slutter rig sailboat

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Cutter Rigged Sailboats [GUIDE] Advantages, Sailing, Options & Features

Cutter rigs are often more prevalent in boating magazines and theory than they are in your marina. Most cruising sailboats are Bermuda rigged sloops with just one permanently attached headsail. So, are two headsails better than one? Or, are they double the trouble?

History of Cutters

What is a Cutter Rig?

Cutter features, cutter rig options, sailing a cutter rigged sailboat, 5 popular manufacturers making cutter rigs, it takes two to tango, cutter rigged sailboat faqs.

History of Cutters

Cutters became popular in the early 18th century. These traditional cutters were decked (instead of open) and featured multiple headsails. Smugglers used cutters to smuggle goods, and the coast guard used cutters to try to catch the smugglers.

Various navies also used the cutter rig. Navy cutters featured excellent maneuverability and were better at sailing to windward than square-rigged ships.

Navies used cutters for coastal patrol, collecting customs duties, and “cutting out” raids. These “cutting out” operations consisted of a boarding attack. Fast, maneuverable cutters could stealthily approach an enemy vessel and board it. This type of attack was common in the late 18th century.

US Coast Guard ships, now powerful, fast, engine-driven, steel vessels, are still called cutters today as a nod to their past.

A cutter rig sailboat has two headsails instead of just one. The jib is located forward and is either attached to a bowsprit or the bow. The inner sail is called the staysail and is attached to an inner forestay.

Traditional cutters were built for speed. Today, cutter rigged sailboats are popular with ocean-crossing sailors, cruisers, and sailors looking for an easy to manage, versatile rig for all conditions.

It’s important to distinguish cutters from other types of boats with a single mast. Cutters regularly fly two headsails on nearly every point of sail. Many sloops are equipped to fly different-sized headsails, but it is unusual or unnecessary for them to fly more than one at a time.

Solent Rig vs Cutter Rig

A solent rig is traditionally called a slutter–a little bit sloop and a little bit cutter. This configuration features two large headsails mounted close together. The solent rig is good if you do a lot of downwind sailing. You can pole out both headsails and go wing-on-wing, with one headsail on the starboard side and one on the port side.

If you are on any other point of sail, you can only use one solent rig headsail at a time. If you use the inner sail, the wind flow is disrupted by the furled forward sail. And, if you use the forward sail, you’ll have to furl it to tack because there’s not enough space between the forestays.

The solent rig is a way to add more sail options to a standard sloop. Most solent stays are not required rigging to keep the mast up, so owners remove them when not in use to make tacking the primary headsail easier.

Advantages of a Cutter Rig

There are a lot of reasons to like a cutter. A cutter rigged boat has redundant rigging and spreads the sail load across its rigging. And a cutter rig offers increased sail options–it offers increased sail area in light winds and easy and efficient ways to decrease sail area in heavy weather.

In heavy weather, a cutter will drop or furl her larger headsail – usually a yankee or a genoa. That leaves just the smaller inner staysail. This arrangement is superior to the standard sloop, which sails in high winds by reefing her headsail. The staysail, however, lowers the center of effort on the sail plan and maintains draft over the reefed mainsail. That makes the boat more stable, maintains performance, and reduces stresses on the rig.

If you imagine the sailor going to sea and needing to reef, it’s easy to see how many more choices they have than the sloop sailor. While each sailor can reef their mainsail, a cutter skipper has full control over both headsails as well.

Because a cutter rig spreads the load across two headsails, it’s easier to manage. There might be more sails, but each sail is smaller and has smaller loads on it. That makes cutters the preferred option for sailing offshore when short-handed, as are more cruising couples.

Lastly, it has to be added that there’s something appealing about the traditional looks of a cutter.

Disadvantages of a Cutter Rig

While there are many benefits of a cutter, there are drawbacks and disadvantages too.

Sailors will have more lines to manage and more processes to think through. More sails mean more halyards and sheets. And when it comes to maintenance and upkeep, a cutter will have more standing and running rigging to replace, along with one more sail.

Cutters are also harder to tack. You’ll be dealing with two headsails instead of just one. Many designs deal with this problem by making the staysail self-tacking. This has fallen out of favor, but it’s a great advantage if you find yourself short-tacking up or down rivers.

Regardless of whether you need to tack both headsails or not, getting the larger sail to tack through the slot and around the inner forestay is sometimes a challenge. Many skippers find themselves furling the headsail, at least partially, to complete the tack.

Cutters need extra foretriangle room, which can mean adding a bowsprit, moving the mast back, or both.

Cutter Rig Position

Looking at a cutter rigged sailboat diagram, you might see a bowsprit depicted. Often, cutters fly their yankee from a bowsprit. Bowsprits allow boat designers to increase the fore triangle’s size without making the mast taller. Other cutters don’t use a bowsprit and mount the yankee sail on the bow.

A cutter sailboat might seem like more work. After all, there are two sails to trim and manage. In addition, you’ll have to perform maintenance on two sails and purchase and maintain double the hardware.

However, the two headsail arrangement can be easier to manage when the sails are under load. Instead of having one jib or genoa to trim, the weight and pressure are spread across two sails.

Mast Location

Today’s modern boat designers often focus on providing living space in the cabin. Designers often move the mast forward to create a larger, more open saloon. When the mast is forward, there’s less space to mount two headsails. A cutter sailboat needs a decent foretriangle area.

A cutter rigged sailboat is also more expensive for boat builders. The deck must be strong enough to handle the inner forestay’s loads. Between the additional building costs, saloon design issues, and customers’ concern over increased complexity, boat builders often favor a single headsail.

Easier on the Boat and Crew

Since the loads are distributed between two smaller sails instead of being handled by one large genoa. This means there’s less pressure on attachments points and hardware, and therefore less wear and tear. In addition, because there are separate attachment points on the deck for each sail, the load is distributed across the deck instead of focused on one spot.

Because each headsail is smaller, the sails are easier to winch in, so the crew will find it easier to manage the sails.

There’s nothing cookie-cutter about a sailing cutter. From the cut of the jib to the configuration of the staysail, each cutter sailboat is unique.

Yankee, Jib, or Genoa

Traditional cutters have a yankee cut headsail along with a staysail. The yankee is high-cut and usually has no overlap. The high cut improves visibility, and a yankee has less twist than a typical jib. By sloop standards, it looks very small, but on a cutter it works in unison with the staysail.

A jib is a regular headsail that does not overlap the mast, while a genoa is a big jib that does overlaps. The amount of overlap is measured in percentage, so a 100-percent working jib fills the foretriangle perfectly. Other options include the 135 and 155-percent genoas, which are popular for sailors in light winds.

The problem with using a big jib or genoa with a staysail is that there will often be a close overlap between the two headsails. If flown together, the air over the staysail interferes with the air over the outer sail, making each one slightly less efficient. In these cases, it’s often better to drop the staysail and leave it for when the wind pipes up.

Roller Furler, Club, or Hank-On Sails

Sailors have many options to manage and store their cutter’s sails. Sailors can mix and match the options that work for them.

Roller Furler vs Hank-on Sails

You can have both sails on roller furlers, both hanked on, or a mix of the two.

Buying and maintaining two roller furlers is expensive, but it makes the sails easy to manage. You can easily unfurl, reef, and furl both headsails from the cockpit without having to work on the deck.

Hank-on sails are fool-proof and offer less expense and maintenance. You can use a hank-on staysail, either loose-footed or club-footed, depending on your needs. Hank-on sails make sail changes easy and they never jam or come unfurled unexpectedly.

The most common setup on most cutters is to have the larger yankee or jib on a furler, and the smaller and more manageable staysail hanked on.

Club-footed Staysail

A club-footed staysail is attached to a self-tacking boom. Since there is only one control sheet to handle, there’s a lot less work to do to tack from the cockpit. It tacks just like another mainsail. You can tack the yankee while the club-footed staysail self-tacks.

Island Packets and many other cutters feature this arrangement, which makes tacking easy.

However, a club-footed staysail takes up space on the foredeck–it’s always in the way. It’s harder to get to your windlass and ground tackle. In addition, it’s harder to store your dinghy on the foredeck under the staysail boom. The boom also presents a risk to anyone on the foredeck, since it can swing during tacks and jibes and is even lower to the deck than the mainsail boom.

Loose-footed Staysail

Keeping a loose-footed staysail on a furler clears space on the deck. Without the boom, you can more easily move around the foredeck, and you’ll have more space when you are managing the anchor. In addition, you can more easily store your dinghy on the foredeck.

However, the staysail loses its self-tacking ability. You’ll now have to have staysail tracks for the sheet’s turning blocks and another set of sheet winches in the cockpit. When it comes time to tack the boat, you’ll have two headsails with four sheets and four winches to handle. Most owners choose to furl the outer headsail before the tack. Then, they can perform the maneuver using the staysail alone.

The good news is that most offshore boats are not tacking very often. If you’re on a multi-day passage, chances are you’ll only tack once or twice on the whole trip.

Downwind and Light Air Sails

There are a number of light air sails that will help your cutter perform better when the wind is light. Popular options include the code zero, gennaker, and asymmetrical spinnaker.

Adding one of these sails to your inventory can make it a dream sailing machine. A code zero can be flown in light air. Since the cutter is already well equipped for sailing in heavy air, a light air sail really gives you the ability to tackle anything.

Sloop Rig, Ketch, and Yawl

While some describe a cutter as a cutter-rigged sloop or a sloop cutter, a modern sloop has one mast and one permanent headsail.

But you’ll also find the cutter rig used on a ketch or a yawl. A cutter ketch or yawl offers a cruising sailor increased sail area and choices by adding the mizzen mast and sail behind.

Sailing a cutter rigged boat is not that different from sailing a traditional sloop. Sailors will have to pay close attention to trim and tacking.

Sailing a Cutter Rig to Windward

A cutter usually can’t point as high as a sloop when sailing to windward. The yankee hinders the staysail’s airflow, and the staysail starts to stall.

Tacking a Sailboat Cutter

If you need to short tack up a narrow channel, and both your sails are loose-footed, you can roll up one of the headsails and just use one headsail to tack. Many staysails have a boom and are self-tacking. This means you can tack the yankee, and the staysail will take care of itself.

Reefing a Cutter

A cutter sailboat has more options to easily get the right amount of sail. You can add a reef to your mainsail, then furl or reef the yankee a little, and then add another reef to the mainsail. As the wind increases, you can take the yankee in all together, and sail with a double-reefed mainsail and the staysail. Finally, you can add the third reef to the mainsail. Some staysails can be reefed, too.

A cutter rig offers many options during heavy weather. For example, you may end up taking the mainsail down altogether and leaving the staysail up. Or, you might choose to replace the staysail with a tiny storm sail.

Adding a storm jib on a sail cutter is much easier than a standard sloop. On a sloop, you’d have to remove the large genoa from the bow and then add the storm sail. This operation places the skipper in a challenging situation, which can be avoided on a cutter.

On a cutter, you can remove the staysail and add the storm jib to the inner forestay. Working a little aft of the bow will give you increased stability while managing the staysail’s smaller load.

While many modern sailboats are sloop-rigged, cutter-seeking sailors still have options.

Rustler Yachts

While many new yachts have ditched the sturdy offshore cutter rig in favor of greater simplicity, Rustler is making a name for themselves by bringing it back. It’s still one of the best options for offshore sailing, and it’s great to see a modern yacht company using the rig to its full potential.

The Rustler doesn’t need a bowsprit to accommodate its cutter rig. The Rustler is set up for single-handed and offshore cruising with all lines managed from the cockpit. Their smaller boats are rigged as easier-to-sail sloops for coastal hops, while the larger 42, 44, and 57 are rigged as true cutters with staysails and yankees.

Cabo Rico Cutters

Cabo Rico built cutters between 34 and 56 feet long. They aren’t currently in production but often come up on the used boat market. They are beautiful, semi-custom yachts that turn heads where ever they go. Of all the cutters the company built, the William Crealock-designed Cabo Rico 38 was the most long-lived, with about 200 hulls built. The second most popular design was the 34. The company also built a 42, 45, 47, and 56—but only a handful of each of these custom beauties ever left the factory. Most of the larger Cabo Ricos were designed by Chuck Paine.

Cabo Ricos have bowsprits, and the staysail is usually club-footed, although owners may have modified this. Cabo Ricos are known for their solid construction, beautiful teak interiors, and offshore capabilities.

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Pacific Seacraft

Pacific Seacraft features a full line of cutters. Pacific Seacraft boats are known for their construction, durability, and overall quality.

Just a few of the best-known cutters built by Pacific Seacraft include the following.

Pacific Seacraft/Crealock 34
Pacific Seacraft/Crealock 37
Pacific Seacraft 40

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Island Packet Yachts

Island Packet boats are probably the most popular cutter design available today. Designer and company founder Bob Johnson created beautiful cutter-rigged full-keel boats with shallow drafts that were very popular around Florida, the Bahamas, and the east coast of the US.

Island Packets are known for their comfortable, spacious layouts. Older models could be ordered from the factory as either sloop or cutter-rigged. The result is that you see a mix of the two, as well as plenty of cutters that have removed their staysails to make a quasi-sloop.

Island Packet is still in business today, but now favors solent-rigged sloops with twin headsails.

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Hess-Designed Cutters

Lyle Hess designed several famous cutter-rigged boats, including the Falmouth Cutter 22 and the Bristol Channel Cutter 28. These gorgeous boats are smaller than most cruising boats but are a joy to sail. Lyle Hess’ designs were popularized by sailing legends Lin and Larry Pardey, who sailed their small wood-built cutters Serraffyn and Taleisin around the world multiple times.

These beautiful cutters have a timeless look like no other boats. They have inspired many other designs, too. You’ll find them built from both wood or fiberglass, but a variety of builders and yards have made them over the years.

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Cutter rigged boats offer cruising sailors a flexible sail plan that’s perfect for offshore sailing. Sailors can adjust the amount of sail according to the current wind conditions. Traditional cutters were known for being fast and agile, and today’s cutters carry on the tradition with pride.

