Catalina 350 International Association

My C350 currently has a 150pct roller furling genoa which works well for beam reach thru downwind points of sail, but does not point well upwind, especially when furled in stronger winds. I am thinking about buying a 100-110pct headsail as an alternative. My research on the internet suggests that a 110pct foresail with a high clue works well. I would appreciate hearing of experience and recommendations of any C350 owners out there. Thanks.

You can reply to my post or contact me via email: sv.divine.grace@gmail.com

Regards,

Alan B
s/v Divine Grace

We also have the larger genoa on our boat. It is a very heavy cloth so really poor in light winds on any point, but we do point reasonably well in the higher winds. We start to reef in 20 knots but before that full sails. Our fastest point of sail is a close reach to beam reach. We regularly sail with other Catalina 36's, with smaller genoas. They can point a little closer to the wind but I do not have any experience with the smaller sail on our 350s. I do play with the jib sheet cars to get the most out of the sails, and with our big sails and trying to point close to the wind, the cars are usually all the way aft with the sails tight.

Depending on where and how you sail and the common conditions the 150 can be too much sail. Furling a big headsail does bag the sail no matter what you do with the cars to adjust the trim.
My 150 was great on a beam or broad reach with good breaze. Anything forward of the beam became problematic in brisk air. If you are like me and your faced with light air it might be time to start up the Yanmar and chug along instead of using that big Genny.
To these ends my suggestion is to buy a 125-135 genny with foam or rope installed on the luff. These help keep a nice shape when furling in higher winds. A 135 with foam allows furling but still points well.
I haven't invested in this yet but there are storm sails that wrap around the furled headsail in storm winds. Reef down the main with a furled 135 with foam and carry on....
When faced with the loss of lighter wind performace of the 150, especially reaching I am going to buy a top down furling code 0 that will help with most moderate breaze beam or aft. This is not in the budget for this year but should make for good sailing in most conditions.(especially with a storm jib for serious business)