Perfect Cruising boat?

[Wellydeckhand]

You mean a 70ft with 2 junk sail will suffice? How much surface area u need?

[Vega]

Originally Posted by Vega

Small sailingboats (less than 60ft) use furling in the mast, the really big ones use boom furling. As you said, boom furling is better …
Big sailboats with small crews use furling booms.
…. but try to sail alone a 70ft sailboat and do some reefing...

Originally Posted by FAST FRED

With a 70 ft waterline most any shape sail will get 8k+ so rolling the main up like a windowshade is just fine.

Most folks have smaller than 70 ft boats and need to MAXIMISE the vessels performance , rather than compromise performance to be able to work the boat.

Different folks , different strokes.
FAST FRED

Fred, I am talking only of big sailingboats with small crews.

I thought you liked fast sailing. Who wants to sail at 8 knots in a 70ft sail boat (with inefficient or small sails)?

Make it 16 knots and big sails…and if you think you can control a big fast boat alone without help from a furling boom…maybe you can, if you are young and fit, but if you are over 60 and have a big boat you can do three things: get a crew, sell the boat, have a furling boom.

That has nothing to do with “Different folks , different strokes”, but with big boats, small crews and the possibility of continuing sailing fast in a big boat when you get older.

Lots of performance boats use furling booms, not for racing (big crews) but for cruising with small crews, or no crew.

[Vega]

Originally Posted by Milan

Yes, that's reason enough for me to not consider reefing in mast for the offshore boat at all.....
My favorite is combination of the good old fashion lazy jacks, slab reefing and modern powerful winch for raising the sail. I would also keep boom fairly low to be able to reach reefing lines from the deck.
Milan

If you plan to sail alone, a reefing system that leads all the cables to the cockpit is the way to go. In bad weather and troubled seas you don't want to be on the deck of a relatively small boat while a not very effective autopilot is trying to control the boat.
Modern systems allow you to have two single line reefing points. I have a third reef running with two lines. No need to go on deck.

[Milan]

Originally Posted by Wellydeckhand

...How much surface area u need?...

Welly, as a rough estimate traditional gaff rigged vessels masts height above the deck are about 3 times beam of the hull and length of the boom for offshore boat maximum 2 times beam of the hull. Shorter is safer. (Longer then that would catch waves as the boat rolls).

You have to make detailed calculations of course. Calculate sail area / displacement ratio for indication of the speed in moderate wind strengths and sail area / wet area for indication of speed in light airs. Then draw few versions of desired sail area configuration and compare heeling forces versus righting moment.

You will find excel spread sheets in the attachments which will help you:

Milan