Well, it all started at the very top of the sport, where racing sails evolved thanks to changing measurement rules, and where equipment-makers are continually developing better sail-handling systems for long ocean races. So, you ask: What is a code zero, and what happened to the genoas that once ruled supreme on the foredeck? And that’s the whole reason why all the owners of these modern boats are buying code zeros, because you need that sail to reach with.” UK Sailmakers International general manager Adam Loory says that there are obvious benefits for a couple or shorthanded crew: “It’s a smaller sail and it can self-tack, so one person on the helm can turn the boat the jib moves over to the other side, the main moves over to the other side, and the other person can go on reading a book or whatever they were doing.”īut, he adds, “when you trade for the ease of handling a self-tacking jib, you lose all ability to sail on a reach, because on a tall, high-aspect jib, as soon as you ease the sheet, the top of the sail opens up and luffs, plus you don’t have the overlap to bend the wind around to the mainsail. And the self-tackers, well, once they and the main are sheeted home, coming about requires only a turn of the wheel. For those who haven’t tried, believe me, cranking in a 107 percent or smaller jib in a stiff breeze is a whole lot easier than grinding in the venerable 135 percent (or larger) genoa commonly found on older designs. Relatively modest-size mainsails and big, powerful genoas have been tossed overboard in favor of more horsepower in the main (often furled in the mast for ease of handling) and smaller, easier-to-control headsails that have dramatically reduced the effort needed to sail upwind. Clearly, a revolution has taken place on the pointy end of most modern cruising sailboats. Typically, the sail’s single sheet is then led to a block-located well up the mast, where it disappears into the spar, runs back down to the deck and, eventually, is led back to a winch, often located on the cabin top.Īdd to those boats the majority of the rest of the fleet, which sported headsails measuring less than 110 percent of the foretriangle. But looking at this year’s fleet, what really jumped out at me was the number of boats being designed to fly self-tacking jibs.īy my count, 11 of the 27 new models in the Class of 2022 were rigged with roller-furling, non-overlapping headsails that get sheeted to a car mounted on an athwartships track on the deck, forward of the mast. Hard chines in the hull, galleys forward in the saloon, and grills and sinks incorporated into the transom are a few recent trends that multiple builders have adopted. With 25 to 30 sailboats making their North American debut at the United States Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Maryland, each fall, it’s a logical place to look for design trends. The owner of a CNB 66 flies a large code zero reaching sail on a sprit that also incorporates an anchor roller.
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