Hi,
I have a 1969 Cal-34 (i.e. original version). This season I replaced the mainsail, and for next season I'm looking to replace the headsail with something more appropriate for current use. Hopefully some of the old hands here can steer me straight.
In short, I currently have a 160 Genoa, probably 20+ years old. I am thinking it would be nice to replace it with a 110. But I'd like a second opinion on that size.
The 160 was installed, two owner's ago, for use in light winds on Lake Superior. But I'm currently day-sailing her on Lake Pepin (Minnesota) for a few hours at a time. When winds are light I don't bother heading out to "bake and bob". The winds here are shifty as heck, the lake is only a couple miles wide; some days we're tacking every 10 minutes. To add insult to injury when winds are light and we use the full genoa, it doesn't point very well upwind, and flogs all over the place downwind; I really kind of hate it. My guess is the sail worked better when new, and is just too "blown out" these days.
Anyway, to get precise, I won't bother going out when wind speed is under 6 knots or over 12 knots (steady, not gusts). I consider 8 knots to be the sweet spot.
Like most, we have a rolling-furler. We've found that reefing/furling-in the genoa until it's foot (bottom) length is only 16', instead of the full 24', gives just as much speed, in almost all airs, with a lot less bother; better balance, less weather helm, easier tacking, less heeling, etc. This has led me to conclude that what I really want is a 110.
But I've only been a sailor for a grand total of four seasons, so all advice is welcome.
My question for the old hands around here is this: should I go for something a bit bigger, a 115, 120, or 135, just for the flexibility, or would that be pointless? I don't want to cripple myself by getting something so small it only works properly in 12 knot winds. Nor do I want to cripple myself by getting something so big I'm reefing in anything over 6 knots. For that matter, was the original spec for a 90 or 100, a regular jib?
I'd like to know if anyone can tell me what was "standard issue" headsail size from the factory? I feel like the previous owner went too far outside the bounds of normality with the 160. I'd like to get something Mr. Lapworth would approve of. The picture on sailboatdata.com is too low res, but I found a higher res version online...
p.s. Here she is when we were taking measurements on Saturday at the Marina in Lake City, MN. Note the new davits, sure love those!
- IMG_0514.jpg (1.56 MiB) Viewed 2620 times
p.p.s. here is a high-res scan from the owners manual PDF found online, much better than the one at sailboatdata.com. I don't know how to read it.
- cal-34_schematic_2.png (2.16 MiB) Viewed 2620 times
