Pattison made my AS and 155% Genny. I'd go back to them again for any of the sails. Ullman's in San Diego made my storm jib. Also a great sail. It is fun until it get's out of hand. For me...out of hand is when the sail has collapsed and is hanging limp or just lifting a bit...boat speed has dropped... and then out of nowhere a breeze kicks up..... that sail fills with a loud "WHOMP".....the boat heels over about 20 degrees and you can hear every inch of rigging groaning. The strain about then is high, on the boat and me, with visions of a broach dancing in my head. Lots to think about when you are by yourself and don't have your hatch boards in. Someday I'll take someone along who can swim and we will see how much of this kinda fun she can take. I'd like to know. It's also more of an issue of where I sail....on a long, winding, narrow lake, with lots of wind currents and eddy's off the shoreline, and fluky winds. On big open water you wouldn't get that as much. And Rich is probably right. The smaller foresails on the M15 would be an issue off the wind. On the M17, the 155% is almost as big as the main. But as Pattison told me, on a light air day, 1 knot boat speed with the 155% up will become 2 to 3 knots with the AS. That seems to hold true. But in no wind, 0 knots stays 0 knots no matter what you are flying. Howard On 11/1/05 9:24 PM, "John L. Gonzalez" <jlgonzalez@san.rr.com> wrote:
Rich, thanks for your measurements.
Howard, thanks for your thoughts. I typically have company when I'm out on the water, so someone can take the helm while I wrestle with the rig on the foredeck. I want to wring as much speed as possible out of my little boat, and don't mind messing with the rig to do such. My preliminary thoughts are to use my whisker pole (which works great with my factory jib) with the "kite" to keep it up and out in wind shifts and in chop. The way I have things mapped out in my mind (we'll see if it works out on the water), it should be straightforward to rig my spinnaker. The quick acceleration that you describe sounds like fun.
The kite should be ready in three weeks (Elliott Pattison, supplier of my factory sails, is making it), and I'll report on it shortly thereafter.
Sincerely, John M-15, Bella (628) La Jolla, CA
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