What is a cutter rigged yacht?

A cutter rigged yacht features two headsails. One headsail, usually a high-cut yankee, is all the way forward, either on a bowsprit or the bow. The staysail is smaller and attached to an inner forestay.

What is the advantage of a cutter rig?

A cutter rig offers cruising sailors more flexibility. They can easily increase and decrease the sail area and choose the optimum combination for the sailing conditions. While there are more lines and sails to handle, each sail is smaller and therefore easier to manage.

Matt has been boating around Florida for over 25 years in everything from small powerboats to large cruising catamarans. He currently lives aboard a 38-foot Cabo Rico sailboat with his wife Lucy and adventure dog Chelsea. Together, they cruise between winters in The Bahamas and summers in the Chesapeake Bay.

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Ocean Sailor Equipment

Which is the perfect rig for blue water cruising.

March 7, 2020

The Solent rig is the go-to rig for ocean cruising, says Dick Beaumont

The Solent rig, also known as the ‘Slutter rig’, is arguably the perfect rig for short –handed, blue water cruising ( shown to right ).

The rig can provide so many different combinations of sail form that the ideal profile is always available to suit wind strength and direction.

Based on a sloop rig it has the advantage over ketch, yawl or schooner because its high aspect mast is placed further aft so that the forward sail triangle, which creates drive, is proportionately much larger.

That said its advantage over the standard sloop rig is that it has, in addition to the genoa, a 100% full-size blade jib as well. This blade jib has the clew controlled by a jib sheet that runs through a car on a track well inside the shrouds, making it more efficient for sailing hard up wind because it still sets properly even up to 20 degrees to the wind. Whereas the standard sloop with its single genoa, with its track outside the shrouds, cannot point as high.

Also the standard sloop genoa must be cut to be both the upwind and reaching sail, whereas with the Solent rig, the genoa is cut for reaching and the blade jib is cut for beating.

The advantage the Solent rig has overa staysail cutter ( shown to right ) is that the jib is much bigger because its tack is taken right forward to within 80-100cm of the genoa, and the foot is very low cut, again creating more sail area.

Also a Solent rig inner forestay goes almost to the mast-head, so when under heavy load, it isn’t pulling the middle of the mast forward as happens with a staysail, so the problematic running backstays required on a staysail cutter are not needed.

When using the Solent rig for downwind sailing, asymmetric sails – cruising chute, gennaker or Code sail are a matter of choice, they are not obligatory.

On a standard sloop in relatively light winds say 15kts of apparent, the common profile for running dead down wind is ‘goose-winged’ with genoa on one side and mainsail on the other. The propensity for a wind shift or course variation to cause an uncontrolled gybe is ever present and even with a preventer rigged up, damage is highly likely should this happen.

Sailing for several days with this set up in the trade winds, say, and a will be very stressful as a lack of concentration may cause the dreaded Chinese gybe. Relying on using the autopilot pilot to steer dead down wind is not fail safe either; it places a lot of faith on technology, if the autopilot should drop the helm for any reason, the result can be catastrophic.

With a Solent rig the jib and the genoa are set up butterfly rigged. The worst that can happen if the yacht falls of course or the wind shifts is the headsails might back: the risk of gybing, however, is eliminated. So you can run dead down wind without concern.

Ideally the yacht will also have a code sail or gennaker with a pole, or even better two poles of different length ( shown to right ) .

The number one pole should be a bit shorter than a spinnaker pole so it can be used on the gennaker or code sail and the genoa.

The number two pole, if you have it, should be at full length for the jib so it can be used on the jib and the genoa.

If you don’t have a gennaker or code the pole sizes should be the perfect length for the jib and genoa. If you only have one pole it should be the correct size for the genoa.

Sail options for running down wind:

6- 15 knots apparent wind : Gennaker and genoa. As the wind increases the genoa is furled.

10-20 knots apparent wind : Gennaker or code only

15-25 knots apparent wind : Genoa and jib, as the wind increases the genoa is partially furled.

20- 30 knots apparent wind : Genoa only, furling as required.

30 knots plus apparent wind : Jib only furling as required.

And for up wind:

6 -12 knots apparent wind : Gennaker or code plus mainsail but off the wind 40 degrees plus. Jib and mainsail can be set if the course is hard on the wind but may require motor sailing in very light winds.

10-20 knots apparent wind : Genoa and mainsail but not too hard on the wind 35 degrees plus or jib and mainsail if hard on the wind.

15- 50 knots apparent wind : Jib and mainsail, reefing main and jib as required.

50 knots plus apparent wind : Jib only, reefing as required.

Some Solent rigs are comprised of a self -tacking jib which looks convenient, but this jib will also be your heavy weather foresail or storm sail and, whatever anyone tells you , a self-tacking foresail sail cannot be properly reefed. This is because as the sail is furled away around the foil the foot will tighten up and the leech will go slack and start flogging: in 40 knots plus, the sail will be ruined in no time.

When the jib sheets are run through cars on tracks the car is moved forward or back as the sail is furled to change the angle of force of the sheet, so the sail stays properly trimmed and set. I would advise having power winches for the genoa reefing line, as the genoa has to be fully furled to tack it.

There is only one disadvantage of the Solent rig compared to others: It is a lot more expensive.

Those extra costs come from:
Second forestay and chain-plate,
Second furler and foil.
Jib halyard
2x Jib sheets
Six to eight additional heavy duty blocks to carry the jib sheet aft to the cockpit.
Four additional blocks to carry the jib halyard back to the cockpit.
2x jib tracks and deck cars,
2x clutch cleats each side
2x cockpit winches.

The total cost will vary according to the size of yacht but for example on a 50ft yacht the additional cost is circa 30,000-40,000 euros.

The Solent rig is standard on every Kraken Yacht, for all these reasons.

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CRUISING SAILBOAT RIGS: Sloops, Cutters, and Solent Rigs

In our previous episode in this series we discussed what I like to call split rigs–ketches, yawls, and schooners–where a sailplan is divided among two or more masts. Cruising sailors once upon a time preferred such rigs, at least on larger cruising boats, because each separate sail requiring handling was smaller and thus more manageable. These days, however, by far the most popular rig for both racing and cruising sailboats is the simple sloop rig. This has a single mast supporting a single Marconi mainsail with a single headsail supported by a single headstay flying forward of it.

Its advantages are manifest: there are only two sails for the crew to handle, each of which can be hoisted with a single halyard and trimmed with a single sheet. While sailing, there are normally only two lines–the jib sheet and mainsheet–that need to be controlled at any given moment. And because there is but one headsail flying forward of the main, tacking a sloop is easy, since the headsail, even if it is a large overlapping genoa, can pass easily through the open foretriangle.

Sloop rigs are highly efficient to windward, thanks to the so-called “slot effect” created by the interaction of the mainsail and headsail. How this actually works is a matter of some debate. The traditional theory is that airflow in the narrow slot between the sails is accelerated, which decreases air pressure on the leeward side of the mainsail, thus increasing the lift the sail generates.

The revisionist theory is that air deflected from the headsail actually works to decrease airflow in the slot, increasing pressure on the windward side of the headsail, thus increasing the lift it generates. Since increasing the lift generated by one sail seems to necessarily decrease that generated by the other, others believe a single Marconi sail must be just as aerodynamic, if not more so, than two sails. This last proposition, however, is contradicted by real-world experience, as no one has yet created a single-sail rig that is as fast and closewinded as a double-sail sloop rig.

The almighty slot in action. Its effects are salubrious, but no one can really explain why

The primary disadvantage of a sloop rig is that the sails must be relatively large. They are therefore harder to handle in that they are heavier (making them harder to hoist) and generate larger loads when flying. Much of this difficulty, however, is obviated by modern winches and roller-furling gear, which is why sloop rigs are now so popular, and deservedly so. In light to moderate sailing conditions, which is what most sailors normally encounter, a sloop is by far the fastest, most easily handled rig currently available.

In heavier conditions sloops do present some challenges. To reduce sail area forward of the mast, if the headsail is hanked on to the headstay, which was the traditional practice, you must change the sail for a smaller one. This requires crew to work for extended periods on the bow of the boat, where conditions can get wild and wet. If the headsail is on a modern roller-furler, the sail can be easily roller-reefed from the cockpit, but past a certain point a roller-reefed headsail’s shape becomes inefficient. You either must live with this or unroll the sail and change it for another smaller one. The stronger the wind gets, the more distorted the roller-reefed sail becomes, and the more important it is to change it. Changing a sail on a furler in a strong wind, however, is an awful chore. The very first thing you must do (unroll the sail) greatly increases sail area right when you most want to decrease it. Then you must somehow control a large headsail as it comes off a furling rod with its luff unrestrained in strong wind.

Coastal cruisers are never likely to sail in strong conditions for very long. On the few brief occasions their boats are pressed hard they are normally willing to limp along on an ugly scrap of roller-reefed genoa. They are also more likely to have to short-tack their boats in confined areas, thus the ease of tacking a sloop makes it the rig of choice on coastal boats. Bluewater cruisers, on the other hand, may sail in strong weather for days on end, so there are advantages to cutting up the sail area in the foretriangle into smaller more manageable pieces. Bluewater cruisers traditionally therefore often prefer a cutter rig, which has a single mast and a headstay like a sloop, but also an inner forestay behind the headstay from which a smaller intermediate staysail can be flown.

Modern cutter-rigged cruiser sailing under a staysail and a reefed mainsail

The big advantage of a cutter rig is that in a big blow the jib on the headstay can come right off (or be rolled up) and the smaller staysail can carry on alone, more inboard and lower in the rig, where it balances better against the reduced area of a deeply reefed mainsail. Cutters are also efficient to windward, though some claim they are not as efficient as sloops. Personally, I’ve found cutters are sometimes actually more closewinded than sloops, at least in moderate to strong winds, as the sheeting angles on a pair of smaller, flatter headsails can be narrower than the angle on one larger, more full-bodied sail. In very heavy conditions, with just a staysail and reefed mainsail deployed, I believe a cutter is almost always more efficient to windward than a sloop.

On anything from a beam reach to a tight closehauled angle, a cutter can also fly both its headsails unobstructed. Sailing on a broad reach, however, the staysail blocks air from reaching the jib, reducing the rig’s effective sail area just when the decrease in apparent wind speed caused by the wind blowing from behind the boat demands that sail area instead be increased. Another problem is that a cutter requires extra standing rigging–not only the inner forestay, but also, very often, either an extra set of swept-back aft shrouds or a pair of running backstays to help support the inner forestay from behind. This adds complexity and increases rig weight well above the deck.

The biggest disadvantage of a cutter rig is that there are two headsails to tack (or jibe) across the boat instead of just one. There is an extra set of sheets to handle, plus the jib quarrels with the inner forestay every time it comes across the foretriangle. This is less of a problem if the jib is small and high-cut (these are called yankee jibs) so that it slips more easily through the narrow gap between the inner forestay and headstay. When flying a large genoa, however, crew must often go forward to help horse the sail around the inner forestay. If you don’t have enough crew for this, you may have to roll up part of the genoa (assuming it’s on a roller-furler) before tacking or jibing and unroll it again afterward, which is a bother. Also, if the wind grows strong again, but not so strong that you can sail on the staysail alone, you either have to change your genoa for a smaller sail or roller-reef it into an inefficient shape, which is (theoretically) precisely the conundrum that drove you to favor a cutter rig in the first place.

On a true cutter specifically designed to accommodate a staysail, the mast is usually farther aft than it would be on a sloop and/or there is a bowsprit to enlarge the foretriangle. This allows for a larger, more useful staysail and should enlarge the gap between the headstay and inner forestay so a jib can tack through more easily. A larger foretriangle also allows the jib to be larger without overlapping the mainsail, but a big overlapping genoa will still present problems when tacking or jibing.

A “true” cutter under sail. With the mast aft the foretriangle is bigger, which allows for a bigger, more useful staysail. As on this boat, a true cutter often flies a high-cut yankee jib forward of the staysail

The staysail can also be made club-footed with its own boom. Such a spar, known as a jib-boom, can be controlled by a single sheet that need not be adjusted when tacking. When short-tacking in enough breeze for the boat to sail under main and staysail alone this is the height of convenience. You can shift the helm back and forth without ever touching a line. A jib-boom, however, unless sheeted tight, will flail about the foredeck whenever its sail is luffing while being hoisted, doused, or reefed. It may harm crew on the foredeck during an accidental jibe, as it can sweep suddenly across the boat with some force unless restrained by a preventer.

A cutter-rigged cruiser with a club-footed staysail

Bear in mind, too, that enlarging the foretriangle, particularly on a boat without a bowsprit, usually means mainsail area must be reduced commensurately. In many cases the mainsail is then too small and/or too far aft for the boat to sail and maneuver under main alone. When attempting to dock, anchor, or moor under sail this can be a significant disadvantage. (Note, however, that many sloops are also often unable to maneuver under mainsail alone.)

One variation increasingly popular with bluewater cruisers is a sloop/cutter hybrid, sometimes called a slutter rig, where a removeable inner forestay is installed on what would otherwise be a straight sloop rig. The removable stay normally has some sort of quick-release mechanism at deck level that makes it easy to set up and tension the stay and to loosen and remove it. When stowed, the removeable stay is brought aft to the mast and secured.

Example of an inner forestay with a retro-fitted inner forestay with a quick-release fitting that allows the stay to be moved out of the way when desired

To a large extent, the slutter rig does offer the best of both worlds. In light to moderate winds you can stow the inner forestay and sail the boat as a straight sloop with one large genoa passing through an open foretriangle. In heavy conditions, you can set up the inner forestay, hank on a staysail, roll up or douse the large genoa, and sail the boat under main and staysail alone. Since setting up an inner forestay and hanking on a staysail is normally less taxing than stripping a large genoa off a furling rod and hoisting a smaller working jib and/or storm sail in its place, this is a viable practice.

