Mark Thomasson wrote:
if I can draw on a miss-spent youth of windsurfing - where the power of the sail is immediately felt:
- Blocking the gap between the base of the sail and the board was like turning on a turbo. I see you have a big gap between boom and deck, so suggest try fitting a 'water sail' for light winds.
I've read about this elsewhere too. Expanding on it a bit, how about being able to lower the whole sail down close to deck level when sailing an extended period of time on one tack? As I'm visualizing it, it would require having a running tack line and mast lift.
This would of course also require removing the lifelines, but I've already had them removed before and I actually preferred not having them there. It felt easier and to move about the deck, without them restricting your movements beyond the rail. I did put them back last summer because of my SO, who I concluded would percieve them to be safe/comfortable. And they are great for hanging clothes/towels to dry. :) Point being that with decent grabrails combined with moderade bulwarks, lifelines are mostly useless and in many cases dangerous (the illusion of safety). Speaking of which, my dad fell through his lifelines last spring when doing deckwork while his boat was on the dry (the stanchion base came off and bent). Fortunately there was enough snow on the ground so he didn't hurt himself too bad.
A watersail of some sorts might still be a better (easier) option, compared to having to have an unneccesary amount of running rigging.