In Our schooner anything over 6 knots is a gale

I built a schooner rig day sailor. It is one good looking boat on the water, and with all 3 sails up, it takes very little wind to move her. A 3 to 5 knot breeze is about right for a nice sail. At about 6 knots the boat's sailing characteristics start to change and she becomes much more tipsy. It is a flat bottom boat and has a 4' dagger board. A little heel is needed so you have a water cutting edge formed by the bottom of the boat and the side of the boat. As the wind picks up, it becomes harder to maintain or keep the heel angle so the boat sails well. Changing the sail set on the main sail or foresail changes your balance as well as where you sit and how you sit. You do not have time to untangle your legs to change your position when a big gust hits.

A 10 knot gusty wind can be wicked in the boat. You really have to keep alert, think and plan what you are doing. Things like tacking can start to be unique. The schooner dislikes passing through the eye of the wind. As you turn into the wind, the boat wants to stop and then sail backwards. At the same time, the heel shifts from one side to the other. With the loss of head way and then going backwards, your tiller shifts the boat back to the eye of the wind. All the sails are now flapping uselessly and you now have lost the last 20' or so you had gained just before you started to tack.  In order to tack, you must first release the foresail, next, pull in the mainsail, and smartly push the tiller to leeward.  Further, you must back-wind the jib (to help the bow swing through the eye of the wind) and lastly  re-establish a good heel, so that the cut of the boat's chine will cause it to track nicely.  This method of tacking can be done without too much loss of headway. Two people can do it but it is easier with three people.

We have decided that if the wind is above 6 knots, it is Gale force winds for the boat and we take our sloop instead. You want to enjoy yourself on a sail, not come back with your blood pressure higher then when you went out. It still is a fun boat but best in a light wind.