Our goal was to make a sail that can point and perform like a Code Zero, and furls easily like a Zero - but with a significantly deeper downwind range. It's when you turn downwind that the real magic happens. The boat will perform exceptionally well when the sail is used like a traditional reacher (though the added shape in the sail does make it look a bit "knuckle-forward" when in Code Zero mode). When sailing closer to the wind, the halyard is tensioned tight like a Code Zero, enabling apparent wind angles of 70 degrees or a little better. The sail itself features a structured luff to shoulder the other half of the load allowing this lighter, smaller diameter cord to do a superior, trouble-free, job of top-down furling. It has a very light, skinny, and flexible (8mm - 10mm) anti-torque cord running along the luff - but this cord has to carry only about half the load of an old-style luff cable. The Helix Furling Gennaker is cut more like an asymmetrical spinnaker, with a curved, forward-projecting luff and a rounder leech, resulting in a deeper sail, but one carefully designed to strike a balance. And once unrolled and sailing, other differences compared to a Code Zero become clear.Ī cruising Code Zero has a straight luff, supported by a thick (12mm - 19mm) cable in a sleeve up the luff, and a relatively straight leech, approximating a Genoa, but fuller. Unlike standard Code Zeros, North designed the Helix Furling Gennaker to roll from the top-down, not the bottom-up, eliminating a loose furl toward the head that tends to catch the wind and sometimes even shake loose in a big breeze. ![]() Looking more closely, you see a very tight roll in the top third, an area where other Code Zeros can roll too loosely. ![]() It lives up, and furled, on the bowsprit or bow, ready to deploy. Helix Furling Gennaker - windchart - photo © North SailsĪt the dock, you'd think you're looking at a Code Zero. I have been thrilled to learn its benefits and satisfied with its inevitable limitations. I've experienced the Helix Furling Gennaker on various catamarans, from high-performance cruising McConaghy 60 to a more traditional Lagoon 46. ![]() ![]() long-distance cruisers), I'm honored to have been part of the North Sails development team for a new "single-sail" solution - the Helix Furling Gennaker. And while this is still the best choice for those wishing to have optimum performance over the greatest possible wind range (ie. I was always happy to offer two sails to cover wind angles from close reach to broad reach/run. Most owners have learned how cruising Code Zeros offer very convenient " beam reaching" performance but require larger-than-zero asymmetrical spinnakers for sailing deeper angles. Apparent wind, boat speed, and the sense of freedom all plummet when the upwind sail plan just can't make the boat go past a certain point, and you can almost hear the engine key whispering, "turn me!" I've been fortunate to serve hundreds of cruising multihull sailors in the past 20 years, often with downwind sails designed to eliminate the terrible feeling of performance loss when these boats bear away under mainsail and genoa. North expert Bob Meagher gives his first-hand experience and explains why you should consider adding this sail to your cruising inventory.
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