tpdavis473 wrote:
Looking good. Have you done any "speed tests" to see if you are doing better (pointing, speed, vmg) with part furled main and full jib or unfurled main and no jib?.
No speed tests with partially furled main for comparison. I'll have to do that comparison. Only tests so far have been full sai.I CAN tension the jib halyard to bring the luff to the centerline but I find the if I relax the luff ever so lightly, I get better performance from the sail. I was told the sail was cut in such a way as to fly with a mildly open luff. When I shape it for pointing, I tighten and center the luff while tightening up the foot. Hobie's single loop spinnaker rigging let's me make just about every imaginable jib shape possible.
I like the control of the heeling moment and balance of the boat that I get with a jib and half furled main sail in higher winds. I do notice with my AI2 that a half furled main begins to loose it's ideal shape because the clew loses some of its downward tension. I resolve this with a bungee that acts like a boom vang even though we don't have a boom. I'll post pics and maybe some video of this later. Everyone can benefit from this trick whether you have extra sails or not.
I have noticed subjectively that I am now able to point just about as high as the main alone but I don't believe I point higher. I think our AI2's already appears to point higher than our AI1s did. I'm guessing it's due to the better sail shape of the main (longer/thicker battens) and the bigger daggerboard.