Boomless
Sail Design
Perhaps
the most valuable feature of the Bravo sail is what it is missing - a boom. The
benefits of the boomless feature are simple - less expensive, easier to rig and
most importantly it is safer. This boomless feature is very rare for small sailboats
and yet it completely eliminates a major concern of sailing. In the past a boomless
sail would be considered a significant compromise to performance, but the unique
batten design of the Bravo sail makes the compromise very small and only while
sailing on certain points of sail - off the wind or downwind. It is virtually
no compromise to sailing upwind. For those who want to maximize performance on
all points of sail there is an optional
boom that will snap on and off in just seconds. | |
Roller
Furling
The Bravo sail can be rolled around the
mast with a simple pull on a line. This makes sailing much more convenient and
gives peace of mind. The Bravo mast is supported by two carefully engineered bearings
that allows the mast to spin freely. |  |
Reefable
The
Bravo sail can be reefed down to any size that you like just by pulling a line.
Sailboat designers must always make compromises when deciding on the size of the
sail - you do not want the sail too big in heavy wind and you do not want the
sail too small in light wind unless you have a good option for reefing. With that
in mind we gave the Bravo a big sail - 86 square feet. |
Fully
Battened
The main benefit of a fully battened sail
is the increased sail area, but also the sail shape is improved and the sail will
have less tendency to flutter in the wind which means it will last longer. The
unique design of the Bravo battens allows the sail to furl around the mast. |
Square
Top Sail Design
The
Bravo is the very first boat to have all the benefits of a square top sail and
be able to furl easily around the mast. The square top sail is a relatively recent
design innovation that has been adopted by all of the top level racing sail
boats including the Americas Cup class boats and the latest multi-hulls including
the most successful Formula 18, the Hobie Tiger.
The
square top sail is remarkable because it provides significant advantages in
nearly all sailing conditions with practically no compromises. The most noticeable
difference of the square top sail is the additional sail area up high. In light
winds the benefit is simple. More sail area means more power, but contrary to
what you might think the additional sail area actually makes the boat more forgiving
in strong or gusty wind. Old school thinking would believe that the extra sail
area up high would tend to tip the boat over easier, but in reality the extra
sail area causes the sail to twist more and cause the top of the sail to flatten
out. The net result is the center of lift of the sail moves down and the over
all drive of the boat increases with less tendency to tip over. This is done automatically
which makes the boat easier to sail in gusty wind.
The more subtle benefits
are; >>
The improved planform of the sail. The most efficient wing
or sail is one with an elliptical planform. The square top sail more closely approximates
an ellipse. >>
The square top sail has an even more dramatic benefit for
boomless boats like the Bravo since a boomless sail has more tendency to get too
full when the sheet is eased. The square top sail does a good job of keeping the
top of the sail flat when the sail is eased even without a boom. The
end result is a revolutionary sail design that is the best of all worlds - best
performance, easiest to sail, most convenient and improved safety.
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