Hi Roger
Having sailed various ketches ( moody halberdier, Nauticat 38, Buchanan 33 and now a Nauticat 33) I have found that it’s great in strong winds with just the Genoa and mizzen in F5, well balanced and still gets to windward fairly well, but as previously stated, this is not an ocean greyhound.
It’s useful if you motorsail in stronger winds if it gets you where you want to go. It’s all about balance.
As I do a bit of race management, themixxen is great for keeping head to wind at starts and finishes where it’s not possible to anchor, (Loch Fyne has 220 meters in places).
If your main is loose footed and is on an in mast roller, getting the balance is not as easy as a slab reef or two, remember reefing takes the pressure off, the boat will sail more upright and more comfortable, sailing her on her ear just makes her slide sideways. It’s all about centre of effort and lateral resistance to achieve comfortable forward motion.
Old saw, if your thinking you need to reef, your too late to do so, but do it anyway.
Enjoy tinkering
Kind regards
Graham
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