CRUISING CHUTES

[GIBSLIND]

I had an undersized chute , purchased in error for my boat, and have now part exchanged to what I was advised was the correct size. Now please excuse the naiivity of my question but is the 'longer side' of the sail the luff or the leech? I ask this because I've hoisted the sail both ways, and it works either way, except that with the longer side as the leech the clew becomes fairly close to the water.

 

[Danny]

The longer side's the luff on mine. Masthead rig.

Once you are sure it's a good idea to label each corner clearly so you know which end is which when preparing to hoist.

 

[Rick]

Long side is luff, but if you end up flying it on a pole, you can happily gybe and use as a symmetrical if so desired - I sometimes do that when racing if the next leg is short, but it sets much better if we gybe the clews and get the "right" luff as the luff.