W17 Trimaran — Racing Sails
Now that the W17 has had a couple of months of hard sailing with its Cruising Rig and no structural issue has shown up, it's time to give in to those looking for more on-the-edge performance and come up with a Racing Rig for this boat. In areas of strong wind and open water, or for coastal cruising, I'd still recommend to stay with the cruising rig [see later note added below] and if you get around to building the wing mast design, this adds about 10 square feet of effective area, anyway. With a boat somewhat overweight and using the Cruising rig on a shortened Hobie 18 mast, the W17 has already been timed at 14.9 k by GPS and will no doubt exceed that at some point, especially when built to weight and matched with the racing wing mast. For a cruising boat of just 16 ft average hull length, I think you'll agree that's already a fine performance!
The Racing Rig is really for racing or for use in areas where winds are typically below 20k. There's a good reef area indicated that I'd not be shy to use when winds are over say 16 k. It all depends on your experience, who you have as crew and whether there is ready assistance if you either push over the limit or get caught by some freak wind gust—and that CAN happen when you least expect it. The only time I came close to flipping my personal tri (a 26 footer!) was in just 10k of wind when a totally unexpected downdraft (of what I estimate was over 30k) hit with great down force and I was caught relaxing with another experienced sailor, while a novice sailed the boat. Despite jumping quickly to action, we just could NOT release the main under the increasing pressure (100+ lbs on the 10:1 mainsheet) and we saw the full 1800 lb buoyancy ama pressed several feet underwater, before the gust thankfully eased and she slowly came up. Since then, I've always recommended a cleat system that DOES release under such high load and now recommend it to everyone. (Spinlock's™ rocker cleat that can even be bonded to a lever for foot release to keep fingers well out of the way.)
Since 2015, the Race Rig has been paired with a new carbon fiber wing-mast design (Mk.1) for home building that has now been thoroughly tested on several boats and works great. The design is now available for home build and many are already sailing or under construction. Part of the sail area now comes from the rigid wing of the wingmast, which when rotated, gives at least half the camber to the sail. This means that a sail ordered for matching with a wing mast must be cut with a straighter luff, giving about half the camber of a normal sail. A regular sail from another boat would set VERY full on a wingmast and therefore perform poorly.
[Added 2023] Owners are free to have their sails made by any sailmaker of their choice. The drawings show the needed dimensions but it's very important to advise your sailmaker if you are setting the mainsail on a rigid wingmast or on the more flexible standard H18 mast which is the cheapest option, as (noted above), the wingmast needs a straighter cut luff. With a wingmast, the sail adds the after part of the aerofoil only, so needs to be cut flatter. Having worked with HYDE Sails of the UK for many years, I have come to appreciate their excellent value-for-money* and as they serve the boat well, I can order HYDE made sails for you specifically for either the Cruising or Race rig. This also includes all the optional sails like gennakers and storm sails.
I have supplied sails of 2 qualities .. the standard Challenge Dacron or with a Dimension Polyant PX-B Polyester offering a little more stability for about 50% higher cost. Of course, there are higher material grades available that can increase sail costs by 2, 3, 4 or even 5 times the lowest cost, but in terms of 'best low-cost value' I think you will find HYDE Sails hard to match. Generally speaking, HYDE workmanship is excellent and they also make W17 tramps & spray nets of fine value.
*For sure, sails from top makers like North Sails 3Di can offer an important performance gain ... let's say 10%. While that may not sound like much, it could give you 1/2 mile gain on a 5 mile beat upwind ... highly 'significant' if racing. But expect to pay 4 or 5 times the price of HYDE Sails. Others using high end material, may be 3 times the price. By all means use your Sail Plan to ask sailmakers what they have to offer and please keep me informed. But keep in mind that setting ANY sail in a poor manner (which far too many sailors do), can easily chop performance by 20% ... so whatever you use, learn to set and use it efficiently.
I personally still buy 'old fashioned' crosscut sails, as if/when the sail dacron stretches out of shape, the seams can more easily be adjusted than with say a radial cut sail. So the latter should only be used with a very low stretch material of higher quality and cost. But by all means shop around and if you have questions, I can try to guide you.
mike
ADDED NOTE April 2020.
I am now much more confident recommending the Race Rig and I would probably tip my preference towards this choice for all boats, EXCEPT for three cases. If you are really located in a routinely windy area (like San Francisco Bay and certain wild coastal areas); are a very Novice sailor who would rather not play with sail reefing too often; or thirdly, plan to mostly Camp-Cruise at a leisurely pace, then I would recommend to stick with the Cruising Rig. The post 2020 Cruise version now has a flat top mainsail like the Racing Rig but there is 1/6th less sail. With the Racing Rig, it DOES require more discipline to 'Reef Early' and I always highly recommend to budget for the $300 (2020) Storm Mainsail, as in high winds, it will not only save you from reefing your large main, but it will save it from being blown out of 'good performance shape' .., something that can happen with a dacron sail, despite the material itself being long lasting. With the Cruising Rig, you can always add in the genoa/Code-0 in case the wind is light, and this can be quickly rolled in. The Storm Mainsail is flat cut and works very efficiently behind the Wing Mast which then becomes about 20% of the area. Strongly recommended.
If you are elderly, but still have good sailing skills and reflexes .... then have no fear, this boat is very forgiving. At 85+ I am still enjoying my Race Rig but am well aware of when to reef. Watching the bow of that leeward ama and always keeping it least 40mm above the water surface is a safe bet .... and then hold the words of this survival article in your head. The extra sail area in winds under 10kts is always appreciated .. but just keep 'an eye on the sky' in case a front is heading your way. The natural stability of this trimaran makes sail changes a breeze and from the cockpit, unlike most monos under 20ft, it's virtually impossible to fall out of this boat ;) Happy sailing, and for many, many more years. This is a boat that will grow with you and even look after you, if you look after it! Like a fine thoroughbred horse ;)
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