New Sail materials

[dnickj]

Hi
opinion sought

I have a SO40 with the original sails
I am looking at a new Genoa and probably a 95% blade jib that will fly in windier conditions hanked to a removable fore stay

so far I have been quoted
either Bainbridge Ocean Premium Plus or Challenger Marblehead
does any one have an opinion on either of these

the weights are 7.5 oz for the Genoa and 8.5 oz for the blade
does this sound sensible

I do not need these for racing but for more extensive cruising in the UK and Europe

thanks for your thoughts

[debenboy]

They are both what are called "premium" dacrons. The Marblehead is a densely woven relatively soft cloth. I had a Hyde main made from it recently and it was very good.

Dacrons are good for tall skinny sails because of the strength of the threads being in the correct orientation.

For the Genny I would go for a cruising laminate.

[sabrage]

Hi folks,my wife and I own a so 37 and are just beginning the process of exploring what type of sails are our best option,so any advice will be gratefully recieived.We have no interest in racing and are based in Northern Ireland frequently cruising Scotland and IOM.Which are the most suitable sails and roughly what should I expect to pay,any suggestions as to additional features we should consider incorporating would be welcome.Finally,has anyone retro fitted a self-tacking system?Thanks in anticipation.

[flightdeck]

Hi sabrage,

I will not enter into the first part of your question as there will always be one Dacron camp and one Laminated camp, only thing I will say is they are your engines...the better quality sails, the faster and more controlled you will be

For your last question you may find some help if you look at the forum called "Self Tacking Jib" you can do a search on it, it even has a photo.

Link is : jeanneau.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=1418&page=1

Cheers

[davideso37]

Dnickj and Sabrage,

I support the comments already made. I have a SO37. The mainsail is cross cut dacron and is fully battened. It holds its shape well and is adjustable for all conditions. The only reason I would go for a laminate for the mainsail would be to reduce the weight aloft and that is not an issue for cruising.
My blade jib is a kevlar laminate with three different thread line for shape control and with taffeta on both sides for cruising durability. It has three short battens angled parallel to the forestay and these reduce the leech flutter but do not interfere with the furling. The battens are an extra item to manage when changing sails and if you are prepared to sacrifice some sail area with a hollow leech you could do without them. This jib looks bullet proof and I think it will last me for many years. The big genoas are more of a problem. The cloth in the original cross cut dacron 145% overlap was too light for a multipurpose cruising sail and also had very poor shape control. A 155% tri radial laminate with uv covers on the leech and foot was a bit of a disappointment. The UV covers deteriorated very quickly in Australia and the stitching just gave up in the sun. The weight of the UV covers meant the sail was not suited for light winds where you would expect to be using the 155% genoa. I have since removed the UV covers and now have a bag to hoist over the forestay for the UV protection. For cruising I think the tri radial laminates are OK. For really light weather and up to 15kts we have a160% genoa made from cross cut multi axial pentax laminate. This has become our most used sail and after two years it is in excellent condition. We have some taffeta panels in the head and foot to share the loads and make the sail more robust but most of it is plain laminate. We have some fancy load line tapes on this sail but next time I would just go for an appropriate weight multi axial laminate. For cruising I would stick with the original size 145% overlap genoa and go for a multi axial laminate. You can have taffeta on one or both sides depending on how extensive you intend to cruise.
On the issue of the self tacking jib our SO37 has an inner forestay and when I was doing some design checks on the original Z spar mast I concluded that the check stay was needed. I replaced the mast with a taller one and the new mast supplier also fitted a check stay. I asked about sailing without it and it was not recommended except in flat water.

Regards
David

[MartyB]

Another cloth worth looking at is from Ullman. They have a panel sewn laminate call CAL or Cruise Axel Laminate. Cost is within 10% of a GOOD quality dacron sail, but with less stretch in higher winds, so less heeling etc. I find my 140 sometimes is as good as my string 155 in some conditions. Another fellow I know that ordered a 155 to replace a 140'ish dacron, found that it furled tighter, weighed less, and with 15% more SA, pulled and made him sail faster.

This sail is sold as a triple stitch dacron equal, with logo, sail numbers, draft stripes and IIRC 2 reefs built in. so if you were to get a quote, this is what you will have to compare to, not one of the inshore double stitch lower cost dacron.

I went with a string main, in hindsite, I should have gone with a cal main, about half the cost, based on the genoa, probably would have pulled as well too.

Marty