after reading about the DSs poor performance under main alone, i tried it for myself yesterday. it felt fine to me. the centerboard wasn't quite all the way down and my rake is definitely not set up for racing. it seemed that i was pointing as high as 50 degrees off the true wind. i didn't have a wind indicator but i did sail with the jib and main up first and then switch to the main alone. sailing in about 5 knots, the boat performed fine under just the main and tacked with no problem. my sails are probably 20 years old. i was sitting on the windward rail with a tiller extension. since my father-in-law is moving back up north for the summer soon, i plan to start soloing a lot under main alone until the hurricane season starts bearing down. ...just an observation.
chad (gilliscmnr19-at-juno.com)