Once upon a time, as all good tales begin, there was no such thing as a "cruising sail," and all sails were essentially equal (see Basic Sailing and Seamanship: Making Sense of Sails, to learn more about the sails themselves). Sailmakers produced sails that were suited for either racing or cruising. The result was that that many cruising skippers were dissatisfied with their sails.

From the sleek light-displacement hull and low coachroof with angular windows, to the slippery underbody with a spade rudder and choice of keel drafts (6’ 1” or 7’ 3”), this boat benefits from its aggressive styling. The high lifelines are especially good to see on a serious cruiser.

Most of the sailmakers we interviewed noted that the majority of their sails were still Dacron.



The world has changed, however, and the impact of both economics and new technologies has resolved that situation. From an economic standpoint, many large sailmakers are feeling the bite of diminishing racing fleets, so they have turned their attention toward the lucrative (and rapidly growing) legions of cruising sailors. At the same time, many of the high-tech advances in fabrics and shapes are viable only on racing yachts, forcing the sailmakers to split their production into distinctly separate sails for racing or cruising.

As a result of this reawakened interest in cruising sails, two headsails have recently become popular with the offshore set: the roller reefing genoa and the "gennaker". Each fulfills a particular need, and neither holds much appeal for the racing sailor.

To fully understand the impact of the roller reefing genoa, you need to understand a little history of headsail systems. Roller furling jibs, in one form or another, have been around for decades but it wasn't until fairly recently that they truly became high-tech. The early roller systems, crude by modern standards, were intended only as a simple storage device for the headsail, but it wasn't long before someone wondered what would happen if you only rolled the sail half way...wouldn't it work as a storm jib?

In spite of many advertisements to the contrary, the honest answer was... no, it wouldn't work very well. The problem is that a sail is a three dimensional object and not just a flat sheet. The leach and the foot would roll up nicely but, because there is draft in the center of the sail, the reefed sail was a baggy mess in the middle. To compensate for this, some sailmakers simply cut the sail extremely flat to start with, which made the sail more tenable when semi-rolled, but far too flat at full size. Besides, the early roller systems weren't strong enough to support the loads of a partially rolled sail, so the concept of roller reefing languished and roller furling remained as a stowage method only.

But with the modern breed of roller systems that resist the torsional twisting and lock the sail firmly in place, the idea of roller reefing headsails again became appealing, but the old bugaboo of getting the draft out of the mid-section remained. Modern materials (not to mention some clever design thinking) has solved the problem, and the roller reefing headsail is not only a reality, but a desirable (perhaps even essential) addition to any cruising yacht.

Whichever type of roller reefing headsail you choose, there are a few things you should order with the sail. Most sailmakers agreed that it is wise to beef up the leach and foot areas that will become the head and the foot of the reefed sail. If, for example, you have a 150% genoa, it might be appropriate to strengthen the head and tack at the points where the sail is reefed down to 110% and perhaps again at 95%. A few sailmakers originally offered tack grommets at these points so that a downhaul of some sort could be used to tension the sail, but gave up when most people didn't use them and it didn't seem to make much difference in any case.

Another point to consider is the use of a material that is immune to ultra-violet rays in the leach and the foot to protect the sail when fully rolled. Some sailmakers sew a panel of boat cover fabric into the exposed areas for protection, while others use the new fabrics with high UV resistance. Either way, be sure you protect your furled sail from the sun's destructive rays.

If there is a "trickle-down" from America's Cup racing to the average cruising sailor, then a good example of that is the "gennaker", a sail that combines the best features of a genoa jib and a spinnaker.

Though the concept had been used by several syndicates, including Ted Hood in the '70s and by the British Lionheart effort, it was the Kookaburra team that developed a stable high-powered sail for those reaches that were too broad for a genoa but where a spinnaker was a bit dicey, particularly in a breeze. All the best minds in the sailmaking world immediately focussed their talents on making gennakers which, for one reason or another, never surfaced in the final Cup races after all.

Nevertheless, this intensive scrutiny has resulted in a new breed of sail for the cruising skipper who wants an easy to manage sail for offwind work without the hassles of spinnaker poles, guys, and the required concentration of a spinnaker.

This sail provides the cruising skipper with nearly as much sail area and power as a spinnaker, with little or none of the problems. The gennaker is asymmetrical (unlike spinnakers), with the luff slightly longer than the leach. The sail is hoisted on a spinnaker halyard and is either not attached to the headstay, or only attached by a sliding ring near the tack to keep it well forward. A pennant rope tacks the sail at or near the bow and, because this is adjusted for the point of sail, sailmakers suggest that it be long enough to run back to the cockpit for ease of handling.

Cut from 3/4 or 1.5 ounce spinnaker fabric, the gennaker vaguely resembles what was called a ballooner many years ago, but the modern version is just a very large genoa with a big, broad head. There is positive area or roach cut into the luff, the leach, and even into the foot, while having nearly the draft of a spinnaker.

But since there is no pole and because the luff is tighter than a spinnaker, there is little of the tendency to collapse. Even if the luff does collapse, the tack line keeps the sail from hourglassing around the headstay and it's simple to refill the sail.

From a cruising standpoint, the gennaker provides a safe, simple way to get nearly the area and power of a spinnaker without expensive gear, and it can be set and doused by one person. According to one sailmaker, a gennaker for a 34' sloop would be about 779 square feet, compared to 937 sq. ft for a spinnaker and 478 sq ft for a 160% drifter.

Another sailmaker claims the gennaker can be used in light air up to 55° apparent, although it would be more realistic to compare it to a spinnaker which is workable up to about 70° at best.

Handling the gennaker is as easy as trimming the genoa. Hoist the sail and trim the sheet to a spinnaker block set well aft, and that's it. There are a few tricks to the sail, though. When close reaching (between 50° and 80° apparent), the tack pennant should be pulled down, approximately to bow pulpit height, to tighten the luff. Trim the sheet just enough to stop the luffing and, as the wind moves aft, ease both the sheet and the tack pennant. The tack should always be lower than the clew, however. Gennakers are designed for reaching rather than running but, by easing the sheet well out and letting the tack float up, the luff of the gennaker will move around to windward of the headstay. If the sail tries to collapse, you can stabilize it by reaching up slightly to increase the apparent wind velocity.

Most sailmakers offer an optional sleeve that makes setting and dousing the gennaker extremely simple. A long fabric tube with a funnel-shaped snout is used the store the sail. To set, the sleeve (with the sail inside) is hoisted to the masthead, and an uphaul line pulls the sleeve aloft, releasing the gennaker. To douse the sail, a downhaul line pulls the funnel down, muzzling the sail as it goes. Again, each sailmaker has a buzzword for their sleeve, such as Stasher, Squeezer, or Boa, but it makes an already simple sail even more foolproof.

Cruising sailors once had to take up valuable storage space with expensive bags of sails needed to cope with a variety of wind conditions and directions. Today's offshore skipper can now handle most situations with a roller reefing genoa and a gennaker, reduce his costs, and make sail handling far simpler and safer in the process. Ahhh, the wonders of modern technology.

Editor's note: this article was updated in July of 2017.