Cruising sail : mainsail (for multihulls)
UK-Halsey International
Multihull sails are a different breed, which require unique and innovative thinking in sail design and construction. Cats and tris are much harder on their sails since they heel less and go faster than single-hulled boats. Multihulls achieve their stability from being wide while monohulls get their stability from deep, heavy keels that are often 40-50 percent of the boat's displacement. By eliminating the heavy ballast and gaining stability with wide beam instead, multihulls can be built much lighter.
The wide beams can support tall rigs and larger sails, which creates higher sail area to displacement ratios. Many performance multihulls are capable of speeds equal to or as much as twice the true wind speed. At such high speeds, the apparent wind that the sails see is quite high. And since the boats aren't heeling as much as monohulls, the sails don't depower. Heeling reduces the wind in the sails. Stable platforms mean the rigging and sails are under much higher loads as the wind builds.
The wide beams can support tall rigs and larger sails, which creates higher sail area to displacement ratios. Many performance multihulls are capable of speeds equal to or as much as twice the true wind speed. At such high speeds, the apparent wind that the sails see is quite high. And since the boats aren't heeling as much as monohulls, the sails don't depower. Heeling reduces the wind in the sails. Stable platforms mean the rigging and sails are under much higher loads as the wind builds.
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