Sometimes you see true cutters that have been converted to slutters. Here the foretriangle is normally large enough to fly two headsails simultaneously if desired, which is often not possible on a converted sloop. The downside to this arrangement is that making the inner forestay removable makes it impossible to install either a roller-furling staysail (currently a popular arrangement on cutter rigs) or a club-footed staysail.

Another variation that has appeared more recently is the so-called solent rig, where a solent stay is installed directly behind a boat’s headstay. The headstay carries a big genoa (usually on a roller-furler) that is flown in light to moderate wind, and the solent stay carries what is effectively a smaller working jib (or a “blade jib,” as some like to call them now) to fly in stronger conditions. The solent jib (which is normally larger than a staysail) can be rigged permanently on its own roller-furler, or it can be on a removable stay, as is seen on slutters and some cutter rigs.

The huge problem with a permanent solent rig is that the genoa forward on the headstay is normally so close to the solent stay that it cannot be pulled through the gap between the stays, but must be entirely rolled up and unfurled again every time the boat is tacked. In some cases the solent stay actually isn’t terribly close to the headstay, but still the top of the stay is always very close to the top of the headstay and tacking is thus always problematic. For this reason, personally, I strongly favor removable solent stays.

Typical solent rig with the two stays quite close together

On this example, the two stays are farther apart, until you get up to the masthead

One recent innovation that has made the handling of removable sails much easier are sails with torque-rope luffs that are mounted on continuous-line furlers. These were developed first on shorthanded ocean-racing boats, but are now leaking on to cruising boats with increasing frequency. For these to work the sail must usually be a lighter laminated sail rather than straight Dacron. A length of high-modulus rope especially designed to resist twisting, a torque rope so called, is sewn into the luff of the sail, which is then mounted on a removable lightweight continuous-line furling drum. Once the sail is hoisted with its torque rope tensioned it can be furled up on its own luff. It can also be taken down and stowed in a bag this way, all rolled up on itself. And it can be hoisted again while still rolled up. Handling the sail is thus very easy, as the only time it is unrolled and flying free is when you are actually flying it.

The great flexibility of a torque-rope sail actually gives you two different options if you are trying to create a solent rig. The smaller solent sail can be made a removable torque-rope sail, in which case you will be setting and flying it inside the headstay. Or you can keep a small working jib on your headstay and set up a larger removable genoa-size torque-rope sail forward of it. Sails like this have all sorts of names–Code Zero sails, screechers, gennakers, etc. The most important thing, if you are ordering one, is not what you call it, but rather that it is cut flat enough to sail efficiently to windward. Also, when flying such a sail you’ll need some sort of bowsprit forward of your headstay to carry it, and the sprit must be strong enough to carry the rig’s full headstay load when the sail flying.

The headsail arrangement on my cutter-rigged boat Lunacy . A triple-headsail sloop you might call it. The headstay and the inner forestay are permanently rigged. The screecher, as I call it, flies on its own luff forward of the headstay and is controlled with a removable continuous-line furler. The bowsprit and the plate under it were added to carry the big load the sail generates. When the screecher is flying the headstay goes slack and the screecher’s torque rope is what’s holding up the front of the mast

An IMOCA Open 60 flying a staysail on a continuous-line furler

A continuous-line furler up close and personal, removed from the rig with sail furled

Yet another option is to make the staysail in a cutter rig a removable torque-rope sail. I have seen these on shorthanded racing boats, but never on a cruising boat. I wonder sometimes if I should try it on my boat. If anyone has tried it on their boat, I do wish they would get in touch!

NICK SKEATES ON WYLO II: The Ultimate Barebones Cruiser and his Ultimate Dirt Simple Boat

NORTHBOUND LUNACY: Atlantic City, NJ, to Portland, ME

My last two boats–a Bristol 39 and a Warwick 47–have been sloops with inner forestays. The present Warwick has a r/f forstaysail so it’/s more or less permanent. This is a great heavy weather and offshore rig–perfect for the ocean and he Caribbean, the Med not so much. The forestayail is pretty small so it takes a considerable blow to make it the right choice.

Go easy on the torque rope idea unless a) the mast is beefed up for it b) the winches, lead blocks and the deck under the winch base on which the halyard lays are beefed up. You need to plan on having a halyard lock for the top of the torque rope AND a robust purchase to load the bottom end. THIS is how the race boats are set up Coop

More Articles From Online Book: Sail Handling and Rigging Made Easy:

Six Reasons To Leave The Cockpit Often
Don’t Forget About The Sails
Your Mainsail Is Your Friend
Hoisting the Mainsail Made Easy—Simplicity in Action
Reefs: How Many and How Deep
Reefing Made Easy
Reefing From The Cockpit 2.0—Thinking Things Through
Reefing Questions and Answers
A Dangerous Myth about Reefing
Mainsail Handling Made Easy with Lazyjacks
Topping Lift Tips and a Hack
12 Reasons The Cutter Is A Great Offshore Voyaging Rig
Cutter Rig—Should You Buy or Convert?
Cutter Rig—Optimizing and/or Converting
Sailboat Deck Layouts
The Case For Roller-Furling Headsails
The Case For Hank On Headsails
UV Protection For Roller Furling Sails
In-Mast, In-Boom, or Slab Reefing—Convenience and Reliability
In-Mast, In-Boom, or Slab Reefing —Performance, Cost and Safety
Making Life Easier—Roller Reefing/Furling
Making Life Easier—Storm Jib
Swept-Back Spreaders—We Just Don’t Get It!
Q&A: Staysail Stay: Roller Furling And Fixed Vs Hanks And Removable
Rigid Vangs
Rigging a Proper Preventer, Part 1
Rigging a Proper Preventer—Part 2
Downwind Sailing, Tips and Tricks
Downwind Sailing—Poling Out The Jib
Setting and Striking a Spinnaker Made Easy and Safe
Ten Tips To Fix Weather Helm
Running Rigging Recommendations—Part 1
Running Rigging Recommendations—Part 2
Two Dangerous Rigging Mistakes
Rig Tuning, Part 1—Preparation
Rig Tuning, Part 2—Understanding Rake and Bend
Rig Tuning, Part 3—6 Steps to a Great Tune
Rig Tuning, Part 4—Mast Blocking, Stay Tension, and Spreaders
Rig Tuning, Part 5—Sailing Tune
12 Great Rigging Hacks
9 Tips To Make Unstepping a Sailboat Mast Easier
Cruising Sailboat Spar Inspection
Cruising Sailboat Standing Rigging Inspection
Cruising Sailboat Running Rigging Inspection
Cruising Sailboat Rig Wiring and Lighting Inspection
Cruising Sailboat Roller Furler and Track Inspection
Download Cruising Sailboat Rig Checklist

No surprise, I generally agree with you conclusions. Cutters are certainly king offshore in many conditions. I have never sailed a solent rig offshore but I will admit to being intrigued by the possibility of 2 headsails poled out for the tradewinds even though I understand your reservations about being locked in with this rig. To me the question is always how do you fly storm canvas on a cutter rigged boat. Do you make the staysail and furling gear so heavy that it can do it, do you undersize the staysail and make it heavy so that it never needs reduction, do you make the staysail hank-on or do you plan to swap sails in a furler. I have sailed on boats set up for all and all have their issues but I think that if I were really planning to sail hard offshore, I would be tempted to go hank-on for the staysail up to 50’+. Doing a trade-winds run, I would put the staysail on a furler and then plan to swap for a storm sail well in advance of any weather.

Since you mention coastal, I think that fractional sloop rigs can be great coastal rigs. Even 40′ boats can run hank-on sails in many cases and they are small enough that they don’t force you to swap the jib often, you can do most adjustment in the main. If roller furled, it also has a wide wind range before you are too furled and shape goes to heck.

One of the most important points you make is about importance of jib shape and how closely tied it is to whether it is roller reefed or not. Our boat is a sloop with hank-on sails and my absolute favorite setup is when we go to our 100% blade jib (slightly high cut for a true blade). Amazingly, on the wind this sail keeps up with a 150% jib by about 10 knots true and by 12 it is faster. Reaching, those numbers go up but only by a small amount. The 150% was a basically new sail when we bought the boat and I just bought a new 135% this year as I felt that the 150% was just too big and narrowed the top end of its range too much and was too inefficient otherwise (we carry 3 jibs and an asym). My own feeling is that most of the boats around us would do better overall with a smaller jib. If I were going roller furling right now, I think that I would put a 120% on the furler for our New England weather and have a second bare stay for hank-on jibs for higher winds. Our boat stays more balanced than I would have expected as we change the jib size so I often go to our “storm” (really a gale jib) jib by the time it reaches 30 steady and can simply adjust the main from there.

I realize that my post reads like an ad for hank-on sails and the funny thing is that I don’t totally love them but having 1 smaller headsail be hank-on really give you a lot of flexibility. However, for a genoa on a 50’er, there is no way I would consider hank-on, it has to be the right application.

Agree. I go further: the working staysail is hanked on and the storm staysail is hanked on below it in its bag, which is lashed down.

That is how we roll, too, with our cutter rig. Plus a yankee on a furler forward on a short, stout bowsprit.

Yes, good point on using both headsails downwind on a solent boat, that said it’s worth remembering that one could do the same on a cutter and that the projected area would be about the same (unless the solent used an extending pole) given that the cutter will have a bigger foretriangle.

The big problem I see (aside from the being locked in) is that all of these twin headsail rigs require two poles to use effectively offshore, unless one guys out the boom, and so doing is just another lock in.

On using the roller furling staysail as a storm sail on a cutter, we have never found it that complex, but there are some things that make it work for us: https://www.morganscloud.com/2013/06/01/how-to-heave-to-in-a-sailboat/

That said, we do carry a storm jib, but have never had to use it. About the only time I could see that ever happening would be if we had to beat off a lee shore. Obviously the change could be a challenge, but given that both sails are quite small, even on our boat, and that we have retaining tabs sewn to both, quite doable. See this post for more on changing to the storm jib: https://www.morganscloud.com/2012/03/23/handling-roller-furling-sails/

That said, for the first three years we had the boat we had a hanked on staysail and while we now prefer roller furling, it’s not by a huge margin. Probably boat size is the governing parameter.

And yes, I totally agree on what a bad idea 150% genoas are. Our boat had one when we bought her (staysail stay was removable at that time) and I sold it without ever taking it out of the bag. The damned things are simply the result of poorly thought out rating systems.

As for hank on sails generally, I’m a fan, but again I think it’s boat size dependant, and probably age too!

And I love fractional rigs with big mains and blade jibs. In fact one of the lead contenders for my old age boat is rigged just that way, although it needs to be said that a sail area to displacement ratio of 24 is a lot of what makes that work—most cruising boats would be slugs rigged that way.

I agree that hanked on sails are an age and boat size dependent thing. I am still young enough and have the advantage of being a physically large guy so that I find it manageable. Our new 130% is around 450 ft^2 and the old 150 was obviously a bit bigger and only occasionally did I find it to be a pain in the neck (we do almost all sail handling solo). I also have the advantage of having sailed on some boats with much larger hank-on sails that really were tricky and could be carried in much stronger conditions so that when they finally did need to come down, they could be a handful even with several crewmembers, these boats made everything else feel a lot easier.

It is interesting that you have never had to use your storm jib. I have had several occasions to use a “storm jib” but in truth I would not consider any of them to actually be a true storm jib and rather just ones sized appropriately for a strong gale. That said, I have never actually needed to change a headsail on a cutter, all of the changes have been on sloops which is a rig not well suited to heavy weather anyways because of this issue. This may fall into the category of every 1 in 50 years you are incredibly thankful to have it but all the other times it is more convenient and safer to have a good staysail on a roller furler. I had missed the post that shows the loops you have, I can imagine that those are critical to managing the sail outside the foil.

I think that’s exactly it: 1 in 50 years that you will want the roller furling staysail off and the storm jib on. In fact that’s exactly my experience in that just about 40 years ago, on the way home to Bermuda in my old boat one fall, we got caught in an un-forecast bomb off Cape Hatteras and were thankful for a storm jib as we had to claw off. Also the reason I carry a storm trysail: https://www.morganscloud.com/2013/06/01/lee-shores/

But since then I have actually carried the part rolled staysail in as much wind, but with it aft and never felt the need to change. The point being that as long as one is not trying to claw off a lee shore a staysail works fine since you just roll in enough that the loads are low. Ditto heaving to: https://www.morganscloud.com/2013/06/01/how-to-heave-to-in-a-sailboat/

And yes, the loops are vital to our strategy. A trick I learned from Dodge Morgan.

Hi Eric, When I bought my cutter rigged 40-foot boat back when, I was initially disappointed that the staysail was on a roller furler. Fairly quickly, a couple of things started to become apparent. One, I had the staysail deployed anytime the wind was forward of abeam so I was just using it a lot more than expected. In that way having the staysail on a furler approached the reasons I have the jib on a furler. As my sail plan quickly evolved to a low-clewed staysail and a higher clewed jib topsail, the synchronicity with which they worked together, just made a furler even more sensible. Those boats that sail more like a sloop: jib out and roller reefed till doused when the staysail is then deployed, might more reasonably take to hanked-on sails. But on cutters where the staysail is frequently used I appreciate roller furling. The other thing was the versatility I experienced. My take is that cruising boats do passages where wind is generally steady and changes gradual, but that, in practice, a majority of time and mileage is coastal cruising. And so many of these day sails start out in mild breezes, only to crank up as the day progresses. Being able to throttle down with no visits to the fore-deck is just really nice, comfortable, and safe. Often, by the end of the day, we are sailing with just the staysail and a reef or two in the main, all without drama and work. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

That’s been pretty much exactly our experience too

As I mentioned in my reply to John, I find it interesting that he has never used the storm jib on Morgan’s Cloud. Hopefully my initial comment was clear that I would tend towards a roller furling staysail in normal sailing and my speculation on a hank-on one was for more adventurous places than coastal cruising or tradewind sailing. Of course, I believe that you and John both been to higher latitudes than I so it is interesting that you both lean towards roller furling. Interestingly, I really don’t mind the extra time associated with hank-on, we actually take the jib off most times that it comes down so that the foredeck is clear and it doesn’t influence our decision of which sail to use the next time.

