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A gennaker is a recently-developed sail used when sailing downwind; it can be described as a cross between a genoa and a spinnaker. It is asymmetric like a genoa, but the gennaker is not attached to the forestay over the full length of its luff, being rigged like a spinnaker. The gennaker has a larger camber than a genoa, making it optimal for generating lift at larger angles of attack, but the camber is significantly less than that of a spinnaker. This is often called an asymmetrical spinnaker.
The gennaker is a specialty sail primarily used on racing boats, bridging the performance gap between a genoa, which develops maximum driving force when the apparent wind angle is between 35 and 60 degrees, and a spinnaker, which has maximum power when the apparent wind is between 100 and 140 degrees. Due to its geometry, the sail is less prone to collapsing than a spinnaker and does not require the use of spinnaker pole. The lines between gennaker and asymmetric spinnaker are blurry; they are both high camber downwind sails, rigged similarly to a genoa. The difference is the amount of camber, which dictates the points of sail. A gennaker is optimal for a beam reach, while an asymmetric spinnaker is optimal for a broad reach or run.
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