Parasailor

[julianh]

Does anyone have any experience of a Parasailor spinnaker?

We have a Yachts 51 currently with Genoa and Code 0 foresails and are looking at options for downwind sails and the Parasailor seems a good one based on its stability and (apparent) ease of handling. We mostly cruise the Med and we are doing the ARC next year and then a Caribbean season. Keen to hear anyone's experience of a Parasailor.

[Don Reaves]

Zanshin reported a couple of months ago that he was getting one. I'm also interested in hearing his experience with it.

[Zanshin]

I know the Parasailor crew very well and they know me as their longest-standing "almost" customer. I keep on holding back my purchase until I go through the Panama canal as I see little need for the sail in the Caribbean. The winds there tend to be either great for normal sailing and only few chances of seeing long passages or lengthy periods where the Parasailor could shine. But they've got my data in stock (including the Grateful Dead logo) and one day I'll become an owner and can report.

[jy51]

Mar 3, 2022 11:52:07 GMT julianh said:

Does anyone have any experience of a Parasailor spinnaker?

We have a Yachts 51 currently with Genoa and Code 0 foresails and are looking at options for downwind sails and the Parasailor seems a good one based on its stability and (apparent) ease of handling. We mostly cruise the Med and we are doing the ARC next year and then a Caribbean season. Keen to hear anyone's experience of a Parasailor.

Having never done the ARC, but like most, have read much on the subject, AND not wishing to sound like an idiot BUT, is a down wind sail really necessary?  

Yes I know, trade wind sailing is down wind, but considering that direct down wind sailing can set up rolling and pitching in an Atlantic swell, leading to more wear on running rigging not to mention comfort, would a broad reach on say 135 to 140 degrees with occasional gibe be just as good, or would it involve much to much extra distance to cover.

Flying an offshore quality Genoa and roller reefing is much easier and safer to manage than flying coloured down wind sails.  Having tried goose winging it with poles and two genoas on a previous boat, it's not something I would like to do light handed and in a force 6. 

[Zanshin]

In a big swell you don't go dead downwind (DDW), you will bear off until the rolling from the swell is minimized sufficiently for your speed of travel. The Parasailor or other similar downwind sail will still work well at this angle.

I've done several days of DDW passages and they are really, really miserable...

Sailing that fast with a genoa and main requires poles and extra hardware. Currently without a pole I can't get closer to 20 or more degrees off the wind/swell without either or both sails doing loud and nasty stuff to the boat.

[jy51]

Apr 23, 2022 20:06:37 GMT Zanshin said:

In a big swell you don't go dead downwind (DDW), you will bear off until the rolling from the swell is minimized sufficiently for your speed of travel. The Parasailor or other similar downwind sail will still work well at this angle.

I've done several days of DDW passages and they are really, really miserable...

Sailing that fast with a genoa and main requires poles and extra hardware. Currently without a pole I can't get closer to 20 or more degrees off the wind/swell without either or both sails doing loud and nasty stuff to the boat.

So it's the lesser of two weevils, as captain Jack Aubrey said in Master and Commander.  

Rig a pole and all the rigmarole that goes with it or fly an asymmetrical down wind spinnaker or Parasailor.  

It all sounds like a bit of a catch 22, until a squall catches you off guard. Maybe poled out, double foresails rigged so that they can be roller reefed together from the cockpit is the answer.  I suppose it all boils down to personal choice.  For me the jury is still out!

[dslittle]

Mar 3, 2022 11:52:07 GMT julianh said:

Does anyone have any experience of a Parasailor spinnaker?

We have a Yachts 51 currently with Genoa and Code 0 foresails and are looking at options for downwind sails and the Parasailor seems a good one based on its stability and (apparent) ease of handling. We mostly cruise the Med and we are doing the ARC next year and then a Caribbean season. Keen to hear anyone's experience of a Parasailor.

Yes. On a TransAt we flew a Parasailor for four days and three nights without dropping it. Wind strengths varied from very little to 30+ knots. The sail behaved impeccably and gave speeds up to 19.5kn (I was really annoyed that I didn’t get 20kn…). It is a great bit of kit for downwind sailing but very expensive for occasional use.

For an ARC, I would DEFINITELY get one but, as Zanshin alludes to, you might not get much use out of it afterwards unless you are intending long passages.

Just for clarity, the trip wasn’t on my yacht, it was on a 49’ cat so quite a different set up to a monohull.