All this is said by the owner of a sloop but who has sailed on several different cutters with different setups but I have never actually gotten to set one up myself for my preferences. If I bought one for my current sailing, I would think that it would be all furler based and it may be that it is overly conservative to go hank-on even for more adventurous places.

Hi Eric, I have had a fortunate life in many ways, but one is that I have never had to claw off a lee shore in high winds. I have gone to wind in gale conditions on numerous occasions: often towards the end of day along the Turkish coast when I wished to get to an anchorage (and, of course, when anchored the wind died giving us a beautiful evening). On these occasions, the staysail and main with three reefs have done the trick (and hand steering- fun for a couple hours- allowing me to feather in gusts). I believe I have only reefed the staysail when hove-to and that, in part, so the leach does not rub on the radome. I do not carry a storm jib and had the staysail made robustly of HydraNet Radial, a material I have been very pleased with for 7 years now. My best, Dick

Hi John, love the variety of topics you are covering – good stuff. To go offshore, Doyle Sails suggested changing from our 135% genoa to a 100% high modulus jib (solent), low cut as you suggest John. AND YES we can see OK underneath the solent upwind, if we duck down (harder in a big sea but not impossible) and we can more easily look around it, being a much smaller jib. From experience in running a low cut jib solent rig, a couple of other points… On the wind you want inside sheeting for pointing, but even with slightly eased sheets we find we NEED outboard sheeting. As you say the low cut blade shape is not as forgiving as a higher cut genoa off the wind. So we run inboard and outboard tracks and two sheets per side, the outer tracks being on the cap-rail. This gives us great luff and sail shape control at all times, but the downside is if we are careless, having two lazy sheets they can get in a knot, whilst tacking. We could just attach the outboard sheets when eased off, but offshore and shorthanded this doesn’t seem practical. Secondly, the benefit of having jib battens to hold good jib sail shape – Doyle advised we use vertical battens, which work great and roll perfectly aligned with the forestay, but these make it harder to quickly drop and flake the jib on the foredeck when required. But the relatively flat blade jib rolls much tighter than our old, fuller genoa, so we don’t often feel the need to remove it. For completeness, we run a high cut Doyle “Code 0” forward of the jib / forestay, on an extended and much strengthened bow roller-fairlead with solid support strut under. So I do call ours a solent rig as when out cruising, the Code 0 stays rolled up ready to use (except on long windward legs, at anchor more than overnight, or if a gale is expected). And we use the Code 0 a lot. Similar to Eric, the VMG performance cross-over between jib / genoa for us came at about 13-14 knots. But we can hold the Code-0 upwind to around 12 knots (12-14 if the wind is stable), so a small performance hit. Overall I think it is a good compromise for production boats designed with genoas, looking for a more manageable sail combination offshore. Rob

Sounds like a great rig, and very much in line with where my thinking has been going lately. That said, I would call it a sloop with a removable code zero, not a solent, which implies to me a fixed genoa furler that can’t be removed.

And yes, sheeting outboard improved things a lot when reaching with a blade, but a high cut sail will always be better yet and does not generally require a lot of messing with leads—it’s all about tradeoffs.

An additional advantage of cutter vs. sloop, certainly for offshore work, is mast stability. The additional stay, and running back stays, add stability and redundancy. The mast is much less likely to be lost if one support snaps for whatever reason.

True, in fact I agree so much that I think all offshore boats should be so equipped:

Also, all boats, once they get offshore in swell, benefit from the mast stabilization afforded by an inner headstay and runners, particularly when the main is heavily reefed, to the point that I believe they are required equipment.

John I recently sold my Xc45. It was a solent rig set up, and had a pretty tall, powerful mast for a boat that size. The furling staysail was set on a 2:1 halyard on the inner stay. On three occasions in my first 2 years of cruising, when we had over 35 knots of wind on the bow, the furled staysail would unfurl from the top. Once when trying to motor around Cape Lindesnes in Norway, once when trying to get out of Rorvik en route to the Faroes, and once in a marina in Spain. Apart from the marina episode, both other episodes required crew to get onto a pitching foredeck to secure the situation. I thought it to be an unsafe rig. The high angle of the stay sail given the mast height on the Xc45 made it impossible to get an adequately tight furl at the top. I would add this to your list of Solent rig negatives. Anthony

Hi Anthony,

I’m not sure it’s fair to hit the solent with that one since I think the problem you had with furling was more about having the staysail set flying on a two to one halyard so not able to get it tight enough for a good roll. We have never had any problems furling our staysail, or with it unrolling, but it’s set on fixed roller furler. My thinking is that sails that are set flying, even on a 2:1 halyard should not be left up once things get bumpy. Mind you Lindesnes is a nasty place that can test any furl!

Have an Outbound 46. Have a blade, 130 and a parasailor. Have expandable cf pole. The parasailor virtually never comes out of its bag. Find with no main and both head sails out can go nearly DDW. The Hydrovane tracts fine with this set up at all wind speeds . I can roll up or out either headsail as conditions require in a second or two. Can sail the boat by myself and not leave the cockpit. Allows me safety so even at night can sail the boat near its potential not being scared of a line squall coming through. I went oz. up and in vectron so after 7 years minimal creep and no sag. Windward Dyneema runner is used only to prevent mast pumping when it occurs. Rig is tuned for the solent with a little backstay on. Genny stay is tuned with a slight bit of sag when no backstay on. Underway you tune genny stay with hydraulic backstay. You put more backstay on when you roll the genny. Then let if off if you’re going downwind. I’ve had several cutters previously. Like many sail mom and pop which means you’re singling much of the time. Most people do a few passages each year but sail frequently once cruising grounds are reached. With a cutter found we got lazy. Handling 3 sheets plus mainsail shape controls means you put the coffee or drink down frequently. So for short hops may even power sail not wanting to deal with tacking 3 sails. Having the solent means you put the coffee on with the bride asleep. Leave under sail. Get your coffee. Have breakfast when she wakes up. Before passage rig our removable inner dyneema storm jib stay and sheets. Running backs line up to its stay. With third reef on the main ready to go and the stormjib deployable by one with no bother that’s great. Having that inner stay up means like with the genny you need to roll up the solent to tack but you very rarely tack on passage. Very much happier with the solent than the cutter rig for mom and pop sailing.

Great analysis, thanks. That said, I think the solent to cutter choice is more about where sailing and how than mom and pop. Back in the day we were doing huge offshore miles just the two of us and the cutter rig was great. Now days with more inshore sailing a sloop or solent has a lot to recommend it and I would say that might be age independent. For example, I’m pretty sure I’m going to end up with a sloop for my geriatric boat.

Sorry to hear that Anthony. On 69 Outbounds have never heard that happening. Must be particular to the boat or just insufficient angle of halyard to stay. Think that’s a generic problem with any roller furling headsail not related to the type of rig. John curious as to why you left out split rigs in your analysis? For the cruising sailor they still have desirable characteristics.

I didn’t get into split rigs for two reasons, first off I’m not a fan of ketches and second I wanted this to be manageable so I kept it fundamentally about the foretriangle. I find if I widen the subject too far for a given article it just turns to mush with too many variables and qualifications to be useful.

Hi John, I would hope, with your writing, that someone would start building a true cutter (mast almost amidships) once again. I do not know of any in production, but it is not really a loop I am in, nor have I noticed any one-offs lately. It is my take that the term “cutter”, as a boat description, has evolved into a romantic term that gets bandied about with little regard to an agreed upon definition: hence the recourse to the awkward “true cutter”. Many of the sailboats that call themselves cutters are more accurately described, to my mind, as double head-sail sloops (mast farther forward). This is not just a splitting of hairs as on boats my size (40 feet) with the mast almost amidships, I can successfully fly both headsails going to wind (jib topsail over a low clewed staysail) whereas a double headsail sloop (in a similar boat length) has trouble doing so. Its J is just too short (with the mast forward like it is) and the sails set too close to each other and turbulence results slowing down the boat. I have sailed next to double head-sail sloops who have called me on the radio to ask for suggestions as to why they slow down when they fly their staysail. My observation is that their J is just too small to allow for good clean air to work on both head-sails until the boat overall gets large. They go faster flying only one head-sail. I would suggest that the Tayana pictured in the article can fly two head-sails together as pictured because of its overall length (52 feet) which also lengthens the J and allows both head-sails to works with clean air. I would also call the Tayana pictured in the article a double head-sail sloop, or a cutter rigged sloop, but not a cutter: its mast is just too far forward. Random thoughts, my best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

As before, we will have to agree to disagree on that one since I don’t think that whether or not a boat is a cutter is governed by mast position.

More on that here: https://www.morganscloud.com/2015/09/17/12-reasons-the-cutter-is-a-great-offshore-voyaging-rig/

As to why boats slow down with the staysail, I think it’s a lot more about poor trim and setup (usually not having the tracks in the right place) than foretriangle size. The bottom line is that most cruisers, these days when few have raced, are pretty bad at sail trim and trimming a cutter well does take more skill than a sloop. The other problem is sailmakers who don’t understand cutters and saddle their clients with low cut genoas that will never work well with a staysail.

More on how to set up a cutter right: https://www.morganscloud.com/2015/10/04/cutter-rig-optimizing-andor-converting/

All that said, I totally agree that it’s sad that cutters are dying out given that it’s still the rig that rules offshore, particularly short handed.

So what is the ideal J and J2 relationship in percentage? And mast set more amidship- in what percentage? Say 40% of LOD?

Hi Taras, Interesting question and I suspect it changes with boat length. I do not know ideal, but years ago I worked out my mast position and (from memory) it was 47% back from the bow on a 40-foot LOD (Valiant 42). That said my boat has a substantial anchor platform that kicks the forestay out ~~2 feet which results in a larger J. I will try and check out those figures. This design has proved “ideal” for me and I have not wished the mast to be elsewhere. My J length allows enough room for both headsails to work together synergistically (higher clewed jib topsail and lower clewed staysail). It is my very casual observation that this may be about the lower boat length that allows both sails to fly together going upwind without generating turbulence resulting from the sails being too close together. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Sorry, just realized I misunderstood your question.

You will find the answer in our cutter optimization chapter:

https://www.morganscloud.com/2015/10/04/cutter-rig-optimizing-andor-converting/

In my experience, for maximum efficiency, the staysail stay should be parallel to the headstay and set about 30% of the foretriangle base (J) back from the headstay.

I also have an Outbound 46. I concur with Lee Corwin’s comments above. I don’t have a light air sail and have missed this on a few occasions only. Downwind I use poled out Genoa and Solent to leeward – all three sails flying. This works up to almost 160 degrees true wind angle. The result is a very stable boat with minimal roll. I have secondary winches installed to facilitate more sail configurations than the standard OB46 which has primaries only. I also have a high wind staysail on a removable furling stay, which is set up for long offshore passages. The Solent rig can be easily configured for all points of sailing in winds from 5-45 knots with minimal effort and no heroics with hanked on sails, which is simply not an option for me and my wife! I agree with your pros and cons of the Solent rig – there is always a compromise. Yawing at anchor in high winds is definitely a negative and I’m planning to get a FinDelta anchor riding sail. The risk of high wind unfurling the headsails is not an issue with the OB46.

That makes sense. Based on our own experience with a jib top and main downwind, which would be probably be about the same area, we can’t really sail well until the true wind hits 12-14 knots and a bit more in swell. At lower windspeed there’s nothing for it but the spinnaker and hotter angles.

You have a bit higher SA/D ratio than us, so I’m guessing you can make it work at 10-12 true, at least in smooth water, but after that it’s either a light air sail or the motor. I have to confess that as we age the latter often happens before the former.

I would also guess that when you say 45 knots you are referring to a storm jib set on an internal stay as I can’t see the solent and main standing to that, except for a gust or two, or maybe downwind.

John, your comments are spot on of course. When I said 5 to 45 knots, I was referring to the versatility of the rig and the ease of setup. 12-14 kn is the lower limit for downwind with both headsails flying. Upwind on flat water we get 5kn boatspeed in 5kn wind. Recently, a 50kn front was chasing me up the NSW coast. I put in 3 reefs and set the pole in readiness. We ran with just 3 reefs for a few hours until it eased to 35kn, then let out a small triangle of headsail. AP steered the whole way.

Thanks for confirmation on the downwind lower limit.

And it’s good to hear, once again, that the boat will track well with just the main in those conditions. I really do think that the fixation we see these days on sailing off the wind with just headsails is a lot because so many boats don’t track well and so people gravitate to taking the main down in an attempt to fix that. I still believe that’s not a good habit:

https://www.morganscloud.com/2014/11/17/your-mainsail-is-your-friend/

Hi John, One of the advances in safety most appreciated over the years on Alchemy was to get rid of the aluminum spinnaker pole and to buy a carbon fiber whisker pole (I do not own a symmetrical spinnaker). The alum pole was just a beast, sized to racing rules, and scared me when handling on the foredeck before it was adequately secured, especially offshore in swells. The cf pole weighs just over 14 lbs/6.5kg and is sized to stretch my jib topsail out fully. It seemed outrageously expensive at the time as it needed to be custom made, but this was 15-20 years ago and I know that cf tubing is much easier to come by these days. In any case, it was money well spent, as I felt much safer deploying the pole and we found that we used to pole far more often. I have found many cruising couples wary of a pole and nervous enough so they rarely use it, in large part because they find the aluminum pole a challenge. This is a shame, as with a cf pole, added to Colin’s fine article on downwind wing and wing sailing in years past on these pages, using a pole can become a doddle. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy Ps. Agree that extension poles are unwise buys (I have owned two, push button and line control).

