Trysail track mounting - port or starboard?

[Ian McColgin]

If you have a track and switch system so the trisail can be kept bagged or boxed at the foot of the mast, then since most action on sails abaft a mast are controlled from the starboard side, the halyard should come down there but the sail, track below the switch, and all that should be to port. This gets the gear out of the way. It leads to a preference for hoisting on the starboard tack but the deed can be done the other way.

I personally remain unconvinced of the value of a trisail. It's so much smaller than a triple reefed sail that it's not going to help much more than bare poles. I rather like the Scandanavian notion of "winter sails" - generally battenless and at full about the size of your normal double reef. When you put three tucks in that, you're not really a lot bigger than a trisail, but you're dealing with a sail designed to move the boat rather than just heel her over. For what it's worth.

G'luck