Genoa 155 vs. 140 for 35-3

I recently purchased a 1989 Ericson 35-3 and want to change out the Genoa. I sail on the Chesapeake Bay/Annapolis area and plan to day sail/cruise and occasionally race the boat. Sailing preference is more toward performance. I've received two recommendations on size for furling.. 155% and 140%. Appreciate any insight on 155 vs. 140 and preference with sailmaking (North, Quantum...). <!-- / message -->

Jpconnelly said:

I recently purchased a 1989 Ericson 35-3 and want to change out the Genoa. I sail on the Chesapeake Bay/Annapolis area and plan to day sail/cruise and occasionally race the boat. Sailing preference is more toward performance. I've received two recommendations on size for furling.. 155% and 140%. Appreciate any insight on 155 vs. 140 and preference with sailmaking (North, Quantum...). <!-- / message -->

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Welcome to the EY community!

If racing handicap, I would want to put on a jib size that is just under the overlap % for the phrf # you want. I would imagine that your club handicapper can guide you. Hopefully other owners in your general area can chime in with what jib size works in the majority of wind speeds you normally experience.

Fair winds,
Loren

Problem with 155% Genoa

When I purchased new sails for my 35-3 I went with a 155 Genoa.....only to find out that the boat was really designed around the old 150% overlap as the sail would not sheet properly on the inboard tracks......it might have just been my particular sail, but the 150 I now have is a whole new ballgame.....

My experience only.....hope more 35-3 owners weigh in here......

Good Luck

155 vs 140 Genoa for E35-3

I have an E36RH with a furler in Annapolis. The E36RH is a little lighter (with less weight in the ends) and has a slightly taller mast height. The sail area is the same as the E35-3. The E35-3 has a longer J and slightly bigger headsails. I have 150% on the furler most of the time. My next smaller sail is a #3 (103%). These two sails cover the wind range from 2 - 20+ kts with a little overlap in the 12 - 15 kt range.

I decided to go with two sails (150 and 103) vs a single sail in the 130 -140% range for the following reasons: I hate the sailing shape of a partially furled headsail. With typical winds of 0 - 10, I wanted the extra area of the 150 as my primary Summer headsail. I mostly daysail, and I like sailing in light air, so I wanted to be able to sail as much as possible when I go out. I like sailiing upwind and the E36RH points really well. Most sails in the 130 -140% range do not sheet as tight as a 150+ because they hit the spreaders. The 150 curves around the spreaders and the 103 sheets inside the spreaders. I wanted to have a smaller, heavier built sail to use in higher winds vs pushing a partially furled 140 past it's wind range. I like have a backup jib. Reaching and running are MUCH faster with the bigger jib unless you are using an Assym or cruising Spin. I would like to get into racing for fun in the future, so having a sail close to the 155 max is better in light air than having a 140 and getting the rating credit. I didn't go with the 155 to get that little extra area because it would have made the overlap wind range between the #1 and #3 that much smaller.

The downsides to this setup are: Changing headsails is hard. The 150 is big and heavy. I can't fold the #1 or the #3 on the boat. I try to change headsails at the dock. I lash the unused sail down on deck and deal with it back at the dock. I have to store the unused jib onboard. I had to buy two sails vs one.

If I had to do it again I would still buy two sails. The 150 gets the boat sailing in any wind over 2 kts. I rarely need the #3 in the Summer. I had to use it once this past Summer. I usually switch to the #3 in the Fall on the first windy (15 kt) sail and leave it on through the Spring with a few changes up to the 150 if its light and I'm motivated. The boat sails OK with the #3 below 10 kts if I don't feel like changing and I have both cruising and symmetric spinnakers for reaching/running. I bought my two sails from Quantum about this time of year to get the boat show discount. I've been very happy with performance of the sails and the support and recommendations from Quantum.

If you were NOT performance oriented and thinking about racing. And, you primarily cruised, so that motoring in light (and heavy) winds was more likely, then I would consider the benefits of the single 140 (cheaper, no sail changes, no storage).

Mark

I have a 32-2 but have also been on the pointy end of discussions of performance sails for a 50 foot race boat. Most of the laminar sails are the same. The sail cloth is made overseas, mostly in Sri Lanka, if I recall. Most have panels premade and they sew them together elsewhere. Many of the big companies like Quantum, Ullman and UK buy their cloth from the same place. North's 3DL and 3Di may be made in country and their claim to fame is that they do "continuous yarn" weaving. I know they have a big place in Nevada somewhere, in which they lay the fibers down on mold to get the best shape. I've heard that is mostly a marketing gimmick.

On VOR, I have a kevlar main from Ullman and a 3DL #2 (about 140) from North. On the 50 footer, they have a Quantum main, a Quantum #3 and two North #1s. From these two boats, I have found that I like my North #2 but the seams started to go prematurely on the Light/Medium North #1, which is their primary headsail. The Quantums are good sails. I have been personal friends with the guy who runs the Long Beach Quantum loft here for more than 15 years.

I specifically selected a #2 (140) to go on my new furler. I made that choice because it was my understanding that the draft of a #1 has to be altered slightly so that it can roll properly on a furler and the draft doesn't have to be messed with as much on a #2. The draft can be truer on a non-furling sail. Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I purchased a Code Zero to bridge the gap between #1 and #2, where the only performance lag I have in my headsail quiver is that light air closehaul, which a 32-2 sucks at regardless of the headsail size.

Hope that helps.

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason, E-32 Hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA

If you go with the 155 make sure its clew is low enough that you can still get a good sheeting angle for for sailing upwind - with a furler that might be problematic. A 155 on a 35-3 is a HUGE sail due to its long J. I'm impressed that Mort got a furling 150 to sheet properly on his boat.

We bought a new 135 shortly after we purchased our boat. There have been only a few times I wished we had a bigger headsail. When it blows 0-2 it doesn't matter what you have. We also have a decent 110, but it lives in the garage right now, the 135 furls down "good enough" for anything we choose to sail in, especially if we reef the main.

We do have an asymmetrical spinnaker we use sometimes downwind sailing - it works great on light air days.

One more facet to the discussion might be the availability of the modern vertical batten option for RF headsails. Because this allows a straighter leach, I recon that it lets you have a shorter J with little loss of driving power in the upper half of the sail. i.e. you could have a 135 with the upwind power of a 140 or 145.
You would still have some sacrifice in raw sail area on a reach, I would imagine.

Something to consider.

Loren

ps: we are Really (!) pleased with our new 95% with the vertical battens.

Go small, that's my advice

I also cruise and occasionally race in the Ches Bay out of Hampton. I've got a 144% geneoa, and am happy with it's range. I can carry it up to 16 kts without furling, making it a good sail to race with with in mid-range wind. I would expect a 155% to require changing or furling at 12 kts (from my previous experience).
My advice- stay at 142% and take your bruises if winds are light.
CTO

Thanks for the great feedback and Very helpful.

Really appreciate the feedback and post. Leaning toward 140 based on comments. Thank you