I agree on carbon poles: don’t leave home without one!

I love the solent arrangement on our Outbound 44. Ours has high cut 125 Genoa and low cut 105 jib. For offshore work we always hank on the storm jib to our removable inner stay and much like Lee, have three reefs available on the main. The benefit of a dedicated storm jib, rather than the dual purpose staysail we had on our previous Crealock is I believe very significant. We also have a reacher on it’s own furler as well as an assymetrical – so we’ve got the bases covered! On our last trans-atlantic, we had great success (a 2 day run) with reacher ‘poled out’ on the boom to starboard (with main with 2 reefs), genoa poled out to port and storm jib held tight amidships (to reduce roll)! The combinations are endless! Cheers!

Saga 43 owner for the past 20 yrs here. We love our Solent rig and I’ve added an inner “storm” jib on a free furler that’s easy to hoist on a 2:1 halyard. The head of that sail aligns nicely with the head of a double reefed main which seems to reduce the need for runners. With the little jib sheeting to the self tacking track it’s also a perfect sail for harbor tours (lots of tacking) with inexperienced (nervous) guests aboard. John, you’re right on the money with the headstay tuning comment. I’ve set us up so the inner forestay is as tight as possible but that means the genoa stay has quite a bit of sag. Not a big issue off the wind but when closehauled under our 100% jib the genoa does bounce around too much. I’d say the main downside to the Solent rig is the large amount of windage far forward which exacerbates sailing back and forth at anchor. But the Saga is nicely set up with twin anchor rollers and dropping the secondary anchor, even on short scope, quiets the boat immediately. Keep the great articles coming, John!

That makes sense, and I agree a staysail is a great “harbour tour” sail.

Thanks for the great analysis. I have sailed on plenty of sloop rigged club boats and seen the limitations you describe firsthand. I’ve sailed most of my offshore miles on a cutter rigged J42 with a yankee foresail and a blade staysail. Your article helps me better understand why this rig is so versatile.

I am under contract for a new Boreal 47 which has a low cut genoa and a blade staysail. What are the pluses and minuses of rigging a Boreal 47 low cut genoa vs a yankee ? Why is running w both low cut sails not advised? I assume you would characterize the Boreal 47 a solent rig, correct?

Thanks, David

The boreal is a special case, being neither cutter, or really a solent since the staysail is further back, but I guess closer to the latter than the former.

I have long wondered how the boat would do as a full on cutter and have a feeling that it would be an improvement, at least for offshore work. That said, it would take quite a few changes including staysail tracks and moving the runner terminations points forward to make it work well, as well as a sailmaker who was fully committed to designing a really good staysail and yankee to work together.

The benefits would be many including getting rid of most of the overlap on the genoa while actually increasing area up wind and close reaching in light air, as well as all the other stuff I detail in the cutter articles: https://www.morganscloud.com/2015/09/17/12-reasons-the-cutter-is-a-great-offshore-voyaging-rig/

I did talk it over with the JFs when I visited the yard and neither were keen on it. Given that, if it were me, I would not push them into it. The point being that to do this right would take their enthusiastic participation.

As to the mainsail downwind, my thinking is here: https://www.morganscloud.com/2014/11/17/your-mainsail-is-your-friend/

It also looks like turning a Boréal into a true cutter to John’s requirements would require moving the foot of the inner forestay slightly to the aft. Not a minor change! So sad that (in general, not specifically on a Boreal) it looks impossible to get the advantages of a true cutter while keeping a self-tacking staysail!

Actually, I’m not a big fan of the self tacking staysail on the Boreal. My thinking is that a sail that size, particularly on a boat the size of the Boreal 44/47 is just not that hard to tack, so, if it were me, I would get rid of all the clutter of the self tacking track anyway.

Same happened with the Garcia Exploration 52.

Since #6 they have got rid of the self tacking staysail (which was too small) and installed a bigger jib instead. Jib + Code Zero is also a perfect combination for light winds.

https://i.imgur.com/UKw0uVx.jpg

Wow, this is my kind of sailing! (and the on-roof jackline looks great)

Thank you for the information! It looks like they have kept the genoa-intended track, but it’s probably less of an issue, since this is not a true cutter, and you don’t often sail upwind with the jib on flat water(?).

I have a removable inner solent stay, which we keep rigged offshore. Hanked on solent jib and storm jib. But for cruising among BC islands, the solent stay most of the time is back at the mast because my Morgan 382 needs the bigger jib in light inshore winds and there is no way to short tack with the solent stay in place. (Ted Brewer designed sail plans to make the boat a cutter, but very few have ever been so rigged.) We have inner and outer tracks. If and when we go offshore again, I may put the solent jib on a permanent furler for all the reasons you discuss. Anyway, your discussion of blades reminded me of my one disappointment with the rig on which perhaps you can comment. I told my sailmaker I wanted a blade for the solent jib. He told me could not make it work and would have to make it a higher cut, very much like the Outbound solent. He said that was because I was going to sheet it to the inner track, which begins just behind the aft lower shroud. To use a blade, I would have to move the sheeting point forward. He is a very good sailmaker and I trust his designs. Now, having lost a lot of solent sail area, I wish I had figured how to put in a forward sheeting point. Nonetheless, I generally like the arrangement for inshore sailing, where the genoa is primary our headsail, but having the solent available makes long days tacking upwind in anything above 15 knots a joy. I hate partially rolled in furling genoas.

Hi Terence,

Yes, your sailmaker is right, cutting the jib with a lower clew requires moving the sheet lead forward, so, in your case, it would have required extending the track.

On the genoa inshore, this is, as you have found, probably the best bet for your boat since she is comparatively short rigged and so, as you say, a blade just won’t be enough sail area, particularly in BC where I understand the winds are light much of the time.

Definitely worth exploring making her a cutter for offshore work though.

See our three chapters on the cutter rig for tips on that: https://www.morganscloud.com/2015/09/17/12-reasons-the-cutter-is-a-great-offshore-voyaging-rig/

A much appreciated article; I’ve spent a lot of time researching many views and ideas on the foresail enigma and I was delighted to read that I had stumbled to an identical conclusion to the one you had reached via decades of real world experience.

My Adams 40 was always set up as a true cutter, but it came with a sodding great 130% genoa on a furler that I’m not fond of at all and I’m definitely replacing with a high cut jib. The staysail is hanked on and there is a storm sail which looks good. The staysail track is nice and tight and it trims well.

But currently there is nothing forward of the main furler, nothing to mount a true downwind sail on. I’m planning on adding that (and extending the bow roller a bit) soon.

My question is this; for a specialised downwind sail the obvious choice is a cruising code zero. On the other hand I’m also attracted to the idea of a twin ‘blue water runner’. A couple of variations are around but the best described one is this : https://wavetrain.net/2018/02/12/elvstrom-blue-water-runner-modern-interpretation-of-downwind-twin-headsails/

Which would appeal to you more?

Definitely go with the code zero/asymmetric spinnaker type. You will already have a great rig for running off when the wind is up using the jib top and main so buying another running rig that would not be as efficient as an asymmetric spinnaker in light air would be a waste of money.

Also, I’m simply not a fan of those downwind rigs for a whole bunch of reasons—probably should write an article on that. But the short version is that they are really a hang over from the old days when boats needed twin jibs—or “twin spinnakers” as they were called then—to self steer in the trades. Today they have been obsoleted by advances in cruising running and reaching sails.

Today the only good reason for the twin jib set up, that I can think of, is on boats with radically swept back spreaders that can’t let the main out enough on a run.

If you read Charlie’s article between the lines you can pick up on many of the problems with the twin jib rig. Note that he points out that you will need twin poles, or at least some kluge using the boom to pole out one side.

More here on why sailing without the main up is not a good idea: https://www.morganscloud.com/2014/11/17/your-mainsail-is-your-friend/

I think I’ve come to rely on you for my ultimate sanity check.

Yikes, I hope I can live up to that!

Hi all, I am curious whether others share my instinctual (meaning I have a hard time completely justifying it logically) wish to have some main deployed when underway. I write this presently as there is this talk of running under just tandem headsails. I certainly have operated Alchemy under just a headsail. In fact, I enjoy those days when coastal cruising and on a day hop when we just roll out the jib or, better yet, deploy the asym in light air and leave the mainsail furled and covered. That said any longer sail, and any sail overnight or where there might be unsettled weather, I always want to have the mainsail up, at least part way. Even if I choose to not have the main working very hard, I might pull it up and set the third reef. As soon as I do this, I am much happier and feel like I am better prepared for surprises. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

I don’t call that instinctual, I call it good seamanship based on the many miles you have sailed. I only needed to wrestle to hoist the main in a hurry offshore in big breeze and waves a couple of times to get the message.

What really scares me is when I see boats offshore sailing along with just a jib and the sail cover still on, and the main halyard not even attached. On one day sail along the Nova Scotia coast in 25 knots with a good 2-3 meter sea running I saw three boats doing this. If they need the main in a hurry they are truly and utterly screwed as they wrestle to get the cover off standing on top of the cabin top with nothing but a swinging boom to hold onto, and obstructed by cockpit enclosures and way too many solar panels on a wildly pitching boat—that’s how tragedies happen.

Roll-furl vs hank-on is always an interesting q. If I’ve understood this discussion the cutter seems to offer a sweet spot configuration: Roller jib and hank-on staysail. The rolled up jib is smaller than a rolled genoa so presents less windage. And, it’s easier to go forward to handle a hank-on staysail because you don’t have to go so far forward.

True, but there are also benefits (and tradeoffs) to putting the staysail on a roller furler too. See Dick’s and my comments earlier in the thread.

Great article John, thank you. My Niagara 35 came to me with a detachable Solent ‘bob stay’ that got me making a lot of enquiries during our refit. As a long-time cat boat sailor, a foresail, let alone two of them, presents new challenges. We have only a little experience testing this rig since recommissioning late last year. We have a 90 and 140 jib for the roller furling headfoil. The 90 has proven to be enough in last summer’s brisk winds around CapeBreton. I have a hank-on tiny storm jib for the Solent stay and assumed that would be the stay’s main purpose. Since reading this article I am thinking perhaps to get (Or recut my 90) a hank on blade for the Solent stay and leave the 140 on the roller for light air. And to use both Wing on wing with no main, DDW. As a 2 handed geriatric crew we will not carry a poled spinnaker. BTW our removable bob stay has a quick release shackle to deck, with turnbuckle. I assume that enables tuning the rig when Solent Sail is in use. Thanks again. AAC has given me a lot of ideas and info during my refit, and it continues.

Hi Gregory,

I’m a bit confused by the terms in your comment. To me a “bob stay” is one running from the waterline to the end of a bow sprit. Also, how far back is the the inner stay? To be a solent it needs to be right forward and go close to the top of the mast. If it’s further back than that it’s an inner forestay and the sail set on it is a staysail not a solent. I’m not just being pedantic here, since which it is has a lot of effect on how to use it and the right sails to have.

Also, I would not recommend running off with two headsails. Much better and easier on your boat with straight spreaders to use the main on one side and poled out jib on the other. https://www.morganscloud.com/2014/11/17/your-mainsail-is-your-friend/

Ha!! I’m certain that I’m the guy Andy is talking about at the beginning of the clip. He and I were hanging out last summer, I believe aboard Ice Bear in Lunenburg, when we had the discussion about whisker poles. Well, I took his advice and found an appropriately sized $100 aluminum pole.

I’ve finally filled a big gap in my downwind sailing arsenal, and it’s been fantastic to have aboard! That said, you guys are right about there being a learning curve, and I’m glad it’s an inexpensive pole I’m bashing about, rather than one that was really not in the budget to begin with. When the time comes to upgrade to carbon, I’ll be more confident I’m bringing the right pole aboard.

Busted! Seriously, good call.

Am ever so slightly surprised that ketch rigged boats weren’t considered in an article comparing rig benefits for cruising boats. Am I missing something?

See this comment: https://www.morganscloud.com/2020/05/28/cruising-rigs-sloop-cutter-or-solent/comment-page-1/#comment-293318

Hi Peter, I never had a ketch, but I had a yawl for 15+ years and have now had a true cutter for 20 years. I consider split-rigs as existing, in large part, as a reflection of the gear that was in use in days past. The split-rig argument for a simpler, more user friendly, array of sails reflects old gear. Modern equipment makes handling sail area on spars a doddle compared to 40 years ago. I would never return to my old yawl for offshore sailing as on the cutter, with modern equipment, the ability to carry large sails and then to reduce sail to meet conditions is so very easy. In addition to the ease that modern equipment allows for larger sail handling, there is, with two masts, the rigging/spar inspection, maintenance and expense which approaches almost double a single mast rig. There is enough that can go wrong without doubling the chances. Also, I had all that “stuff” aft that always seem to be in the way, especially at anchor. My friends with ketches felt similarly even as they loved their boats. I also loved our yawl in most ways and for coastal cruising it checked most of the boxes for me and my family. I don’t miss it, however, except those moments when I think fondly of that beautiful old yawl sitting at anchor with me gazing at it as I row away in our dinghy. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

I did a bunch of offshore miles in a ketch (three races to Bermuda and a bunch of other stuff) and I’m 100% with you.

On that boat we crew used to say “best use of this second mast is to hang a bunch of bananas on…and everyone knows that bananas on a boat are bad luck.”

As you say, ketches made sense before reliable roller furling jibs, and powerful multi speed self tailing winches, but today they are largely obsolete.

Fun fact: Yawls only came to be because the old CCA rule did not measure the area of mizzen staysails so it was a rule cheat feature. The other thing the CAA rule saddled us with was overlapping genoas, again because the overlap was not counted. I can remember seeing boats with 170% genoas!

