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ATN gennaker dousing socks in 36 sizes, from 26 ft (7.9 m) to 96 ft (29.3 m) maximum length in 2 ft steps, for an easier hoist and drop. Click here to read more.

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Gennaker Dousing Socks: Sizes and How to Choose

A dousing sock is a fabric sleeve that goes over your gennaker so the hoist and the drop are controlled instead of a fight on the foredeck. Our guide to cruising gennakers recommends a gennaker furler or a dousing sock for a more comfortable and easier hoist and drop, especially when short-handed. This collection is the ATN Gennaker Dousing Sock, so the decision is not which model but which size.

The ATN Dousing Sock Range
  • Sizes: 36 listings, from 26 ft (7.9 m) to 96 ft (29.3 m) maximum length, in 2 ft steps — for example the 26 ft (7.9 m), the 40 ft (12.2 m), the 60 ft (18.3 m) and the 96 ft (29.3 m).
  • What ATN's listings say: the sock makes it easier to deploy and recover the gennaker, and the listings describe durable, UV-resistant fabric that protects the sail from UV exposure.
How to Choose the Size
  • Start from the sail, not the boat. Take the gennaker's measurements from its spec sheet or your sailmaker. Each ATN listing states a maximum length, so you want the size whose maximum is at or above your sail's figure.
  • Between two sizes, take the larger. The listed figure is the maximum the sock is built for, so a size below your sail's measurement is the wrong one.
  • Check which edge the listing means. The product titles give the maximum leech length, while some product descriptions give the same figure as the maximum luff length. Compare your sail's own numbers with the figure on the page before you order.
Dousing Sock or Furler

Both make a gennaker easier to live with, and our guides cover each. With a sock the gennaker stays a conventional sail that you hoist and recover; a gennaker or Code 0 furler is a different piece of hardware with its own selection process — see How to Choose a Gennaker Furler or a Code Zero Furler. A cruising gennaker needs only two sheets and one tack line to fly; for the tack end, see the gennaker tackers.

Who It's For

Cruising crews who fly a gennaker and want to hoist and drop it with fewer hands, and short-handed or single-handed sailors who want the sail contained before it comes down on deck.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size dousing sock do I need?
Pick the size whose maximum length is at or above your gennaker's measurement. The range runs from 26 ft (7.9 m) to 96 ft (29.3 m) in 2 ft steps. If your sail falls between two sizes, take the larger.

Do I need a dousing sock to fly a gennaker?
No. A cruising gennaker flies with two sheets and one tack line. A sock or a furler is optional, but our cruising gennaker guide strongly recommends one for easier hoists and drops.

Should I choose a dousing sock or a furler?
Choose the sock if you want to keep a conventional gennaker and add control to the hoist and drop; a furler is a separate system with its own sizing. Our gennaker furler or Code Zero furler guide walks through that side.

Why do the listings say both leech length and luff length?
The titles state the maximum leech length and some descriptions give the same figure as the maximum luff length. Treat the number as the maximum sail length the sock is built for and compare it with your sail's measurements before ordering.

Is the sock made for spinnakers or gennakers?
The ATN listings in this collection are titled and described for gennakers. For any other sail, check the product page for the size limit first.