David Flynn

Generally speaking, you can trim the pole back about 5-6 feet from the headstay. If you go much more, the sail will start to over rotate and twist off in the head. The max true wind angles (TWA) you will want to sail are 150^o. Regarding the A3 vs. jib top: both are point-to-point sails, not buoy racing sails. If your jib top is around 140%-145% LP, it will work best at around 115-135^o TWA and 13 knots of true wind speed (TWS). As a jib, you’ll want to keep the pressure on it by heading up. Your A3 will like to sail lower in the puffs and you can sail it (depending on its size and material) 115-145^o TWA in 10-25 knots TWS.