Hi John, Interesting fun fact: thanks for sharing. Never heard that bananas on board were bad luck. One season I sailed my yawl with no mizzen (my mizzen was bigger than most yawls and was 12% of the sail plan if I remember correctly: still a smaller sail compared to ketches). I do not remember missing it in most sailing (sailing characteristics seemed largely unchanged) except for the occasional fun of flying the mizzen staysail and throttling down to jib and jigger. I do miss the looks and I do miss how steady she was at anchor with the mizzen out. I finally determined that the mizzen mast was a great place for the radar and for mounting a soft pleasant down-light for cockpit illumination. My best, Dick

I disliked my mizzen mast so much that I left it behind in a boatyard in Guernsey. Could it still be there ? This was my second ketch in a row. It was a time, 1984, that most second hand steel boats in Europe were ketch rigged. And I really wanted a steel boat to go south in.

The space between the mast and the bow was big enough to support an existing cutter rig so I reasoned that I could dispense with the clutter aft. I bought a longer boom and had a bigger main made. We seemed to cover just as many miles every 24 hours for a lot less effort. And when we shredded the new main and reverted to the old sail the daily mileage still remained the same for the last 10,000 miles.

They used to say there are three things you don’t want on a yacht: an umbrella, a stepladder and a naval officer. I would rather have an umbrella than a mizzen mast.

Hi Mark, Good thought about switching the words. And interesting story of your not missing your mizzen on a ketch where the sail area is more significant than a yawl. And creative thinking on extending the boom. Too many of us (I believe) are hesitant to make changes and are willing to accept that the boat as it came to us was the way it should be. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

That’s a good point, although on the flip side I have seen some truly horrible and ill advised owner modifications!

That makes sense. What about a wheelbarrow?

Thanks for pointing out the advantages of lowering cut of the Solent sail on the Outbound 46 you pictured. That’s the actual boat I’m in the process of buying and she has the same sail on her now, though not in anywhere near as good shape.

That’s fun. Also looked like that boat is pretty well tricked out by an owner who appreciates her performance.

When I left the Pacific NW in 2011 heading for NZ my cutter rig had a hank on staysail and consequently only got used occasionally when conditions got rough. In 2013 I changed to roller furling on the staysail and now I use the staysail a lot. Because of the relatively small size of the staysail the loads on the furling line are small which means it furls very easily so I can quickly add or subtract it from the sail plan. It is also a great sail for coastal work where the destination is directly upwind and you are trying to get there before dark; you can make good speed and progress, at low heel angles by motor sailing far enough off the wind (30 degrees on this boat) to keep a closely sheeted staysail full. This is 2-3 knots faster than motoring directly into the wind. If anyone has a cutter rig and still has a hank on staysail you will use and enjoy the sail much more if you change to roller furling. It was one of the few boat jobs I have done that came under budget – I did most of the work myself and the cost of the Furler was less than I expected since a smaller Furler is perfectly adequate (based on the square footage of the sail even allowing for using the sail in high wind speeds)

That is pretty much exactly our experience.

Hi John, just a quick note; a faster boat is, usually, also a more comfortable boat…..

Hi Jorn, Please explain further your thinking that a faster boat is generally a more comfortable boat. I can think of many boats that are fast, but that I would not want to be offshore on them. Fast too often means light weight, quick motion and increased work to run offshore: there are exceptions surely, but too often I believe that is what occurs when speed is an excessively important criterion. I generally think moderation and balance in all design provides the best combination for crossing oceans. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

I may be putting the wrong words into Jorn’s mouth but he may have meant to imply ” a comfortable boat is a fast boat ”

As beam narrows would the efficacy of a cutter be in question?

I presume narrow beam reduces possible sheeting angles – would this be a problem?

Not unless it was extreme. For example the Morgan’s Cloud is comparatively narrow for her length 56/15 but the jib top sheet leads are still a good foot inboard.

And back in the day, particularly in the UK under the old RORC rule, these we a lot of very narrow cutters that sailed well.

Morgan’s Cloud’s beam/length ratio is 0.27.

I was wondering how cutters might work on the sort of hull’s that Steve Dashew has promoted with B/L ratio’s around 0.22 – 0.23.

And, yes of course there was Illingworth’s Myth of Malham which had a B/L ratio of 0.25 and was a very successful racer. Illingworth obviously was a big fan of offshore racing cutters.

I would think a cutter could be done on one of Steve’s boats, but a bigger question would be if it would be the best approach. That brings in all the issues of mast position and whether or not to make the boat a ketch, which Steve did with his later and larger sailboats. Huge number of variables there. Given that Steve went with very large roach main and mizen and a small fractional foretriangle I don’t think a cutter makes sense.

It’s also worth knowing that Steve’s boats are not rigged to perform particularly well in light air. Rather, his design strategy was to motor in those conditions. He also relied heavily on asymmetric sails to add area reaching. And his later boats were so fast with big breeze that they never sailed on a run, which again changes things.

https://setsail.com/beowulf-the-ultimate-short-handed-cruiser-updated-march-2014/

Yes, he doesn’t like moving much under 10 knots under any conditions. 🙂

And his yachts were generally underpowered. Apart from Beowolf and Sundeer 64 most of his boats had S/D ratios under 18.

John and Phyllis, New to AAC. Approaching 86. As soon as this blasted virus problem is solved with a proven vaccine, I’m considering scaling down land living, getting a boat that I anticipate will be mostly solo sailing and devoting at least a year getting to know her in as many different situations as possible. Was wondering what you would suggest — you answered w/out a question with your comment: “. . . I’m pretty sure I’m going to end up with a sloop for my geriatric boat.” I laughed outloud! With a limited budget, now to determine best size for solo “geriatric” sailing. Being realistic and considering age, doubtful to be world wide, however, . . . who knows what the seas hold? Perhaps you have written on this and I’ll be looking. Am really enjoying your writings as well as reader comments. Thanks.

We have an entire online book with our thinking on buying a boat: https://www.morganscloud.com/category/boat-design-selection/book-how-to-buy-a-cruising-boat/

It does need a bit of cleaning up—next winter’s project—but you will still find a huge amount to help you decide which boat is right for you.

You may also find the Adventure 40 series of interest: https://www.morganscloud.com/category/boat-design-selection/adventure-40/

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27-06-2017, 04:19
Boat: Ovni 395	(masthead sloop) is quite big to handle - it's 54 sq meters, I think it is 150%. I do have currently a removable inner forestay that I can put a hank-on (100%, self tacking) or a . I use the time to time when I predict the to be some what stronger. As my is now on hard and a is down, I was wondering if it makes sense to add a stay and running back stays and in future to re-cut the for cutter-rig set up, as I plan to do more sailing and want to make sail handling easier. Any reasons why my idea is bad? If I would go this , what would be the best way to attach the stay to the and how do I attach the (dyneema)? Should I put a on the cutterstay or keep it hank-on? Thank you for any advice

27-06-2017, 04:34
Boat: Cape George 31	and/or about balance with different sail combinations--getting the right headsails that will together is the biggest challenge here. If planning to normally fly two headsails, adding a short might be recommended. ? no at any time should ever have a furler. Mast attachment: isn't your 'cutter stay' attached somewhere already? Colligo makes nice fittings for attaching . More complicated is where they'll land and how you'll tighten them. I began mine with a 4-part tackle, found that the lee (the slack) stay needed way too much line to be let out all the way, and so shortened it to a two-part with the tail led to a . It's faster to set it up now, as I'm pulling in less line. When I can afford it I'll get some 75 lashing blocks, rather than the Antal rings I have now, but rings are great until you get your system worked out.

27-06-2017, 05:30
Boat: Moody 31	in a Nic 55. Storm clouds threatened in the distance and the was blowing as we tacked. After an hour we came across another yacht, a large . The barked some orders and we changed from to cutter rig as the highfield lever snapped viciously down on the . The was on. Well it might have been except the Nic just leaned over more and we slowed down, the left us for dead and the slunk off below to his bunk and bottle of gin. Later the mate ordered that awful sail combination changed as we settled down to the first nights sail. Benz has said together is the biggest challenge here" I think he has a valid point and your desire for an easier sail plan isn't going to be forthcoming. Pete

27-06-2017, 06:03
Boat: FP Belize Maestro 43 and OPBs	with two headsails. On a cutter, the mast is generally further aft to get proper balance. (You are talking about turning your boat into a "slutter"

27-06-2017, 06:04
Boat: Custom Swedish Vindö 50 (35 ft)	forward. A naval would be able to help you with getting the sail plan balanced. I have a true cutter and love it. The staysail doesn't do much to windward, but on a beam reach or off the wind it adds drive. In strong winds it's great: I roll up the genoa and just use the staysail and a reefed main- perfectly balanced and the center of effort is near the center of the boat (unlike a partially furled genoa on a sloop). What's wrong with the setup you have now with the removable stay? It seems like a good solution for a sloop.

27-06-2017, 07:53
Boat: Former owner of a Valiant V40

27-06-2017, 08:51
	stay being used for a large light air sail, typically on a furler. If you have to change down to heavy air , you either sail with a baggy rolled up sail on the Solent or you have to drop the sail to put up a storm sail, so you are still working on the foredeck, almost at the bow. With a cutter/slutter you are doing any sail handling farther back on the foredeck which makes life easier. The staysail will be smaller and of much heavier cloth than what is on the solent so you wont be changing sails as soon, or maybe not at all. Yes, when you are using the staysail you will need to use running bacls, but other than or knowing you have nasty coming, you will probably sail with the inner removed and tied back out of the way. I am going through this mod on my 34 foot sloop right now and I expect that in some conditions it will sail better and some conditions it wont sail as well, but for short handed offshore work it will be easier than a Solent. I really only consider the staysail as a passage/storm sail and will sail as a standard sloop most of the time. Just my thoughts. ______Grant.

27-06-2017, 08:55

27-06-2017, 09:00
Boat: Kadey Krogen 38

27-06-2017, 09:03

Boat: 35ft classic ketch/yawl.

of boat. Is the mast too forward?

27-06-2017, 09:05
Boat: Currently Shopping, & Heavily in LUST!	of a deeply reefed is, so that it helps the mast resist inverting. Since a deeply reefed main tends to pull the spar aft at the headboard with quite a bit of force. Also, you need to take into consideration the lateral loads put onto the rig by a staysail, & what will balance them out. Meaning are your stays & mast tube beefy enough where you intend to attach the cutter stay to handle the side loads created in that spot by the sail? Especially since staysails create loads akin to a full sized jib, due to the high winds they're flown in. You can also have an inner forestay which connects to the mast at the Solent position up high, but further aft, in a Staysail location on . The sails won't much know the difference, & the need for runners is far less. Ditto some of the above considerations. Another thing which you'll need to figure out, is where you'll lead the for the new sail, & how you'll adjust their position. Both fore & aft, as well as inboard & . Since their location will determine how well your boat sails, & their location will need to change based on wind & sea conditions of the moment. As you want to be able to go to , but not have things sheeted in so tightly that you have excessive leeway which kills your VMG. And their position too will affect how you trim the main. Also, the search will turn up a LOT of info on this topic, as it comes up almost weekly. But here are some threads & info worth reading: EDIT: It's pretty easy to add a nose/beak for an inner forestay, or soft hounds akin to what's found on the Colligo website. Ditto on attaching tangs for runners, be they metal or synthetic cordage. Again, the search engine's your friend here. And it'd also behove you to visit a few spar maker's websites. The Uncommon Thing, The Hard Thing, The Important Thing (in Life) Making Promises to Yourself, And

27-06-2017, 09:11
	shop should be able to sell you the HOUNDS (no idea how that name came to be) if you do a contour tracing of your mast section. I bought mine from RIG-RITE for about $280 US. Has attachments for stay, and runners. It took a month to get it , so you might contact several suppliers to find a quick one if you dont want the mast down for too long. Since your boat looks like it is a double spreader rig, you may find that the is already there at the upper spreader. Reinforcing the deck will be critical, but can be done in the . Mine will be a little farther aft than I wanted, but a in the way and a convenient bulkhead to beef up made the decision for me. _____Grant.

27-06-2017, 09:26

Boat: Rhodes Reliant 41ft

setup is that changing sails is quite hard. If wind blows harder I need to first roll the 150% geny, put in the stay, drag a heavy weight bag with jib to the fore deck and hank it on.
That is why after looking on a cutter rig I thought that hat is something I would like.

Here is the photo of boat. Is the mast too forward?

27-06-2017, 09:39
Boat: 1975 Tartan 41'	setup is that changing sails is quite hard. If wind blows harder I need to first roll the 150% geny, put in the stay, drag a heavy weight bag with jib to the fore deck and hank it on." Since you have essentially a solent rig, the solution is not a cutter stay, which would likely result in a head sail too small for anything but gales. When you go off-shore, rig the inner stay before you leave the with the inner sail already hanked on and in the bag lashed down to the deck. To tack your genny, you will have to furl it and pull it out on the other tack. That is a small bit of a pain, but offshore, you will not need to tack often. Since the inner sail is rigged all the time, you only need to furl the genny, untie and hoist the inner sail. Keep it on hanks so it can be dropped and removed if needed. A sail, with no connection to the stay when dropped out of the luff track, cannot be removed at sea in a blow by 1 person. This makes furling sails a hazard for short handed sailing IMO. Imagine sailing in 45knots with a genny roller reefed, then the furling line chafes through and breaks and you have 150% genny out in heavy weather with no easy way to get rid of the sail.. very bad.

27-06-2017, 09:45

Boat: Custom 41' Steel Pilothouse Cutter

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Which headsail rig is best for cruising?

The headsail is usually the most important item in a yacht’s sail wardrobe. Not only does it typically provide the lion’s share of the power, it’s generally the first sail that the moving air comes in contact with. It has a cleaner airflow than the mainsail (no mast to cause turbulence at the leading edge) which enables the sailboat to point a bit higher, and it increases the speed of the air passing over the main. The ease of tacking and reefing are key considerations when choosing and sizing a headsail, and so is durability, especially on a cruising yacht where it’s usually left exposed for the whole sailing season. Headsails don’t have an easy life!

Jib or genoa?

