Probably around 20 kn for comfort. I've only reefed the lateen a couple of
times, and that was more for testing than necessity. With my gunter rig
(with less sail area), I found it comfortable to reef at about 15 kn, but
the lateen (not lanteen) rig tolerates more wind. The low aspect ratio sail
has a lower center of effort, and the spars flex in a gust. The boat just
feels stiffer. I don't get that "Whoa, Nellie!" feeling when a gust heels
her. If you like the rush, you could probably sail her okay in more wind
without reefing. You probably were not on the mail list when Lars Mulford
was describing his early sails in his lateen-rigged P15, _Always_, but he
apparently went out in some pretty extreme conditions. He seemed to get the
boat on a plane and reported a "tone" that was apparently generated in the
CB trunk.
When Dave Kautz and I sailed at Lake Anderson recently, it became gusty and
Dave was starting to feel overpowered and chose to reef. I wasn't
uncomfortable yet but reefed anyway. It was interesting that the two boats
then stayed together, each with a single reef, and both pointing about the
same. Jiffy reefing the lateen is very easy, but it looks weird, and I was
surprised that it sails as well as it does when reefed. When reefed, the
yard is not hauled up against the mast, so the yard lays against the mast
on one tack and flies out on the other tack because there is a length of
halyard between the yard and the mast..
Much earlier, before I had reefing on the lateen, Dave and I sailed on
Lexington Reservoir on a windy, gusty afternoon. I hadn't rigged the vang,
and when we ventured out of the lee where the ramp is located, we hit a
tempest blowing in over the dam in the middle of the lake. The lateen sail
billowed so severely that it was extremely difficult to trim, so I
retreated into a cove and rigged the "Sunfish vang," which is actually just
a line that pulls down on the gooseneck. That flattened the sail and made
the boat manageable, but I could have used reefing. Dave did reef his P15.
There was probably 25 kn coming over the dam.
>Hi Harry,
>
>I'm curious about something on Manatee. At what windspeed do you have to
>reef the lanteen rig?
>
>Judy