After 5 years and 10.000Nm-sails and paravanes(trawlerfans)
South Pacific Familyadventure 2008
Claes Brodin
Fri 31 Jan 2020 19:24
During passages if in downwind I furl out the headsail which gives a more comfortable behaviour with better stability and being able to pull down the throttle a bit,reduces fuel consumtion.
A couple of times in heavy seaway from "old dead seas" without wind I have used the mainsail only for stability.Only once did I sail the boat without engine with both sails in 15kts of beamreach having a comfortable ride doing 4,8kts. I´m sure it would be a good take you home system,more reliable than a wingengine.
In beamwinds with heavy seaway the paravanes is almost a must. Dora Mac does roll heavily in heavy beamseas and not only is the size of rolling reduced but also the speed. It´s a frequent experience from me and crewmembers that seasickness disappears once paravanes are launched.
Nordhaven used to have paravanes as well but use finstabilizers nowadays. As far as I understand they are more efficient but also fail more frequently. It would be interesting to compare...
