Comet Rigs
Initially the Comet had only one rig consisting of a sleeved sail controlled by a transom main sheet plus an outhaul, a downhall and a kicker. To offer the Comet to light weight helms the Mino rig was introduced with a smaller sail together a shorter mast and boom.
To modernise the Comet firstly a centre mainsheet was introduced followed by the Comet Xtra; a Comet hull using a Zipped Mylar sail. This sail was designed to aid the sailor as they no longer had to lift the mast and sail into the boat plus provide the same speed as the standard sail by balancing the technological advantage of the material by reducing the sail area. This sail proved to be the go to sail for intermediate sailors in heavy weather as the shorter mast reduced the ‘gust’ heel of the boat. This sail also pointed higher than the standard sail but lost out on a run to the standard sail. Even so talented sailors have won championships using this sail.
Following on from the success of the zipped Mylar sail, Comet introduced the Zipper Standard sail so that a common rigging arrangement across the range could be achieved.
This has been followed by the ‘White Xtra’ a battened Dacron sail of similar dimensions to the Xtra. In the last few years the White Xtra has been adapted to provide a reefable option by adding a second window and reefing eyes to the sail this reduces the sail area to roughly that of the Mino sail.
Below are a selection of images and details of the various ways in which the control lines are arranged.
