Add’l Sails for Legacy (Genoa and Spinnaker)?

[Seachelle]

Hi, Legacy friends!

I am wondering if any of you have ever outfitted your Legacy for a genoa or spinnaker? I am sailing on a decent-sized, midwestern lake that often sees lighter air conditions; as such, I'm looking to see if I can outfit my Legacy with a genoa, or possibly even a drifter or spinnaker.

I thought that Com-pac might sell additional sails for the Legacy, so I emailed Gerry at Com-pac, yesterday, to inquire. Gerry got right back and let me know that Com-pac doesn't sell additional sails for the Legacy, and that the Legacy's cleat hardware for the jib wouldn't accommodate a genoa.

The above all said, I am curious if any of you have ever modified your Legacy to accommodate a larger headsail?

Thank you for your help and hope you're having a great sailing season this year!!!

Happy sails!
~ Chelle and SV Sunflower (Sunny)

[Seachelle]

Hello, again! Just a quick update on my original post. I am still trying to figure out how I can accommodate a larger head sail on my Legacy for lighter wind conditions. After doing a bit more research on this forum, I learned of a company called Masthead Sails, I think they're out of Florida, but I'm not entirely certain on that. Anyhow, I spoke with a really great guy — his name was Paul and he was of tremendous help to me. Firstly, evidently his company is a Com-pac dealer, from what he told me, and so he knew right off the bat how to help me with my question as he is familiar with the various Com-pac models. He provided me with luff, leech, foot, and LP measurements for my Legacy; in case anyone else is looking for this information, here's what Paul told me:

Com-pac Legacy:
Luff = 15'
Leech = 13' 4"
Foot = 7'
LP = 6.2

Masthead Sails didn't have any lighter head sails to accommodate my Legacy, but Paul recommended that I contact Josh Willis at Doyle Sails at 727-853-5334, to inquire about having a custom Code 0 or asymmetrical spinnaker made. I had heard of Code 0 sails and asymmetrical spinnakers recently, but back when I was growing up sailing in the 70's, we used drifters or a spinnakers. I believe Paul said that, for my Legacy, the Code 0 would be a hank-on sail, and that the asymmetrical spinnaker wouldn't need a spinnaker pole. The other part of the equation is that I would need to install additional hardware to accommodate either the Code 0 or an asymmetrical spinnaker — at this point, I am stil trying to figure out how to do this, but of course, what I choose will be based upon which sail I decide to go with moving forward.

When I reached out to Josh at Doyle Sails and explained my situation, he suggested I order a custom 150 genoa. Josh, like Paul at Masthead Sails, was extremely helpful and friendly. For the 150, I'd also need to figure out how to install the hardware to accommodate this sail. We talked about installing something to the stern arch on the Legacy, but then he brought up the issue of load bearing as the Legacy's mainsail sheet/traveler is already integrated into the he stern arch, so he felt it would be better to opt for installing hardware on the coaming. He also suggested a Lewmar size 8 winch as well as part of the hardware installed — which, I'm glad that he brought that point up about winches because sheeting in a 150 would take more elbow grease than the working jib for me — I just had my first sail on my Legacy two days ago, and my shoulders, shoulder blades, and my neck are all a bit stiff from sheeting the jib in during our sail — I am outta shape! ;-D It has been well over 15 years since I had last sailed, tho, so haven't used those muscles in that way in a LONG time. :-D

I will keep you all posted on what I decide to do. My decision on which sail to go with will be based upon my confidence level in installing the hardware on my boat — I am not entirely comfortable drilling into the coaming, but I think that this is really the best way to go to have the hardware secure.

I would be curious to hear what others are doing with their Legacy; I am still in the process of researching on this forum, so perhaps I will uncover other solutions based upon other experiences people have shared here.

Happy sailing!
~ Chelle
P.S. In case anyone is trying to figure out smaller headsail options for your Legacy, I found a great thread on this forum regarding that topic at https://cpyoa.com/forum/index.php?topic=8263.0

[Roy]

Masthead sails is a great company . Paul helped me out and they installed a Furler on my Legacy which was a great improvement.

Roy

[Seachelle]

Hi, Roy! Thanks for your reply! That is great that you were able to have Paul at Masthead Sails help you out with a Furler for your Legacy; I'd be curious to learn more about it. A month or so ago, I had called Com-pac to ask about having this done — swapping out the hank-on lapper jib for a furling jib. I was told that it could be done, but that I'd be trading the ease of rigging the Legacy for the ease/use of a furler. That said, I am curious what your thoughts are on that; do you leave your mast up for the sailing season, or are you trailering around and having to step your mast frequently? Also, what sort of (if any) modifications did you need to make to where the jib sheet hardware is — did you move the cam cleats on top of the cabin to another location? Or, is your furling jib the same size as the lapper jib that comes with the Legacy, so no need to move the factory-installed cam cleats? I appreciate any feedback so much — thank you! :-)

[Renae]

I know a lot of folk here have slips (and furlers), but I think the entire point of most models of Com-Pac is easy trailering, setup and tear town.  I personally wouldn't put a furler on a trailer sailer, but YMMV.

