What are the differences between the Crosscut spinnaker and the Radial spinnaker?
The new Radial spinnaker is more expensive but the advantages are: 1) It’s more durable due to the radial construction 2) It allows us to use lighter, more reactive (but more expensive) cloth for better performance in light, puffy, shifty conditions. 3) Since it is a full radial and all the panels are fully shaped, the spinnaker will be smoother and theoretically faster. 4) Since it doesn’t stretch as much as the crosscut it allows us to make it fuller and more powerful for downwind sailing knowing that it won’t become fuller on a reach. Having said that, the crosscut is still a very fast sail…the BR1 is just the latest technology and has proven to be quite speedy as well.
