CP-16 Headsail

[carry-on]

Considering a FF1 furler and a 150% headsail on my 16. Looking for input from folks who have installed a similar rig.
Did you notice reduced jib performance when the sail was reduced in size? Seems like the partially rolled sail at the luff would disturb the air flow over the jib/genoa.
What is a good sail cloth weight for a headsail that will be used in a variety of conditins from 150 to storm?
Thanks.

[Salty19]

As for cloth weight, there is no such thing as a weight that is good for both light and storm conditions.  Doesn't exist.

There is also no such as thing as one sail that will work well in all conditions.   Flying a genoa furled in storm conditons will probably really beat up the sail, possibly tear it.  This is why they make the variety of sails they do.

[wes]

My experience is on a 19, but I think it's applicable to the 16 too. In lighter winds I fly a 155% genoa (4 oz. fabric) on my CDI furler. This is my lake and summer rig. I try not to furl the 155 more than about 25% (i.e. down to the equivalent of a 120% or so) because it gets difficult to control and performs poorly. A 155 needs to be made of relatively light fabric in order to stay full in very light winds, which as Salty points out also makes it vulnerable to damage in high winds.

In heavier winds or possibility of stormy weather, I change to a 110% genoa (5 oz. fabric) which is strong enough to withstand the weather and allows me to furl it down to around 80% size in case of a real hard blow.

It's no fun to change out a sail on the CDI FF furler on the water. Possible, but stressful if a storm is coming up. I can see my wife back in the cockpit, making the sign of the cross . So I make a judgement at the dock before I head out. In time of doubt, I go with the smaller 110. You know what they say - there are bold sailors and old sailors, but there are no old bold sailors.

I'm not a cruiser (yet) so I'm always within reach of a port if a serious storm threatens - although I try not to go out at all on those days. If I were cruising, I think I'd invest in a proper storm jib to help ride out a rough night. Bob23 has written on this forum about his storm jib - very worth reading.

Wes

[JBC]

I have a CDI FF2 furler on my 16/III, with a 110% 3.9oz genoa.  As I sail mostly in the mountains, I opted for the standard jib size over the 155%, because it is more likely than not to be gusty where I sail and has been stated, changing headsails on a furling rig quickly is not at all easy.  I've noticed that when the wind pipes up, the 110% genoa actually can put a pretty good strain on the jib sheets and blocks on the standard genoa track setup...not sure that a larger genoa would be my sail of choice most of the time because the light cloth plus reefing it quite a bit would, in my view, compromise its performance too much, and I actually think I would need to beef up the genoa blocks/rails somewhat for a larger sail.  However, I've certainly rolled in the genoa half way several times in a good blow to reduce sail but keep some headsail control, and that actually works pretty well (though there's not a whole lot to roll up on a 110% headsail!).  Rarely sail the 16 on main alone, especially if needing to sail upwind or tack.

That said, I do wish it was easier to find stock 135% furling genoas for the 16/III.  Most companies seem to stock the 110 or 155 furling options for the 16s with bowsprits, and I think a 130/135 would be a great compromise for a single genoa.