usually manufactures products ensuring the customer requirements and provides improved type of solutions. A spinnaker needs to be chosen based on quality, if you know that the company that manufactures spinnakers is working well with a trusted record of providing value-oriented solutions, you can buy one!

Price

Do not buy spinnakers without comparing prices offered by a number of suppliers. Prices of course vary because of the quality of the Dacron used, stitching, quality of the threads, type of stitching, craftsmanship and a lot of other things. You should buy something that will be value for money.

Itinerary

Where are you heading or what you are going to do with your boat and the sails is a key factor for the longevity of any kind of sail, not only spinnaker. With a spinnaker made for simple moderate wind cruising you cannot expect to win a yacht race. Even if you manage to win, the sail will pass away right after.
To learn about different types of spinnakers for sale, please click the website.

8 useful tips on coastal cruising

Have you bought yourself a Spinnaker sail boat and now you think that you are all ready for coastal cruising? Now, that’s a great idea since this will not only it let you explore your adventurous side but will also be an ideal weekend getaway.
But you should know how to navigate your boat in the right way. That’s kind of challenging for new sailors. Below are 8 handy tips—
•You should first lay out an itinerary and choose your sails accordingly. Take advice of experienced sailors if you don’t know which one to choose for which kind of weather.

• You should know how to operate various electronic navigation equipment like GPS, radar, depth sounder, HF and VHF radios.

• You should be familiar with the sound of various alarms and learn what they mean, and you should also know how to handle different types of cruising situations.

• Always look for the forecast of next five days before setting out.

• You should have the skill to carry out a few mechanical adjustment and other repairing work all by yourself. You should be able to detect any anomaly with your boat at the earliest instance.

• You’ll need to understand the water currents and cope up with any sudden change. It requires practice. Initially, always sail with an experienced crew member on board.

• Do keep enough food, drinkable water and medicine in stock. Even if you are out for two days, you’ll never know when an emergency would strike.

• It’s okay to be adventurous but don’t ever ignore safety measures. If you have children on board, then you’ll need to be more careful. Keep enough life jackets and wear PFDs.

The benefits of self-tacking headsails

Sailing is all about smartness. We, the sail makers and sailing hardware innovators always brainstorm on how to make things simpler. A self-tacking headsail is highly recommended for those who love to sail alone or for yachts that have limited number of crew members.
Without self-tacking, your crew will have to take one jib-sheet off and wind the other.

Now that’s not so easy for those who are new to sailing. By using the self-tacked headsails you can cut the hassles.

How it works 

A self-tacked headsail has one jib sheet and the hardware installation is so done that when needed you can automate the process. 

The jib-sheet will move from the clew to the stand-up block that is mounted on the self-tracker track. The sheet will then be back down inside the mast and will go back to the winch. 

It will be like sliding from one side to the other on its own.  

Benefits

Any kind of automation does come with a set of benefits and there’s no exception with a self-tacker. 

• You can move the headsail in no time without keeping any crew member engaged with the process.

• If you are sailing alone then you must have a self-tacker.

• If you have a yacht boat full of inexperienced crew members, you won’t have to train them or scratch your head to make them learn how to move the headsail.

• For small family yacht sailing, a self-tacker is highly helpful. One of the adults can keep an eye on the children while the other will keep the boat running.

• With a self-tacker you can make your headsail last longer since there’s no chance of getting it caught on the guard rails.

• You won’t have to ask your friends or crew to move out so that you can grind the winches.

Symmetric Vs Asymmetric Spinnakers: The debate is on

Sailors often differ in their choice of spinnakers. Symmetric spinnakers are convention but asymmetric spinnakers have rapidly become favorite of many post 1980.
In every racing championship or in every GT of sailors, this eternal debate is kicked off. We think debates keep us healthy.

• The basic difference is the difference in shape and that has made them generate lifts differently. A symmetric spinnaker does it from the top while an asymmetric does it from the left. 

• For day sailing and cruising asymmetric is the best option since it doesn’t need a pole and helps in light air reaching. 

• Heavier keel boats prefer asymmetric as it helps to sail faster. 

• From the sailmaker’s point of view, asymmetric is better than symmetric. Let us explain. While designing the latter we need to compromise on what is optimal. In case of asymmetric we can make optimum luff curve and optimum leech exit. In symmetric the luff and leech are often switched between each other. 

• Previously people thought that asymmetric spinnakers can’t sail as low as the symmetric ones which is not true. With the use of a pole and a squared back there is more speed control with the asymmetric spinnakers. 