Headsails are available in many different sizes and are usually measured as a percentage of J, which is the distance perpendicular from the mast to the point where the forestay meets the deck. This is the length of the foretriangle base. If a headsail is longer than J, it overlaps the mast and is known as a genoa, if it is shorter than J, it’s non-overlapping and called a jib. The ‘overlap’ is the amount that the sail exceeds the J measurement. For example, a 130% genoa will measure 1.3 times the J length, and it will overlap the mast by 30% of the J measurement.

Sirius Yachts – Our standard headsail configuration is a sloop rig

Is a single forestay enough?

Our standard headsail configuration is a sloop rig – a single forestay with a jib or genoa. This gives the best pointing ability and it’s the lowest-cost option. Depending on where you sail and the type of sailing you do, the sail could be a self-tacking jib or a 120% to 135% genoa. You may have noticed that on colder days the wind feels stronger than the same wind speed on warmer days. This isn’t entirely due to the greater difference between air temperature and body temperature, it’s also because warm air is less dense, and hence lighter, than cold air.

A temperature drop of 3°C increases air density by about 1% and in cold weather, the denser air exerts more force on the sails. If you are planning to sail in areas that regularly experience stronger and colder winds, like northern Europe or Canada, then a 120% genoa would be preferred. If you are keeping your yacht in warmer climes where the wind is generally hotter with lower wind speeds, you may wish to consider a 135% genoa.

Benefits of a solent rig

The most popular option on our range of deck saloon yachts is a solent rig (which also has the less attractive name of a “slutter” rig because it’s a cross between a sloop and a cutter), 98% of all our yachts have been built with this rig since 2010. Instead of a single headsail, we fit an inner forestay, giving two forestays to fly two headsails. The forward stay has a genoa and the inner stay has a 97% jib, which is usually self-tacking.

Instead of a single headsail, we fit an inner forestay

The advantage of the solent rig is that you have a full-sized jib which can be used from around 10 knots (force 3) true wind and it will tack itself on a track, making it much easier to sail to windward up narrow rivers or in crowded areas. Tacking is as easy as turning the wheel; there are no sheets to pull in with every tack, no scrabble for winch handles, no winching. The jib is the primary sail for going to windward but when sailing off the wind – and also in light airs, when sailing close-hauled in open water – you still have the option of using the larger, more powerful genoa.

As the wind increases, rather than reefing the genoa by partly furling – which ruins the shape of the sail in no time and makes it less efficient – it can be fully furled and the jib unfurled. This gives you an efficient sail configuration up to around a force 7. After that, you can reduce the headsail area further by starting to furl the jib.

Sirius Yachts - With the solent rig, you always have the best sail for the conditions

The advantage of the solent rig is that you have the sails you need ready to go, so it makes your sailing safer, more comfortable and faster.

Imagine coming down to your sloop rigged boat, the big genoa attached ready to go, the forecast is for light winds – there is no need to swap to the smaller sail that you keep in the forepeak. Once out there, you realise the winds are stronger than expected, have changed direction or you change your plans and need to reduce the headsail. You have two options, partly furl the big genoa and suffer poor pointing, increased heeling and worse performance; or you retrieve the jib that’s in the forepeak, remove the big and probably wet genoa, and feed in the new smaller jib which is a job for both you and your companion. Once you go through the rigmarole of changing sails the winds may well go light again.

With the solent rig you can furl the genoa and unfurl the jib in less than two minutes, on your own, all from the safety of the cockpit. You always have the best sail for the conditions you find yourself in. Having reduced sail area if, later on, you round a headland, island or reach a waypoint and need to bear away, you can furl the jib and get the full power of the genoa and have a great sail to your destination.

Downsides of two headsails

One downside of the solent rig is that the inner forestay needs to be close to the outer forestay, which does make the flow of air over the luff of the inner sail a bit more turbulent. Moving the inner stay further aft (as in a traditional cutter rig) would make the size of the jib less practical, reducing it to the size of a storm jib. Also, if we were to bring the inner stay aft, the deck would need reinforcement, which would intrude into the large, open space of the forecabin. An internal brace would be needed in the middle of the berth to take the loads – not very practical. Moving the outer stay forward onto a bowsprit would increase the overall length of the boat, which might make your marina or harbourmaster happy as you’ll have to pay them more.

Having the inner and outer forestays close together means that when tacking the genoa, it needs to be furled so it can pass between the two stays, then unfurled again afterwards. For cruising boats like ours that don’t get into competitive tacking duels very often, we feel it’s a small price to pay for the added versatility – especially if you have an electric winch or furling system. When you do find yourself tacking to windward you can make longer tacks or just use the self-tacking jib if furling and unfurling the genoa is too much hassle. Sailing into the wind increases the apparent wind so in practice you’ll find that the jib works very well in a wide range of true wind speeds and the genoa will only be used in light winds anyway.

The hybrid option

Another downside of a twin headsail rig is that it effectively doubles the cost: two sails, two stays, two furling units and you still don’t have an offwind sail configuration for light winds. So why not choose to keep the standard single forestay and have either a self-tacking jib or a smaller 110% genoa, to keep the headsail easy to tack (or very easy in the case of the self-tacking jib) and opt for an asymmetric sail on a removable furler?

The most popular sail for this purpose is a 150% (or more) code zero. This is like an oversized genoa that is used in winds up to 13 knots and set on a removable furler attached to a bowsprit. While this sounds and is a possible solution as a code zero works between 2 and 13 knots and the jib most perfectly from 12 knots onwards, you may find yourself between a rock and a hard place in 10-15 knots of wind – the kind of breeze people love most. You may find the jib on the small side and only effective upwind or the code zero too much of a handful and you’re unable to point to windward.

In practice, however, the extra work of attaching the code zero is rarely done when it’s cold or wet (and if it’s wet the sail needs to be dried out to prevent mould and mildew) which is why most of our owners opt for the solent rig.

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When changing a sloop into a cutter

Add to quote

meaning, adding a staysail, should the main sail be redesigned to feet the new sails configuration?

It depends on why and how you add a staysail. On most sloops the foretriangle is to small to effectively use the staysail for normal sailing. By any traditional definition of a cutter, cutters have proportionately larger foretriangles. (By the traditional definition of a cutter and sloop you are actually creating a sloop with multiple headsails and not a cutter, but that's another story.) When you add a staysail in the foretriangle meant for use in moderate or less conditions, both your main and jib, need to be recut. The mainsail needs to be cut very flat down low as it will be backwinded by the forestaysail and the forestaysail needs to be cut flat with a moderately open leech so it won't backwind the mainsail or be backwinded by the headstaysail (jib). If you are adding the staysail for heavyweather then the staysail needs to be cut flat and you need to carefully design the reefs so the boat will remain balanced sailing under just the reefed mainsail and staysail. That typically is such a deep reef on a sloop, that it is only useful in extremely heavy winds, and in that case you are better sailing under a strorm trisail because a conventional mainsail made out of heavy enough sailcloth and flat enough for those heavy conditions would be useless in normal conditions. Jeff

Adding a staysail will not make it a cutter as such. Such a rig is generally called a double headsail sloop or slutter. The difference is that the cutter is designed to have both headsails flying at once, whereas the slutter would usually have just the one. However it is possible to have two but this depends on the overall design, and performance may suffer. There is at least one other thread on this but there are some misconceptions so it might help if I try to explain my conception of what is happening. What is required for boat balance is that for simplicity there be equal sail area fore and aft of the centre of lateral resistance the point of balance of a boat. This assumes both sails are trimmed correctly eg luffing the main effects the force aft. Similarly one boat may have a large headsail and smaller main or vv. In the former case the mast is set further back. Simply adding an extra sail does not increase power because the windforce is a function of the mass and speed of the air diverted. That means that the same mass of air goes through the foretriangle whether it passes over 1 sail or two. However two factors come into it. Forward drive is mainly produced in the luff area, rather than the flat area, so in theory two luff lengths should give greater forward drive. In other words the air diverted remains the same so the force is the same but the resultant forward component of the force differs. The catch is (although this gets complicated) that the force comes from laminar flow. The extent of this depends on having the right slot size. If it is too narrow as you would have seen you backwind the main or the inner sail, which cuts out the drive in the part that produces the forward force. On a sloop that slot size is designed in. On a cutter a bowsprit is required to give the extra separation for a second slot. On a slutter you don't have that capacity without moving the mast back chainplates and all. The other issue is to use 2 foresails at once you need to maintain the slot along the whole luff length so the luffs are parallel. To do this means that the staysail is lower on the mast which will usually require running backstays to strengthen the mast at that point. The alternative is to use a solent rig or or an inner forestay which which is set back only a couple of feet and terminates at much the same point as the outer forestay and may be detachable to allow for easy tacking without the furling the genoa to stop it hooking up. In this case only one headsail is used at a time except perhaps downwind. This has an advantage of better sail set using a dedicated sail on the inner stay rather than partly furling a genoa, where in effect you furl the part with the draft built in, in stronger wind conditions. However you still have to balance the sail plan against the reefed main. So in answer to your specific question you seem to assume greater sail area forward, (if in fact it is greater rather than just distributed between two sails for ease of sail handling) may need to be balanced by greater sail area aft. This might be done by using full battens to get a bigger roach, however first you have to establish form whatever configuration you set up if in fact you have greater force rather than less, and secondly what the sail balance was like previously and after the other changes. For instance you may have had weather helm and increased it. On the other hand if you added a bowsprit you may have eliminated it. So you see it is not as simple as interposing a staysail.

I agree. I've had two cutters and two sloops over the last 40 years and a sloop is designed from the keel up to be a sloop and a cutter to be a cutter. If you look as a real cutter, the mast is set much farther back on the boat - it generally comes down through the middle of the cabin and most cutters also have bow sprits, which gives it the ability to effectively carry both a headsail and a staysail and the boat remains balanced. Adding a second head sail to a sloop doesn't make it a cutter and won't do a lot for performance. Some sloops have added a removable inner headstay to use in heavy weather - drop the headsail, raise the inner headsail.

nothing I can add to the above but the comments are right on the money!

thank you very much for your responses. learned alot by reading them. obviously have much more to learn on the matter.

I own an ericson 39b which has had a staysail added with running backs the staysail lines up with my main when it is on the third reef and makes a very balanced rig in heavy weather. When not in use the stay is moved to the side of the rigging allowing trouble free tacking.

This might be interesting for you. Dave converted his sloop to a cutter. I doubt you'd have to modify your main sail but a sailmaker can suggest if a re-cut is necessary. Outfitting4List You didn't say why. I think the main benefit is you can sail with heavier winds with a more balanced configuration. This means your main is likely in first or second reef. Another advantage may be more sail area with light winds but an asym headsail would be a cheaper alternative if that's your reason. My boat can be rigged for either but I have a sloop. The cutter rig is more complicated. Many people make they're staysail rigging removable so they can sail as a sloop. But you have to also have to add running backstays at the increased mast loads at the staysail mast tang. Also you need new staysail tracks and two more winches for those leads. So unless you sail where the wind is usually +30k or are going on long passages I'd look for other projects.

Hi-I have read the thread and cant help wondering about the Island Packet rig with the self tacking staysail and overlapping genoa.Our I.P.350 sails pretty good for a heavy boat and the staysail is used more often than not.We have only had 30 knot winds gusting 36 so far.We rolled in about a third of the genoa and took in the first reef.She balanced well on a reach and had a steady motion.Our mentor(we are fairly new sailors) had not had any experience of an I.P. rig but was very experienced with cutters.He quite liked it.Any comments?

After reading this thread, I happened across this video of a Volvo ocean race. They seemed to be using a removable inner stay when close reaching, forestay only when close hauled and assymetricals downwind. So clearly there's an advantage of the second headsail in the right conditions. Of course, in their case, the whole rig and sailplan is designed around this and it's not an aftermarket addition. YouTube - music video Volvo Ocean Race 2005-2006

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conversions:sloop to cutter rigged

Discussion in ' Boat Design ' started by star , Nov 2, 2007 .

star New Member

Is it feasible to convert a sloop rig to a cutter or even a Yawl to single mast cutter without unbalancing the boat? And this without moving the mast forward or back.

alan white Senior Member

It is done, and has been done since long ago. I've done it with success. The cutter generally puts the mast further back (unless starting with a hard-mouthed sloop, which may allow keeping the mast as is by adding a bowsprit). Also, adding a mizzen can balance an added bowsprit. Sail size matters too. Modern large fortriangles are so big (especially as developed from 70s IOR rules) that the majority of the sail plan is forward of the mast. In such cases it's quite easy to braek down the headsail into two smaller sails of the same size. I've found the cutter rig reaches faster and is slightly less weatherly, but altogether more handy than the sloop rig. More of a cruising set-up. All without moving the mast.

Landlubber Senior Member

We could go on, but Alan has said it all really.

FAST FRED Senior Member

Some folks are willing to take a few of the advantages of the cutter with out the expense of balancing the boat with a bow sprit. A second headstay that tacks to the forestay attachment point and attaches 3/4 of the way up the mast is fine for EZ inshore cruising. Usually called a Slutter rig. A lever style tack is used for the second stay. The genoa or #1 sail works as it usually does , but when the wind pipes up the inner stay is set and the smaller sail hoisted. The foresail is then dropped and secured in a zipper bag , not being removed from the forestay. Not great offshore as the mast can bow at the second stay attacment point,but great for day sails in variable winds. FF

True regarding mast bend if a masthead rig (with backstay). But if a gaffer, which requires backswept shrouds, any point above the gaff can be stayed and shrouded easily. This also applies to boats with fractional rigs. Offshore, the inner headsail could be braced with a runner or permanent backswept shrouds, or something positioned like a shroud but removable (using a lever like the foredeck one) to allow the mainsail to be set at right angles to the boat. Then the rig would be fine for heavy offshore work. And sometimes the mast is stiff enough to withstand the strain if the stays'l isn't too large. This was the case with a boat I converted. The inner sail attached to the mast at about 7/8 height and the mast was pretty heavy for the boat to begin with. The outer (bowsprit mounted) headsail was on a spectra line to a winch on the mast, and was set up to roller furl (not reef). When that was rolled up, I'd drop it to the deck, where it lay in a tight roll all the way back to the cockpit. No zippered bag required. It was just tied down onto the deck,

" No zippered bag required. It was just tied down onto the deck," The zippered bag is not to control the sail , but for it to LIVE in. No UV damage, no hanking and unhanking , no wet sails below deck. FF

Apples and oranges, Fred. The bag is for hanked-on sails, and the UV strip for roller-furled sails. Thanks for pointing that out.

retired racer Junior Member

Did it for my boat for offshore but installed running backs with a 6 fold purchase to towrail. When going to weather and reaching a bit I found that I could leave the wheel alone for much longer with the cutter rig. But it did need the running backs and especially with a reefed main which takes away mast support. Both headsails were rigged with Profurls of two sizes.

