Bavaria 32 Genoa

[doug748]

No - I was intentionally trying not to mention the specifics so may have misled you. The boat is currently ashore in Argyll. I live relatively close to Port Edgar so it was easier for me to take the sails to the sail marker there, as I can visit during normal day to drop off, pick up etc. I’ve used them before and found them to be both reasonably priced and very helpful. They are agents for Hyde. I left the sails with them for some over winter TLC and they let me know if was done but that the Genoa was worse than we thought when dropped off and they felt probably got limited life left. I asked them to quote for a replacement - they said of course we will come measure up… and I said that might be a bit harder than you think could you quote based on the dimensions of the old sail which is how the anomaly came to light. They’ve quoted for the exact same as was on it, and “the right size” and I think they still want to actually measure before anyone cuts fabric (depending on time line she might be somewhere marginally more convenient by then).

The thread was because I was surprised that the sail wasn’t the default one and wondered if someone had changed it for a good reason. The answers here have been really helpful in that regard. The foam luff was proposed by the sail maker and seems to be universally perceived as a good thing in this application. They’ve quoted both radial and cross cut options and there’s at least one dissenting voice on that.

I have never had a radial cut genoa but for £250, it is a upgrade I would take up, using the cloth suggested.

The smaller c 130 / 120% ish headsail should offset it's small deficit in low wind by performing at it's best unfurled, in average winds, and setting better when furled is strong winds. This is a compromise taken by stacks of old cruiser / racers from way back and it works ok.
Chosen carefully it could improve forward vision and be less fussy in the tack. I also think the padded luff is a no brainer.

You may find a dodgy used coloured sail secondhand which will still work, cost very little, be fun, avoid motoring and generally be a useful stopgap in tiny winds. Either way I always carry the spinnaker pole for pushing out the headsail downwind, not ideal but a longer carbon pole is a bit too expensive for me just now.
My boat has never been measured for new sails, with common sense it is no problem.

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[awol]

I have never had a radial cut genoa but for £250, it is a upgrade I would take up, using the cloth suggested.

The smaller c 130 / 120% ish headsail should offset it's small deficit in low wind by performing at it's best unfurled, in average winds, and setting better when furled is strong winds. This is a compromise taken by stacks of old cruiser / racers from way back and it works ok.
Chosen carefully it could improve forward vision and be less fussy in the tack. I also think the padded luff is a no brainer.

You may find a dodgy used coloured sail secondhand which will still work, cost very little, be fun, avoid motoring and generally be a useful stopgap in tiny winds. Either way I always carry the spinnaker pole for pushing out the headsail downwind, not ideal but a longer carbon pole is a bit too expensive for me just now.
My boat has never been measured for new sails, with common sense it is no problem.

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How a CO32 sailor can contemplate anything less than a 165% genoa beats me! However, I have a hideous cruising chute (in Edinburgh) that my crew hate. It might look better on a Bav32.
p.s. Doesn't Chick get a nosebleed if he goes west of Falkirk?

 

[ylop]

However, I have a hideous cruising chute (in Edinburgh) that my crew hate. It might look better on a Bav32.

Feel free to PM me to tell me more about this - if you are looking to offload it. Hideous as in 1980's shell suit - that's my "style" or hideous as in difficult to use. I don't know anything about cruising chutes... so am a little nervous about knowing what I'm looking for in terms of size, usability etc.

p.s. Doesn't Chick get a nosebleed if he goes west of Falkirk?

I think they are distributors for all of Scotland now so he might need to!

 

[johnalison]

You don't want anything bigger than 130% on a Bav 32. For where you sail, you may be better off with a 110%, as you will be reefing the 130% in anything over 10kts true, and in anything over 20kts true, it will set like a sack.

Definitely go for the foam luff, but don't waste your money on radial cut. Spend the money on a good quality cloth.

I have a 120% on my Bav which lives in France (where the winds are a lot lighter), and it's plenty big enough.

I have not owned or sailed a Bav 32 but sailed in company with a 34 for a few years, and my impression is that 110% would probably be a little too small, given that they are similar boats. The Bav's boom is fairly high compared to my HR and I would guess that the main is proportionately smaller. The Bav was relatively slower in light airs with a mid-range jib and I think that reducing it down to 110% might be too much, though that is what I have. Money spent on a good jib is not wasted, and if you can't run to a laminate, which is what I have, then the best possible with a padded luff should be furlable to work well enough in most blows. My padded puff is actually cord rather than foam, which my sailmaker suggested was more prone to mildew.

 

[dunedin]

You don't want anything bigger than 130% on a Bav 32. For where you sail, you may be better off with a 110%, as you will be reefing the 130% in anything over 10kts true, and in anything over 20kts true, it will set like a sack.

Definitely go for the foam luff, but don't waste your money on radial cut. Spend the money on a good quality cloth.

I have a 120% on my Bav which lives in France (where the winds are a lot lighter), and it's plenty big enough.

I am not an expert on that particular model of Bavaria, but would tend to think the sailmaker is probably about right with a 130 or so jib. (Edit - and johnalason)
For family cruising in Scotland I would personally prefer a decent sized genoa over needing to phaff about with digging out and setting a separate asymmetric. May just be me, but the wind changes so frequently, or the course changes due to another island, that by the time a family has got a kite up the wind will have changed and be on the nose again.
A decent sized furling jib is much less hassle and more effective with very variable winds.

And absolutely no reason why a high quality sail with a foam luff, particularly a tri radial, should “set like a sack”.