• Downwind oscillation of day sailing and light cruising boats can be solved with an asymmetric spinnaker. 

• For racing boats also asymmetric sails or A-sails are great since these sails can make sailing faster. But at the same time these sails need tighter apparent wind angles. Less experienced crew members can hardly pull off a good jibe. This is a handicap that prevents lot of sailors not to prefer A-sails. 

• For downwind sailing, most sailors opine that symmetric spinnaker is far better in performance than asymmetric ones. 

Everything said and done, your boat length, design and sail plan are the factors that determine whether you need a symmetric or an asymmetric. Ideally you should keep both in your inventory.

Fully-battened Mainsail: The best cruising sail

Although sailors do vary in their opinions about whether mainsails should be fully battened or not, almost 90% of our customers voted for fully-battened mainsails and we do not dare to challenge the feedback. They are the people who have dealt with this sail and got good results.

And we too do believe in this.

Most of the modern yachts have high aspect rigs. They have got long masts and short booms. The idea is to take advantage of a greater sail area and battens can provide the support needed by this kind architecture. This is the chief reason for choosing fully-battened mains for cruising.

High aspect rigs require larger mainsails and if such kind of sails are not fully battened they will take more time to reef, raise and strike. Besides they will be less suitable to endure higher loads.

A fully battened main means there is less flogging, a strong hardware support and a less exposure to weather. Battens definitely increase the lifespan of the sail and keep it in proper shape.

But you will definitely need good quality hardware at the luff ends. Battens extended to the leech from the luff means there is a great deal of roach. Fully battened mains can maintain an aerodynamic cross-sectional shape and this is why it’s best for cruising.

Besides many cruisers seek quiet sailing experience and leech flutter makes them irritated. Full battens dampen the sail motion and reduce the noise. Battens are very helpful in reefing and flaking. Those also serve you good to depower the main. 

If you can install a lazy-jack system, reefing and dousing will be more easy.

Cruising is meant for relaxing and simply enjoying the serenity of the blue waters and you should always keep it as quiet and hassle-free as possible. Full-battens are made for the purpose.

Types of Asymmetric Spinnakers

There are a number of asymmetric spinnakers which are popularly mentioned in codes. Sometimes new sailors get confused with these names since those are only numbers. If you too have faced the problem, please go through this post. 

 Here we have tried to simplify.

Before getting into the classification, let us reiterate the definition of an asymmetric spinnaker.

An asymmetric spinnaker is a sail which is not attached to the forestay along the luff but it is attached on the corners only. It does not require a pole since it’s fixed to the bowsprit. It is easy to gybe and highly recommended for the fast planing dinghies.

Asymmetric spinnakers are classified on the basis of their roles at different wind conditions. The nomenclature of 0 to 6 which is normally used to code-name the asymmetric spinnakers follow the rule of odd and even numbering.

What makes people confused is that the numbering is not consecutive for reaching and running sails. We have got code 1, 3 and 5 for reaching sails, code 2, 4 and 6 for running sails and code 0 for the most upwind capable tight reaching sail.

So if we count from 0 to 6 keeping in mind the wind conditions and the usage of the sail we shall get the following order--

Code 0-- The tight reaching sail, a hybrid of genoa and spinnaker, most suitable to sail upwind

Code 1-- A reaching sail for light air, where the apparent wind angles are less than 90 degrees

Code 2-- A running sail for medium air, meant for apparent wind angles of more than 90 degrees

Code 3-- A reaching sail for medium air, meant for the times when the apparent wind angle is near 90 degrees

Code 4-- A running sail for the heaviest wind conditions, but not storms

Code 5-- A reaching sail for the heaviest wind conditions

Code 6-- A perfect storm sail

Take good care of your Mainsails

Sails are long term partners for a mariner. Once bought they can be used for years, provided you take good care of them. Seasoned mariners know how to take care of the sailing equipment but for those who are new in cruising, require some tips. Specially we are concerned about expensive Mainsails. We have a range of fresh-from-the-loft Mainsails for sale and sometimes we come across customers who have got their Mainsails worn out too fast.

How long a Mainsail will last depends on the kind of weather it gets exposed to and how it is being preserved when it is not in use. Wind, Damp and Ultraviolet Rays are the three most common enemies of sails. Racing boats are highly exposed to wind and their Mainsails normally last 1 to 3 seasons. But boats that cruise mostly along the coasts should have their Mainsails last up to 5 years. For private yachts, the period should be as long as 10 years.

