How many sails do you carry?

[ODO Editorial]

Do you carry additional sails on board?What do you consider your 'working' headsail, and what do you carry for extraordinary conditions? Is it as simple as a spinnaker, or do you use smaller jibs and larger genoas, too?Raise your opinions here, then vote in this week's Quick Quiz, found toward the bottom of the home page.

[Justin - O'day Owner's Web]

I always carry at least one extra sail sufficient to generate steerage and headway in the conditions likely to occur in the area I am sailing. What this sail is varries from boat to boat and place to place.On my daysailer, I carry an extra mainsail because the jib is too small to move the boat well under anything short of a gale. (In a near gale with only the 2/3 jib however, the boat is a rocket) On my Catalina, I carry a working jib with with wire luff. I have CDI roller furling with internal halyard, so I end up with the old genny halyard as a spare. It lets me fly the working jib if I loose both the main and the rolling genny somehow.Other sails I like to have varry depending on conditions and the purpose of the sail. I am adding a wire luff drifter-reefer this summer. On the daysailer, it was a true chute. On the cat we carried drifter reachers for both amas and light and heavy air mains.Justin - O'day Owner's Web

[Naveed Kahn]

I do not have a roller furling on my 27 so I carry several head sails for the different conditions I may encounter on Lake Michigan. I usually sail with the main reefed once and a 100 percent working jib. I also carry a storm jib, and 135, and a 150 light air jib.I will look forward to adding a roller furling unit this summer. I will use it with a 135, but I think I will not have all of the sail out much of the time.NV

[Dennis Churchill]

We get varriable weather here. Its either 85 degrees with a light wind from the east or its 86 degrees with a light wind from the east. Sometimes it gets as extreme as 90 degrees with a light wind from the ene. Anyway, I sail with main and 150 day in and out. mmm. love the islands. its really time to drop out and come on down, you know?Dennis

[ODO Editorial]

final results for the Quicxk Quiz ending 5/8/2000:Do you carry extra sails onboard?  35% Spinnaker 27% Smaller jib 20% None 17% Larger genoa