Cruising sail : asymmetric spinnaker
UK-Halsey International

The asymmetrical pole-less cruising spinnaker is the one sail you can use that will make your boat much more lively and fun. The generic name for these sails is the asymmetrical pole-less cruising spinnaker. Needless to say, every sailmaker has come up with a much shorter name. At UK-Halsey, we call this sail the Flasher because it makes downwind sailing fast and fun.

The Flasher is an asymmetrical spinnaker, which means the luff is longer than the leach and the cross sectional shape of the sail is airfoil-shaped where the deepest part of the draft is toward the luff. A symmetrical spinnaker's leaches are the same length and the cross sectional shape is elliptical or circular, with the deepest part of the draft on the centerline of the sail. The Flasher delivers almost as much pulling power as a full-size spinnaker, yet it handles more like a genoa. It doesn't need a spinnaker pole and it's asymmetrical shape that makes the sail more stable and less twitchy. The cruising spinnaker is the perfect sail for shorthanded cruising crews.