Running one sail

Don0190 said:

People run on their head sail only because they are being lazy.

Click to expand...

Sometimes lazy is good.

RainDog said:

For sure depends on the boat. I used to sail my Catalina 27 in high winds with 1 reef in the main (only had 1) and just a handkerchief of jib out. Sailed great. I saw a bunch of other boats sail with just Genoa in those conditions and it seemed to work great. I gave it a try and damn near lost my rig. Not a good idea on that boat. On my current boat it works fine, but I much prefer a balanced plan.

Click to expand...

Agreed.
In heavy winds up to 20kts, sailing my catalina 27 with just the 135 was not good. It gets way to hard to sheet in tight and you feel the rigging straining.

That boat was much better off with a reefs in the main and some jib in a bit of a blow.

That being said, on days after work when I didn't have too much time and just wanted to tool around by myself with a refreshment in hand, sailing with the genny alone was just fine and actually pretty quick. Plus you could put the boat away that much faster which meant just a little more sailing time.