Do Cloth Wingsails Actually Work?

Just an inquisitive thread, I have been keen on the wingsail concept for quite a while but they seem hard to tame for a number of reasons. Hard wings are difficult to design so they can be reefed, soft wings don't hold their shape very well. Both are shall we say less eloquent than ordinary cloth sails to the ye, even though cloth sails appear to be horribly inefficient.

A lotta folks have found some middle ground making cloth sails (two sided for the most part) held in shape by battens, but do they actually outperform one sided cloth sails? Are they worthy of the extra cost and effort?

Really just want to hear some interesting pov on this topic or be directed to whatever previous conversations may have covered this to death

 

The answer is going to depend on the specific type of boat you choose.

That's true for the performance itself, but maybe even more so for the cost & effort.

 

Interesting. I spose that scale matters. What else does?