Genoa (sail)

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Genoa on a yawl-rigged sailing yacht

A genoa is an enlarged staysail set instead of the normal jib on sailboats and sailing yachts . In contrast to the jib, the genoa overlaps the mast , i.e. the clew is located behind the mast. In many types of sailing boats, the sail area of ​​the genoa is larger than that of the main sail . The genoa is driven in light to moderate winds . The advantage of the larger sail area compared to the jib also has a disadvantage: sailing maneuvers under the genoa can be more cumbersome as the clew can get caught on the mast or its fittings, especially if there is still a baby or cutter day available.

As well as a normal Fock the Genoa can by means of a furler in its sail area reduced to or completely recovered. However, this so-called furling meeting has the disadvantage that the sail profile is lost when reefing. This can be counteracted within certain limits by sewing profile foam into the luff. (so-called foam luff)

The genoa is usually driven in three sizes, the sail profile and the overlap vary. The overlap indicates the length of the foot in relation to the distance between the mast and the attachment point of the forestay (J dimension).

  • Genoa I for light winds 1–2 Bft , approx. 150%
  • Genoa II for stronger winds 3 - 4 Bft, approx. 135%
  • Genoa III for winds between 4 and 5 Bft, approx. 105%

The profiles become flatter with increasing wind. A Genoa II on the furling system is ideal for cruising sailors in order to be able to cover the largest possible wind range. Due to the aerodynamic advantages, the forestay length is always fully utilized today. With the Genua III in particular, this leads to high aspect ratios, but this is not a problem due to the use of modern sailcloths.

The name of the sail comes from a regatta of 6-meter racing yachts held in Genoa in 1927 , where it was first set by Sven Salén , a Swedish sailor. In the past, the genoa was also referred to as a cross balloon to distinguish it from the more bulbous cut space balloon .

Jib (green) compared to genoa (blue)

Web links

Commons : Genoas  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bert Willenborg: His father invented the genoa. www.victorychallenge.com, June 22, 2005, archived from the original on March 17, 2006 .;
  2. ↑ Sailing boats - the racing machine for normally wealthy sailors - faz.net