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Cutter Rig or Solent Rig?

Is the Cutter Rig More Useful than the Solent Rig for Offshore Cruising?

For years the cutter rig has been extremely popular with offshore sailors, providing greater flexibility and easier sail handling than the sloop rig in varying wind and sea conditions.

But look around any anchorage where offshore cruisers congregate and you'll notice that the solent rig is mounting a serious challenge to the cutter rig.

But why is that, and what's the difference between these two rigs?

The best way of showing the physical difference is with a couple of pics...

But of course there's rather more to it than that, each of the two rigs having significant benefits and disadvantages when compared to the other. Let's take a look at them...

The Cutter Rig

Unlike the solent rig, both sails are intended to be flown at the same time. Usually the jib will be a high-cut yankee and the smaller staysail will have a lower clew catching the wind that would otherwise escape below the yankee.

With both headsails set, the boat can be tacked without the need to furl the jib.
In high winds, the yankee can be furled completely leaving the staysail set with a deeply reefed main. Many fin-keel cutters reefed down like this will heave-to satisfactorily, whereas they're much less likely to with a partially rolled jib on the forestay.
The lower combined centre of effort of two smaller sails when compared to that of a larger single sail produces a lower heeling moment. Translation - a cutter sails more upright!

Disadvantages

Hard on the wind, the jib stalls the staysail, leaving you with two options. Either drop the staysail or bear off the wind a little.
Downwind, the staysail will blanket the jib and has to be dropped, leaving a relatively small jib to power the boat.
Running backstays must be set up to resist the forward pull on the mast by the inner forestay. Alternatively, aft intermediate stays could be incorporated in the standing rigging.

You can read more about the cutters here...

The Solent Rig

The Solent Rig is quite different from the Cutter Rig in as much as it's effectively a sloop with two different sized headsails on separate in-line stays - usually set on furlers.

You fly one sail or the other - not both at the same time as with the cutter rig.

You have a choice of headsails. Typically, the forward sail could be a 140% genoa for use as an offwind/reaching sail and the aft one a 100% working jib for windward work.
Having said earlier that you fly one sail or the other, I'll immediately contradict myself by saying that you can sail dead downwind 'wing-and-wing' with one sail poled out to port and the other poled out to starboard. You certainly can't do that effectively with a cutter.
With both stays attached close to the top of the mast, there's no need for running backstays, swept-back spreaders or aft intermediates as there is with the cutter.
You can't tack the forward sail through the gap between it and the one behind it - you have to furl it away completely before hauling it out again when you've gone through the wind.
Hard on the wind, the furled sail disrupts the airflow over the working sail, reducing performance.
With the forestay tension shared between two stays, the luff of the sail may fall away more than you'd want it to, also reducing windward performance.

Can You Retrofit a Solent Rig?

Yes, it can be done - as on 'Badgers Sett' below - and this article shows how...

Or Maybe a Cutter Rig and a Solent Rig?

Provided the mast is far enough aft and the fore-triangle can accommodate it, why not a solent rig with a staysail - a solent-rigged cutter perhaps?

You'd have a lot of lines in the cockpit, but could this be the best of both worlds?

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Bluewater Cruising: Cutter Rig versus Solent Rig - Part 1

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What Are The Advantages/Disadvantages Of A Cutter Rig?

Thread starter Joe Mullee
Start date Jun 4, 2008
Forums for All Owners
Ask All Sailors

Just bumming around today and searching the web. I'm interested in what the advantages are of a cutter rigged boat. What about the disadvantages? I sail the middle Chesapeake but always have the plan to go and do some coastal sailing. Just wondering out loud.Thanks,Joe Mullee

Joseph Shirley

The two disadvantages that I can think of are you have to make allowances for tacking a genoa around the staysail-stay and you have to mess with running backstays. By the same token the extra rigging gives more support to the mast, and the divided fore-triangle is safer when reducing sail. Additionally the staysail can be equipped with a self tacking boom or club to make sail handling easier. The advantages are generally more evident on larger boats in which the genoas get pretty big and unmanageable short handed.Have funJoe S

CharlieCobra

Depends on the boat Mine has no running backstays and a detachable solent stay for the Staysail. It is quite the pain to tack the Genny with the solent stay in place. I also need a Yankee for flying twin headsails upwind as the Genny gets sucked into the back of the Staysail. I do like the rig for it's versatility though.

I think the rig of my next boat will be similar to the B&R rig; a small non-overlapping jib and big roachy full-batten main. My current boat, a Bene OC400, is a masthead sloop with a 155 genny and that sail is a PITA to tack, (or rather, to crank in going upwind) on a weather leg. There's something to be said for just turning the wheel to tack.

I have a 145 on mine and found the secret to tacking a big headsail is to let it backwind a bit before running free and with only two wraps on the new windward winch (none in the ST cog) pull like hell as it comes across. Typically, ya only have two or three cranks left to do for trim if ya time it right. Once you've pulled over all you can get, you then throw the other two wraps and go up the ramp on the winch. Keep the handle off until ya need it.

If you can call this an advantage...You have more sail variations and thus can fine tune the sails that are smaller.

Pros and Cons of Cutter I sail a Bob Perry design cutter. Advantages: 1. Flexibility of sail plan to meet varying wind conditions. 2. Ability to reef 'back to front'.... a (true cutter with the mast at 50% LOD) will sail adequately on Genoa only ........ and still have a balanced helm ---- the combined CE on a cutter is in front of the mast and usually 'just aft' of the center/centroid of the staysail. 3. Sail plan optimized for beam to broad reaching --- ie.: ' trade wind sailing'. Cutters are usually 'masthead' rig configurations. 4. Use of intermediate stays reduce need for running backstays.5. Reduction of turbulance at mast by close setting of staysail (on beat), which greatly increases stable flow over mainsail which increases efficiency of genoa. 6. Self tacking staysail, if clubfooted. Disadvantages:1. an incredibly difficult rig to 'tune' properly, especially if boat has bobstay/bowsprit.1a. Requires either running backstays or large-stroke backstay adjuster - for pointing ability and to compensate/adjust the extra long headstay (headstay sag). 1b. Bery difficult to 'balance' the tensions in the headstay/forestay with a single backstay for good headstay tension (headstay sag). Variable headstay sag due to forestay unloading into the headstay (and vice versa) ... will drive you nuts iw/r to sail shaping. 2. Tacking a large genoa through between headstay and forestay .... but there are 'tricks' to do this such as tricing line or backwinding the genoa over a taught staysail.3. VERY difficult to get all sails interacting on an aerodynamic basis. 4. Needs running backstays (if no intermediates) 5. Uses VERY large Genoas for light air sailing. 6. Staysail 'under' a genoa ineffective in winds less than 6-8 kts. - adverse aero 'boootstraping'. If genoa 'overlaps' staysail, then decrease of aero effects. 7. Narrow sheeting angles (from horizontal centerline) for staysail .... causes head portion to easily become over twisted by 'lifting' clew. (Clubfoot / Hoyt boom reduces clew from 'skying'.) Most cutter rigs without clubfoot will usually have fluttering head leeches and overtrimmed foot of staysail --- only the center panels of staysail will be 'working' in other than 'pointing' sets. The above is for a TRUE cutter with mast at ~40-50% of LOD ........... not a double headed sloop rig with mast at ~30% LOD .... such as Island Packets, etc. as double headed sloops dont have adequate sized (SA) staysails!!!!!! What defines a boat as a cutter is the MAST POSITION (~50%), not how many 'foresails' it carries.

sailortonyb Allied Mis

Do some research Not all is what it appears to be. Some rigs look like a cutter, but are really what is known as a double head-stayed rig. These particular rigs are not meant to be used with both head sails at the same time. The inner stay is meant to be used alone when weather gets bad enough to reduce sail. The inner headsail moves the forces slightly further back and balances the boat better.With a true cutter rig, the inner head sail (staysail) is used alone for the same reason, but under normal sailing comnditions, both the jib and the staysail are flown at the same time.In addition to better balancing options with more sails, the individual headsails are smaller than the jib/ genny on a sloop and are therefore easier to handle.Generally speaking, the more sails you have, the more options you have. I personally am a big fan of cutter rigs and ketch rigs if you intend to go offshore or if you want to be more comfortable in rough weather.Be aware that there were some really poorly designed cutters and ketch rigged boats. To the point that the inner stays are generally removed by the owners on the cutters and the mizzen masts were removed on the ketch's. But if you get a well designed cutter or ketch, you will love it.Tony B

I reckon Oh Joy would be classified as a double headsail Yawl then. The mast is at about 40-45% LOA, she has a bowsprit and detachable solent stay. She also has a single HUGE backstay with lot's of adjustment. Originally she was a single headsail yawl with a 12' J. Now she has a 14'4" J for the Genny. It makes for a much faster boat with 840 sq ft of SA instead of 600 sq ft. Better helm balance with the Mizzen up too.

116% Jib Our new Beneteau 323 has a non-overlapping 116% Genoa. Its very easy to handle, much better than the 135% that we used to have on our old Catalina 30. I barely have to use the winch in moderate conditions. Maybe one or two effortless cranks will do the job in most low to medium wind conditions.

Cutter vs. Double headstay One of the key items in a successful cutter is that with both head sails up at the same time, the boat speed increases. If no increase in speed, it is a poorly designed cutter. At this point, we are where the double headstayed rig comes into play. This is the 'use one sail or the other' kinda thing. In light air, use the big Genny. In rough weather, use the staysail. In Charlies case, if it works well, whats in a name? Tony B

Charlie - with the mast at 40% and with a mizzen You have a SLUTTER-Y'ALL !!!!

Interesting thread I have owned a Cheoy Lee Clipper 36 for about a year now. I replaced the genny with a yankee as soon as I had the boat in SF Bay. I tighten the windward side running backstay on a broad reach or a tack, but can't when running with the wind. I would like to hear how other people use them. I mostly single-hand, sometimes with all 4 sails up but haven't flown the spinnaker yet.

Nassau 34 The running backstays on my cutter are permanently adjusted with turnbuckles - like the shrouds. Are some cutter rigs equipped with runners that need to be adjusted on each tack?

Higgs It is my understanding that what makes a backstay "running" is the ability to tension and ease one side or the other, depending on tack. I believe your non adjustable(at least not easily adjustable under sail) backstays would be called baby stays but I'll defer to RichH on this.

From Higgs description .... he probably has intermediate stays instead of runners. Intermediate stays were popular for cutter design in the 70s and 80s. They were applied to help prevent mast pumping and to react to the forestay loads. However since they have such a low angle of attachment with the mast (to support the forestay load) they can impart nearly infinite loads to the chainplate system when reacting to strong mast loads ..... not very efficient and add a lot of weight aloft. Mast prebending is a better way to help prevent 'mast pumping'. Runners are only attached to the 'forestay hounds' to react to the forestay loads. Since they run usually down to a deck mounted block closer to the aft of the boat, the attachment angle is much larger hence the trigonometry of the wider angles makes runners very efficient in comparison to intermediates. Modern super high tech line (dyneema, etc.) keep the diameter of the line small hence the weight and wind resistance. Runners usually run from the mast to a block on a pendent attached near or towards the stern .... the line usually runs to an auxiliary winch. I use runners primarily to help keep the heaadstay from sagging well off to leeward when flying a huge genoa to vastly increase pointing ability. I prebend my mast (single spreader) by ~3/4" and dont have 'pumping problems' even in force 10-11.

Are they used when going downwind? The running backstays on my boat can be tightened by the windward side jib winch. When I had the genoa up tacking was a little more complicated since both winches were being used. But going downwind was a problem because the running backstays would be in the way when the boom swung out. So I have to move them forward again when I go downwind. Any suggestions?

BaySailor ---- Just use the runner on the opposite side when going downwind - if the boom is out to port, use the stbd side runner. The only problem you'll have is not enough winches on one side (one for jib and one for runner); in that case just run the tail of the runner across the cockpit to a winch, or add auxiliary winches. Also when going downwind, you dont need much force from a runner to help tighten a headstay .... just enough force to the runner to 'help dampen' mast pumping; in most cases you want a more slack head stay for downwind (to increase 'power'). The danger in overtighening a runner is to cause a reverse bend in the mast .... not good as it increases the risk of mast to fail by 'buckling failure'. The goal in using runners when down wind it to keep the mast straight and not pumping ... and it doesnt take much load on a running backstay to do that.

Fred Ficarra7897

OK,,,,,,,,, Now THIS is a great thread! But if we get too many like it, we'll know EVERYTHING.Joe, no word on the water tank yet. Let's figure on getting it to you next week.

Stillraining

Rich I knew you were a sharp cookie...Wow Great info...I have mast hardware for both inner fore stay ( baby stay ) and runners also deck anchor for baby stay....but I dont see anywhere where the runners would attach aft of mastOn the 52 thats in my marina they have them anchored WAY aft behind the mizzen ...I dont quit understand that at first...but your explanation of not really using them running DW explains that...Still I dont see any anchor point on my boat.

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