Jerry, I sail a Vagabond 17, and a M-15. Day sailing, I love the lively attitude of the M-15, reminds me of my younger dingy days, but, starting out on a 4-5 hour cruising day, I prefer the stability of the V-17. On some of my cruising days, I sailed with 2 M-15s, one of which I now own. If the forecast was for building winds the M-15s would start out with their smaller jibs. They both were sailing solo, and did not want to go forward to change. Usually, having roller furling, I would have to unnecessarily reduce my sail area to wait for them. They were slow until, if ever, the wind picked up. So, maybe go tall, and reef the main first. Much easier to do solo, and you donÂ’t sail slow waiting for the wind. Seems to me that if you reef the top down to the jib head, you now have the mast head rig of the 17Â….just my observation, I am not an expert.
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