Reefing the genoa adversely impacts the boat's ability to point but reefing the main does not. So, all other things being equal, reef the main first. A fully deployed 135, however, will be a handful in a 20 kt breeze. Hopefully you have some burly crew.
On April 30, 2017 at 9:41 AM Rick Davies <jdavies104@gmail.com> wrote:
GO, Jerry, and all the professional M17 racers out there, I need some advice. I sail my M17, Lynne L, in club races every Tuesday evening and occasional weekend regattas. I sail with a 135% genoa with a padded luff. Racing in the 15 - 20 kt wind range I find that I'm often overpowered if I keep both sails unreefed/unfurled, so I'm sailing a lot of the time with a luff in the main. I have the option to reef the main, which allows me to sail without depowering. A third option is to leave the main unreefed and take a few turns on the jib furler. The boat seems to sail pretty well under any of the three options, but it's hard to compare the performance of the three. Does anyone have any a priori opinions as to which, if any, is the best approach?
Thanks,
Rick M17 #633 Lynne L