: This was my second shakedown cruse in the last two weeks, and I added my
: roller reefing poly tarp jib that now makes my total sail area
: approximately 60 sq ft with the added jib plus the main. I tried it out
: yesterday in winds ranging from 10 to 20 with gust to 25 mph. I was really
: happy with the results as compared to the terrible blue poly sail setup I
: had last year. I put considerable rounding on the leach and foot plus two
: darts that made a lot of camber belly in the jib. I thought I had too much
: belly until I tried it out on the water and it seemed just right. I had
: been concerned about the Folbot ama pontoons digging into waves but found
: out I had them on backwards. Installed correctly they kept their front
: nose high out of the water and the harder I pushed the boat the higher the
: amas lifted the front nose. I tried to see just how far I could drive the
: ama under water in some strong winds. The ama tilted up about 45 degrees
: and I drove the back of the ama under water enough to flow water over the
: aka cross bar, but that still left more then half of the ama pontoon above
: water. So I feel the Folbot amas are pretty safe and can take a lot.

: I was hoping the boat could sail 40 degrees off the wind but it really
: surprised me. I would bring the boat directly into the wind, check my
: compass and veer off. I can sail 30 degrees off wind. I checked this
: several times to allow for wind shift but it was always the same. This has
: to be the combination of the jib, the foil shaped long leeboard and the
: large foil shaped rudder.

: I had a 4000-acre lake all to myself along with two fishing boats I saw. A
: special day.

: John

Nicely done, John. 30 Degrees off is pretty tight.

Mike Savage
South West Cork