Yakaholic wrote:
More speed/performance from the tandem over the Island would be very nice, add the jib.
I don't agree, for several reasons.
First, a jib means at least a few more control lines (two sheets and a furler). One of the great things about the Island is the simplicity.
Second, look how far forward that mast is. There is no good way I can see to move it back toward the center of the boat, as is common on sloops. That means the jib will necessarily be very small.
Third, even tiny jib furlers are pretty expensive. If it's not a furling jib, that means it will need a tack line and a halyard. Four new lines instead of three.
Fourth, the mast and sail must be bigger, and inserting the mast with a furled jib hanging off of it might start to get awkward because of the extra weight and windage you are lifting.
Fifth, while a sloop rig can almost always outperform a cat rig upwind because the slot between main and jib directs more flow to the mainsail, things change on a reach, and even more on a run. When running downwind, mainsails tend to "blanket" jibs, unless running directly downwind "wing on wing". When reaching and especially when running, the performance will depend on the number of USEFUL square feet of sail. It doesn't really matter how many sails, just how many square feet are catching wind. People are rigging whisker poles on AI's for this reason, but whisker poles are more commonly used on jibs. We'll see TWO whisker poles and all associated hardware when people are trying to spread two sails out for downwind runs. More complication, and the same effect can be achieved just by putting all those square feet into one sail.
Sixth, jibs are even worse than mainsails about blocking your vision. Another window. See the recent window cracking thread.
Seventh, if you spread out the square feet over two sails, especially with two windows, it will cost more.
Eighth, have you seen the various contraptions people have made to keep the jibs up and clear of the mainsail's top batten? Hobie would no doubt do a neater job, but it's really not an easy problem to solve.
Ninth, getting back to that upwind performance thing... the boat will have two Mirage Drives. It will "motorsail" upwind just fine with all that power.
Tenth, windrider has already done a pretty good job on a two person tri with main and jib. From what I've read, it takes people twenty minutes to rig one of those at the ramp. If we arrive at the ramp at the same time, I'll be out of sight by the time they launch. More rig time ends up translating into less frequent use.