155 % vs a 145 % Genoa

How to make the boat go faster or compete within the Class.

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hoodoo
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 8:00 pm

Post by hoodoo »

The owner of our boat is deciding on adding a Genoa, we have been sailing with the class jib for some time and do well, but we feel that the majority of racing locally is in PHRF, and we feel the Genoa will give us the next gear we need.
What is the most effective sail, for a PHRF and IRC.
We will continue to use the class spin.
Is the 155 the better purchase or will the 145 be more economical/beneficial????
crash
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 8:00 pm

Post by crash »

David,
The answer is it depends...on several issues. First how much of your racing is PHRF vs. IRC? Next, what is the average/normal wind speeds/sea states in the area you race?
IRC generally penalizes overlap, so you would want the smallest genoa/jib that still provides power in your average wind conditions...I think most european boats are using around 140 or so. PHRF will give some credit for sails less then the unpenalized maximums (155 for genny, ~120-128sq mtr for spin last I knew) but credits vary by region, so its hard to provide a single answer. To optimize for PHRF you'd want to go to a max PHRF spin as well as a 155 genny...IRC you'd need to talk to a sailmaker, and likely run a trail cert or two with different sized sails to see what would work best in your wind/sea conditions...
fxalbert
Posts: 58
Joined: Fri Mar 21, 2014 9:10 am

Re: 155 % vs a 145 % Genoa

Post by fxalbert »

I had my 145% genoa cut down to a 139.5% genoa. This reduction (below 140%) allowed me to take just a 3 second penalty vs the normal 6 second penalty for anything larger than the class head sail. This sail has turned out to be a massive improvement over both the class head sail and the 155%. I can point just as high with this sail and higher than almost anyone else and it moves the boat with tremendous speed.
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