Mary

Cyndi and I looked ways to depower the A-class in high wind. All the sailmakers had a slightly different methods but they all basically involved reducing the aspect ratio by removing sail area up high and moving it down low. Increasing the aspect ratio is an interesting idea. It kinda assumes you can depower the upper portion of the sail and maybe the longer sq top will blow over earlier.

It you want the ultimate high wind sail some of the A's can fly a Wave sail with a long pigtail between the head of the sail and the halyard ring. You might even be able to sail it boomless. (Does the A-class now become a Wave that doesn't stuff the bow?)

Another good choice would be a Marstrom M18. From what I understand the extra beam makes a big difference in heeling and stability. The M18 was Goran Marstrom's choice as a woman's boat. It can be sailed or raced as a 1 person, 2 person, with/without a Spin. And with a extra set of crossbeams, it's an A-class.

The only problem with the A's, is righting. The experts don't have any problem. But for the average person, at somewhere below 150 lb crew weight it becomes difficult.

There is no such thing as a perfect boat but if you start off light and strong you can always modify it.

Carl Bohannon