If we're just looking at sailing:

    - The schooner will have a lower COE, the ability to get more sail area for the same heeling moment, the ability tune the COE, even to the point of being able to steer and shunt without rudders, and have lower individual sail weights and sheet loads.

    - The unarig will be more efficient with a higher aspect ratio, grab more and better air up high on light wind days, won't have any sail interference at any point of sail, and will have half the controls to optimize.

  But the BL is going to be for racing while the Ex40 is an all-around boat that you might take cruising, so they're going to have different needs.

  For racing, I'd definitely go with the unarig.  It's going to be faster most of the time, isn't going to blanket itself, and will be twice as easy to tune.

  But for going anywhere on a boat with a cabin, I'd go with the schooner.  It may be the only way to get a 2.0+ Bruce number on a boat the size of the size of the Ex40 and still fit under 60' bridges.

  Plus, the schooner is going to be more docile in gusts, safer with bare poles in a big blow, and has that option of sail steering if something goes wrong with both rudders.  Chances are both rudders aren't going to be down at the same time, but why not have a belt, suspenders, and duct tape if you're going somewhere remote?

        - Mike

 

I think that the single sail of Bucket List is interesting. Looks like a giant windsurfing sail to me, but with a high aspect ratio. Has that concept ever been tried in practice?

I saw that you chose a Schooner for the Exhilarator. Are there any benefits to the Schooner compared to the single sail, besides the lower center of effort?
From what I've read about sails/wings, a single sail with a high aspect ratio will get a better lift/drag ratio than a Schooner, or jib/main. And the single mast also has the benefit, which I think you stated somewhere, that it's able to reach stronger winds in light wind conditions.

Bjorn

• New Members 1