UK Sailmakers has become a distributor for Oxley self stabilizing spinnaker. These unique sails have been designed for cruising sailors who are looking for extra downwind speed, but without the wild gyrations that conventional spinnakers can produce.

OXLEY STABILIZING SPINNAKER EXPLAINED

In contrast to a conventional Spinnaker/Gennaker, Oxley’s self-stabilizing sails BORA and LEVANTE are equipped with a lift-creating wing in the upper part of the sail body.

For the long-distance cruising sailors who spend a lot of time on autopilot, the advantages of this construction are massive. The entire boat is stabilized as the sail is automatically balanced by the lifting function of the wing. This leads to a reduction in rudder pressure and minimized corrections of the autopilot.

Relaxed cruising can be had, even without a Spinnaker pole. Besides the wide range of applications, the sail offers one more important aspect: comfort. Easy to use, even under difficult conditions, the overall reduced movements in rig and boat are leading to a new feeling of harmonic long-distance cruising.

The Oxley stabilizing spinnaker Bora option has a 3D airfoil-shaped wing, much like a paraglider. When it inflates, the air inside the wing becomes a soft batten that flattens the sail as pushes out to the leeches. The inflating wing becomes a soft batten. A flat sail works well for sail from dead-down wind and flat spinnakers can be used for close reaching since rounder sails create too much heeling. Therefore, the Bora can be used for true wind angles ranging from 60-180 degrees in wind speeds from 5 to 25 knots.

The Levante can be used in lower wind ranges well since it does not have an inflating wing; it has a curved fabric wing to create lift. The Levante’s wing creates a spreading effect on the middle of the sail, but not as much as the inflatable wing on the Bora. That means that the Levante spinnaker is not as flat as the Bora. The Levante’s application range is from 70 to 180 degrees true wind angle and for wind speeds from 2-20 knots.

WHICH VERSION OF THE OXLEY STABILIZING SPINNAKER TO CHOOSE

Both sails work well while the autopilot is engaged because of the dampening quality of the vent and lift-generating wing. The Bora is approximately 10% smaller than the Levante, which makes it designed for rougher conditions. The Levante is designed for more moderate conditions as it does not need as much wind to spread the wing.

For heavy yachts, the gust dumping advantage of the Bora is not that important; these boats are so stable in the gusty condition that they can use Levante without any disadvantage. For newer boats designed to carry maximum beam all the way aft, which creates a lot of buoyancy, the Bora would be the better option. If you have any questions about which sail will best meet your cruising needs, we can put you in touch with Sven Mohr who is head of sales and service at Oxley Sails who has years of experience with stabilizing spinnakers.

Inflatable Dousing Sock