Claude,

I concur, the inner headstay is too much hassle and I would be
conncerned to make a modification to a proven design. Those guys in
Rochelle have got more things right than I have seen on any other
boat.
I'll go for the idyllic reaches. Are you out in the Caribbean,
that's our domain at the moment, would be nice to cross tracks one
day hsould the wind blow the right way.

David

--- In amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com, Claude Roessiger
<nearlynothing@y...> wrote:

Dear David,
Basically the SM doesn't do well closer than 45 wind
apparent. The sheeting angle is surely a major factor.
It is a hallmark of Amel boats; they are built to
cruise, for the open sea, where sailing close hauled
for any period of time isn't wonderful in any case.
This said, it is an issue, and one can only hope that
in a future boat Amel will improve upwind performance.
I have sometimes wondered if fitting an inboard track
and combining this with a smaller headsail might not
help, but I have concluded that it's more bother than
it's worth.
If you are really adamant about gaining another 5
degrees upwind, I suspect a headsail with a very
modern construction might achieve that. Maybe someone
has tried?
Basically, think in terms of idyllic reaches under the
stars of tropical skies....
Claude Roessiger

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