We got to know a couple of customers in our 18 year old journey who have private yachts and had to discard their Mainsails after a couple of years. The most common reason that we have found is mildew. The first and foremost task to maintain a Mainsail is to keep it dry when preserved. Even if you have rolled and kept it inside the cover neatly, you have to check time to time whether it is catching moisture.

For commercial boats, the greatest threat becomes storms. That is why it is advised to take the Mains off, if the boat is going to stay at a port for a very long time. It will be unnecessary to make the Mainsail deal with the gusty winds or UV rays. Besides how you are rolling it down, can also leave some impacts. If you have full battens, roll it straight otherwise the battens will be bent.

Headsails are designed to take advantage of varying wind condition at sea

The sailors need to equip themselves with a host of sails to sail the boat in different weather condition and wind speed. Headsails are secondary sails designed to play the primary role when the Mainsail is lowered down when the wind is smooth and the vessel is running very smoothly. Headsails are the first sails that the wind encounters in the boat. They are placed ahead of the Mainsail and further towards the end of the boat. The most common type of headsails is Genoa and Jib. The headsails are furled or brought down depending upon the situation. The position of the Headsail should be continuously adjusted depending upon the prevailing condition. It helps in controlling the boat and take advantage of the situation. If they are set right, can provide good speed and control to the boat and if not set properly they tend to hinder the progress of the boat and endanger the ship.

Genoa, Jib, Genoa Staysails and Yankee Headsails are the common headsails used for cruising. Among them, Jib is the most common sail used during the maximum course of sail plan. Genoa is used for sailing in the light wind in the range of 10 to 20 knots. Jib is an all purpose sail that is used when the wind is in the range of 15 to 40 knots. Genoa Staysail is an overlapping sail used in strong weather and helps in boosting the average speed of the boat. Yankee Headsail is used in wide range of condition and especially in reaching and upwind sailing.

Competitive racing use almost five Headsails for different situation. Wind Seeker or Drifter, Light Headsail or code 1, Medium Headsail or code 2, Heavy Headsail or code 3, Code 4 Headsail, Genoa Headsail and Jib top are different Headsails used in racing competition.

The performance of the Mainsail is very important while manufacturing it

Sailing is one of the amazing sports that uses nature’s power manifested in the form of strong wind in the open sea. As the name suggests, the Mainsail is the primary sail being used in the boat to provide the power required for propulsion. Wind power is trapped within the Mainsail which generates enough force to lift and drag the boat simultaneously. It can be considered to be the power house of the boat and does the most of the work. It is located behind the mast of the sailing vessel. It is very huge and has large sail area. It

can be either rectangular or square in shape. The Mainsail is not only about speed but they must be rugged, reliable and easy to handle.  They are made from very strong material like nylon or polyester which are strong yet vary light. The lightness of the Mainsail allows for easy handling. Strength of the mainsail is important to retain its shape when load builds up in strong wind and lighter weight decreases heeling and pitching movements. Usually, the colour of the Mainsail is white which have few coloured stripes and logo of the team or the sponsoring company is printed on it. When the boat is running smoothly, the Mainsail is usually lowered down and the task is taken from the secondary sails called as Headsails. Headsails are rather expensive but they can last for a decade if the material is of good quality and they have been handled with care despite the fact that the average life of the Mainsail is three to four years. The Mainsails are custom made based on the design of the boat in which it is to be used. Second hand Mainsails are also available in the market at affordable cost but good quality.

Storm sails may be the last item on the safety gear list but never avoided while sailing

Safety concerns are very important while venturing out in the open sea and all protective gears are put in place for the safety of the crew members. But, storm sail which are also called as storm jibs are given last preference despite their crucial role play in bad storm.  Most of the sailor keep go by the perception that the best safety technique while going for sailing is to plan the sailing during favorable weather and the storm sails will remain unused forever in some cramped corner. However, it must be remembered that storm sails are like seat belts or air bags in the car which play crucial role during bad accident and manage to save lives. 

The storm sail functions well in strong and disturbing winds as it offers very less sail area as compared to other sails making it easy to move the boat downwind. The other bigger sails trap more wind and generating more power which very easily stalls the boat.

Storm sails are used in storm to maintain just the minimum sale area required to maneuver the boat out of the situation because of its smaller size. They are made of bright orange colour so that the boat can be spotted easily in bad weather condition against the grey backdrop, so that rescue team can easily reach them and move them out of the life threatening situation. They must be made up of heavier cloth and must be heavily stitched, heavily reinforced in the corners and must be cut flat for strong winds.