Whoa! Not for me!
First, I must admit I have never flown a kite, or even seen one flown
(except a regular kite in the back yard), but I can't believe that it
is easier to deploy, retrieve or handle than a spinnaker, and my
attempts with spinnakers have been uniformly disasterous. They are not
for single handed cruising sailors, in my opinion. Strictly a racing
sail. Too much work to put up or take down and too much tending while
up.
A screacher just rolls out on the furling line. Anything happens, luff
it and roll it back up.
When I cruised my cat in the Bahamas, we used the screacher maybe 1/3
of the time. We used the spinnaker twice in 9 months. The screacher
worked well until the wind was directly behind, and even then we could
tack it off to both bows and use it like an asymmetrical spinnaker.
- Gardner
On Wed, Apr 22, 2009 at 7:00 AM, Paul Bowker
<paul.lis.bowker@
>
>
> For downwind running, why not a kite?
>
> Main attachment to downwind lee bow, gives lift and downwind drag, reduces
> forces on the rudder system, drags the proa along.
>
> No heeling forces, no aback issues.
>
> Furl main sail.
>
> Sit back with a cold beer.
>
> Gybing/broaching ceases to be an issue. If reaching required, hoist main,
> haul in kite ??
>
> http://www.youtube.
>
> cheers
>
> Paul
>
>
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe