Blooper?

[Paulus]

Got my hands on a blooper sail that will fit my boat... 35ft luff, 23ft foot and 28 ft leech.

Makes for a funny looking light air sail and I don't have the spinnaker to got with it, which I learned it is designed to work with.

It needs a small tear fixed, which would be an easy and fun project, but my question is - do these sails make any sense to use as one would an asymetrical, or a drifter?

It is made from extremely light material and would definately aide in light air performance...

No?

[Hirilondë]

Bloopers were a fad of the late 70s and early 80s. They flew wing and wing with the spinnaker for dead down wind. Then it dawned on racers and designers that a good spinnaker used on broad reaches tacking down wind was faster. They look cool though, especially if color coordinated with the spinnaker.

[Paulus]

Bloopers were a fad of the late 70s and early 80s. They flew wing and wing with the spinnaker for dead down wind. Then it dawned on racers and designers that a good spinnaker used on broad reaches tacking down wind was faster. They look cool though, especially if color coordinated with the spinnaker.

Yup..





they have a weird cut..

[Tallystick]

I like the looks of a "mule" sail for a ketch or a yawl. Not sure about performance though.

[Quetzalsailor]

I was told to not buy a used blooper in lieu of a used or new cruising spinnaker; they're not the same thing at all. It had seemed to me that one would be better than nothing, particularly if the price were right!

[radicalcy]

I have a UK Sails "Flasher" that came as an extra on a boat I bought for a quick turn. The sail was just too nice not to keep. My Columbia 8.7 is about 10,000 lbs, and can be a real dog in light wind using the factory 130 and main. I sail singlehand most of the time and can't deal with a spinnaker. The flasher is a natural substitute. No pole, no lazy sheets.....and except for having to gybe instead of tacking, is almost like using a normal headsail. Couldn't your blooper be used the same way?

http://www.ukhalsey.dk/FlasherTips.pdf

[tpl]

under IOR, foresails measuring between jibs and symmetrical spinnakers were heavily
taxed. Bloopers measure in as jibs, with half height width being 1/2 the foot: much
smaller than asymmetrical "flashers" or whattheymaybecalled. With the spinnaker, In
heavy air they help as "death roll" killers, but require a dedicated hand on the halyard
to keep them dry and "blooping."

[Paulus]

So what would a Blooper do all by itself sailing close to dead downwind, with Main, Mizzen and Genoa flying, Blooper added?

[Hirilondë]

So what would a Blooper do all by itself sailing close to dead downwind, with Main, Mizzen and Genoa flying, Blooper added?

Make the task much harder for very little if any speed. Dead down wind the wind is pushing the sails, you are not using them as foils. As boat speed increases your apparent wind decreases. There is a limit to how fast even the most modern design with mucho sail area can go down wind. If speed is your goal, using a blooper is an exercise in futility. Bloopers were an attempt to beat a rule for racing. A good broad reaching spinnaker and tacking down wind will make for much faster boat speed, and in spite of the added distance, it will get you there faster. If you just have to fly it for your own amusement then go for it. But you can't rationalize it as practical.