New headsail. Worth upgrading to hi or tri radial?

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NPMR

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Our 7 year old OEM 115% headsail has split along the leech so looking at replacing it. The boat is a Jeanneau 33i standard boat ( not the performance version.)

Looking at options, would we notice the difference when sailing between the lower cost cross cut version or fancier bi or triradial versions?

The sailmakers I've spoken to don't seem to be consistent in their views. Is the extra cost worthwhile?
 
I went from a (Self tacking) Hyde Marblehead dacron ( which was a big improvement over an earlier sail) to an Optimum cruising laminate & there was a marked increase in power. I could just about carry the Hyde in F8 without reefing but the laminate is just too much. ( I chose Optimum because of their experience with J class which uses "blade" type sails)
So I would suggest that a cruising laminate rather than bothering with radially cut dacron cloths. However, that is a big cost jump.

If you want to stay in the lower price band of dacron then I would suggest that the cloth is more important than cross or radial.
I had a Bainbridge cloth from Lonton & Gray that was a beautiful shape- for a while. The Hyde Marblehead was similar to the L & G when new but did last an extra 2 years.( 3-4K miles) Both were cross cut.
 
NPMR said:
would we notice the difference when sailing?

Is the extra cost worthwhile?
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I think this is really two very different questions.

Daydream believer said:
If you want to stay in the lower price band of dacron then I would suggest that the cloth is more important than cross or radial.
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My understanding is that choice of cloth follows from choice of cut. Many sailmakers will only use laminate for radial cuts. The few dacron cloths suitable for radial cut are not low price.
 
NPMR said:
Our 7 year old OEM 115% headsail has split along the leech so looking at replacing it. The boat is a Jeanneau 33i standard boat ( not the performance version.)

Looking at options, would we notice the difference when sailing between the lower cost cross cut version or fancier bi or triradial versions?

The sailmakers I've spoken to don't seem to be consistent in their views. Is the extra cost worthwhile?
Click to expand...

yes and yes. If you like to sail well, move the cars, adjust the halyard tension and trim the sails the you WILL see a huge difference between a Tri radial and a cross cut sail. If you go for a tri radial then you really need a cloth designed to not stretch - NORDAC or similar diagonal woven Dacron or a lamaite sail..
 
temptress said:
yes and yes. If you like to sail well, move the cars, adjust the halyard tension and trim the sails the you WILL see a huge difference between a Tri radial and a cross cut sail. If you go for a tri radial then you really need a cloth designed to not stretch - NORDAC or similar diagonal woven Dacron or a lamaite sail..
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As said, you will see a difference. I changed the huge (about 140%) old genoa on my boat for a smaller tri radial laminate one. I just asked the sailmakers to make it two feet shorter in the foot because the old sail was a pain to furl. I may have lost a little bit going down wind in light winds but upwind the gain was immediately apparent. On my first trip with the new sail I was hard upwind in a moderate wind and overtook a very similar boat with standard sails. I met the skipper of that boat at the restaurant that evening and his first comment was to the effect that he could do nothing to keep up with me because of the beautiful shape of the tri radial genoa, which was providing most of the drive in those conditions. On a cruising boat the extra cost of a cruising laminate mainsail is hard to justify, but it is definitely worthwhile for a genoa.
 
I ordered a new Genoa from Norths at the Soton Show. Having spoken to several sailmakers, there seemed agreement that triradial did not really work in standard Dacron due to stretch, you either need a laminate or low stretch Dacron such as the Nordac mentioned above which is a North cloth. The cost difference of the Nordac compared to a cruising laminate was not significant, in fact I think the laminate might even have been slightly cheaper. The cost was just under £2.5K also for a 33' boat, but that is for a 130% sail
 
NPMR said:
Our 7 year old OEM 115% headsail has split along the leech so looking at replacing it. The boat is a Jeanneau 33i standard boat ( not the performance version.)

Looking at options, would we notice the difference when sailing between the lower cost cross cut version or fancier bi or triradial versions?

The sailmakers I've spoken to don't seem to be consistent in their views. Is the extra cost worthwhile?
Click to expand...

I never had a tri radial laminate headsail until I inherited one with this boat. I will never buy a different sort. Well worth the extra money.
 
Look after a laminate properly and it should last as long as Dacron and will be far better in its old age. My last one started to give way after twelve years and about 24k miles. The main thing is to avoid flogging it, which means that it is better to furl it downwind, sheltering it behind the main if necessary. Both my 110% jibs have furled very tidily without tending to crease.
 
I've replaced both sails in the last 2 years on a similarly aged 36i. I went for a cross cut genny in dacron and, subsequently, a fully battened main in Vektran. If I were going through the process again I would get both sails in Vektran and go for tri-radial cut for the genny. The like-for-like genny was a bit of a waste of time (my leech line on the original ripped out but I had it repaired anyway). The new main is a quantum* leap forward.

*no pun intended
 
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