Conference unifix::sailing

611.0. "sail recommendation follow-up" by RDF::RDF (Rick Fricchione) Mon Aug 03 1987 14:53

    After having numerous people contribute when I asked for sail
    recommendations last winter, I am taking Mr Berens request for a
    follow-up seriously. Its now August, and I feel I can comment
    adequately on the choice of sails and the difference between what I had
    vs what I got.
    
    The boat is a new O'Day 40.  I purchased a fully battened main,along
    with a 135% bi-radial genoa as the everyday complement of sails.
    
    Fully Battened Main:               
    
    Great!  I would not go back for anything.  Not only do you get a
    much better sail shape in light air, you prolong the life of the
    sail by avoiding flogging and flutter.  I have sailed it in 30 mph
    winds and the battens do not seem to be causing any chafe in the
    pockets. You need track slides on both sides of the batten to avoid
    compressing into the mast, but I have not had any problems to date.
    
    On the down-side, you have a heavier sail on the hoist, they back
    against the shrouds when sailing downwind, and you have to stack
    them on the boom just so when flaking the sail.  Of course, it is
    a much bigger sail than what I had.
    
    135% Bi-Radial:
    
    The Bi-radial cut really makes for a nice sail. Its range goes from
    about 8 knots to 20 knots before reefing (assuming suitable backstay
    tension) in upwind sailing.  The foam luff lets me take it down
    to about ~100% before it begins to lose its shape.   Not much else
    to say, it does what I want.  The bi-radial dacron seems perfect
    for the type of sailing I do (coastal cruising with an occasional
    marina race).
                                          
    Spinaker:
    
    I held the tri-radial until we got used to the rig.  Now I know
    it would be too much sail for the two of us and the gear too expensive.
    I had an MPS halyard run and will be having a cruising spinaker
    made.  I don't like how you have to jibe them, but they are much
    easier to handle and I'm just looking for a nylon 180% for light
    air anyway.  All we really need is a whisker pole now.
        
    Sailmaker:
    
    I went with Rowse sails in East Greenwich.  They make an excellent
    sail and were quite easy to deal with.  Money wise, they were not
    the cheapest, although far less than names like Doyle.  When we
    went sailing with the new sails, Tommy Rowse came out and we had
    a great time in 17-20 knot winds tuning the rig and checking the
    sails.  Tommy would lie on the foredeck with the water flying all
    around and a little "chord card" in front of his face.  The idea
    was to make sure the shape of the sail under load matched the design
    shape.  Pictures were taken, some adjustments made, and the boat
    sailed 100% better after the rig got straightened out a bit.  I'm
    very happy with their work and am having an 80% jib made for September.
    
    One warning for owners of ISOMAT spars:
    
    The single line reefing system on the ISOMAT spar determines how
    high the second reef can be.  The line is essentially stored inside
    the boom and when you pull the single line, the two reefing lines
    on the sail are pulled towards the center of the boom.  I wanted
    a fairly deep second reef, and the sail plan said I could do it,
    but the line ended up about 2 inches short.  I had to rig a messenger
    line to complete the loop until the first reef went in, after which
    the second had plenty of room.  Moral: Don't trust the sail plan
    with an ISOMAT spar, check it out.
        
    All in all I am happy with the way things turned out.
    
    Rick
    
    
    

Glad you like your sails, and thanks for the information. 

The BOC racers, as reported in the current issue of Practical Sailor,
were not very happy with fully battened mainsails. The sails were very
hard to reef (especially downwind when the task could take an hour) and
the performance gains small. As I recall, fully battened mainsails were
not used in the Southern Ocean, just in the light air first and fourth
legs. 

    Any suggestions on releasing a large whisker pole.  I have a Sabre
    42 with a forespar line control whisker pole.  It is somewhat
    cumbersome to release especially in a fresh breeze.  Any suggestions or
    tips  to use with this 40+ lb. (13-24ft) weapon would be appreciated.  
    
    I do have a mast track and lift installed.