More power! If you do not OD and it does not wildly change your rating then why not?
To get the most out of the increased roach, if you do not have a fine tune then you should invest in one. It gives you absolute control over the upper 1/4 of the sail and with a bigger roach you will need finer control over leech tension.
Your sailmaker can help with the rig tune. Most important is to find the right amount of bend ( ratio of upper tension to lower tension - not overall tension ) for the sail they make - and they should be able to help you dial that in by how much luff curve they put into the sail. Once you get that right you can tighten or loosen for wind - just keep the same ratio.
Also you can get a bit more room on the backstay in light air by taking a strong bungy cord with hooks on the ends and running it from the top of one vertical cockpit stanchion (ones closes to tiller) inside the backstays and then connect to the other stanchion. This will pull it back a few inches as well as keep it out of your way when you tack.
Last edited by dbows; 04/14/10 09:44 AM.