[Roy]

Hi Seachelle. I only trailer sail my Legacy. It takes me less time to set up the Legacy with the furler.  It adds a little more weight to the mast when stepping it but not much. At least I don?t have to  go  hank on the jib which takes time and  I don?t have to go to the front of the boat. mast head sails used my original Jib and added a Luff tape. What a improvement.  I only sail on the Gulf where the seas are 2-4 ft and going to the front of the boat is not recommended for sure. I also like to sail by myself at times so a furler  is a must for me . I have owned my boat for a little over 8 years and the furler was the best addition so far. I also added grab rails, Ruddercraft tiller and Rudder, tiller clutch ,Boom vang and a Torqueedo motor. With a furler you can Reef the Jib within seconds.. for me it is a no brainer  when you compare the pros and the cons. No further mods were made except for routing the furler line which needed some additional hardware. Mast head sails did a great job

roy

[Roy]

I don?t understand the argument that hanking  on a jib is easier then a furler for trailersailing. I leave my Jib and furler attached to the mast and all I have to do is raise the mast and attach the  furler to the loop up front. It takes me 5 minutes less to set up the boat compared to a hank on jib.

[Seachelle]

I know a lot of folk here have slips (and furlers), but I think the entire point of most models of Com-Pac is easy trailering, setup and tear town.  I personally wouldn't put a fuller on a trailer sailer, but YMMV.

Hi, Renae! I think that is what Gerry at Com-pac was aiming at when I had asked him about installing a furler on my Legacy; he just wanted me to be aware of what he viewed as the trade-off when doing so — that the Legacy might not be as easy/fast to rig as it was designed if a furler was added to the equation. That's how I interpreted what he said, at least. I am very curious to learn more about what Masthead Sails did for Roy in his situation — off to ask him some more questions. :-)

[Seachelle]

I don?t understand the argument that hanking  on a jib is easier then a furler for trailersailing. I leave my Jib and furler attached to the mast and all I have to do is raise the mast and attach the  furler to the loop up front. It takes me 5 minutes less to set up the boat compared to a hank on jib.

Hi, Roy! I am really glad to learn about how the furler set-up works for you on your Legacy — it gives me a lot of confidence that I would really like it as well. We leave our Legacy in a slip for the season and haven't yet made plans to trailer sail around, so we will likely stay put at this lake. It's a nice-sized body of water with a lot of fun areas to explore, anchor out, etc.

I love it that you are able to minimize the amount of time needing to be on deck with having the furler. During my first sail the other day on my Legacy, it was easy-peasy hoisting the jib from the cockpit, but when we were ready to head back to the dock, I made the mistake of thinking that letting up on the jib halyard would drop my sail all the way down to the deck (I have forgotten a lot of things since I last sailed almost 20 years ago!), so I had to sort of get into the companionway area and lean way up to try to pull the jib down as I didnt' want to go on deck since we were being bombarded by powerboat wake. Anyhow, that is definitely one reason why the furler appeals to me, plus I like what you mentioned about reefing the jib easily, too — sign me up for that! :-)

Would you be willing to perhaps send me some pics of your Legacy's furler as well as where the sheets run to in the cockpit? I can private-message you on this forum so you could have my email address, if you are willing to send the pics there (I'm still very new to the forum, so I am not sure how picture posting works here)?

I would also be curious about your grab rails as well — I would love to see pics of what you did — I would love to install these on my Legacy! Oh, I also have the Ruddercraft rudder and love it — love it that I can just pull on the cord to raise the rudder quickly when needed.

Thanks so much for your help!!!

[Cpy23ecl]

You can easily bring the jib down without going forward in any way by adding a light downhaul line to the the head of the jib and a block at the tack, bring the line thru the tack block and back to the cockpit.  To bring the jib down just release the jib halyard and pull on the downhaul line.

That said, I'd go with the furler too.  They are just so much more convenient.  They do take a tiny bit more effort when raising the mast, but I don't feel its significant.

Fred

[Seachelle]

You can easily bring the jib down without going forward in any way by adding a light downhaul line to the the head of the jib and a block at the tack, bring the line thru the tack block and back to the cockpit.  To bring the jib down just release the jib halyard and pull on the downhaul line.

That said, I'd go with the furler too.  They are just so much more convenient.  They do take a tiny bit more effort when raising the mast, but I don't feel its significant.

Fred

Hi, Fred! I am so glad that you shared this post  — thank you so much! I have read about the effectiveness downhaul lines in other threads on this forum and was curious how to install one — you made my day with this info, so thank you, thank you, thank you, again! :-) Cheers!!!

[Seachelle]

You can easily bring the jib down without going forward in any way by adding a light downhaul line to the the head of the jib and a block at the tack, bring the line thru the tack block and back to the cockpit.  To bring the jib down just release the jib halyard and pull on the downhaul line.

That said, I'd go with the furler too.  They are just so much more convenient.  They do take a tiny bit more effort when raising the mast, but I don't feel its significant.

Fred

P.S. Fred, when you mentioned using a light line for the downhaul, what size line would you envision for the Legacy's lapper jib? I appreciate your help so much! Thanks, again!!!

[Roy]

Before I had a furler installed I had a jib Dow haul which brought the jib down quickly but  I still had to go to the front to bundle the jib as it would be flapping all over the place and ended up dragging in the water at times when the wind really picked up.

[Roy]

seachelle. I have no problem sending you pictures. I also have problems posting pictures on this forum. I can e-mail them to you

Roy

[Cpy23ecl]

I think a 1/8" double braid line would be more than sufficient.

Fred