Having sailed on a cape cutter and read a couple of things I would be interested to hear what sail combinations people use.
As I understand it, the Genoa only really works without the staysail except perhaps on a broad reach otherwise they interfere, backwind, snag etc and D Dix stated clearly that they shouldnt be used together upwind.
The yankee was introduced because it can be used on all points of the wind with the staysail and tacks more easily. The staysail is 4.58 m and the Yankee is 6.7m whilst the genoa is 10.2 m, so the yankee and the staysail are slightly larger than the genoa on its own.
So, (stay with me here) apart from dead down wind when a poled out genoa could be a little more effective, why would you use it?
I would be interested to hear from anyone who has all three sails on which they use or don't use as it would seem to me that the staysail and yankee are the best all round combination and perhaps if more downwind sail area needed then add a gennaker rather than the genoa?
Any thoughts welcome.