When I was still sailing 49-ers I thought the downhaul was anything but powerful. It had only a 1:2 purchase on it and the travel length was kind of short. I also thoughts its effect to be almost negligiable. In no way does it compare to my own 1;12 system on my own cat. With that I can actually see the mainsail go from full draft to really flat (no draft). On the 49-er you really had to look hard to notice the change.

I feel that the 49-er design gambled that most crews would set mast bend by adjusting the stay/shroud tension on the shore and then only need a little (weak) downhaul to do the last bit of fine-tuning. This requires alot of experience and an excellent feel for trim by just looking at the weather forcast or a quick glance over the water.

I was NOT impressed.

Wouter