New Mainsail battens

[Kerenza]

Comments please - Would you consider these to be three quarter length battens? I was expecting something shorter I must say.
~And whats the wear likely to be at the luff end, particularly as its a carbon sail. The battens are fibreglass non tapered.

 

[olly_love]

I would say full battens, but traditionally the batten would terminate into a car at the mast end.
that is GPL Liteskin (bombproof) cloth
the luff will be fine as it has been reinforced.
Just be careful how much you flog it

 

[Georgio]

Top one is full length by the looks of it, the other three are not full-length because they don't quite meet the luff but they are on the long-side for 3/4-lengh but the sail looks good to me. I would have thought the battens would be tapered, suggest you check with the sailmaker if this was an oversight.

I have just ordered a genoa made from the same carbon/technora/liteskin material, hope it works out well.

 

[Kerenza]

Georgio, The sail cloth is fantastic, I don't think you will be disappointed.
Top is full length, we managed to adjust the car to set it a little better than this photo.
My worry is the luff where the hard point of the non tapered batten stops. It seems to create a hinge, effectively a second luff. I guess proper tapered battens would be the answer.

Unfortunately it's also 25cm short on the foot and 10cm short on the luff, but that's another problem.

 

[Judders]

Georgio, The sail cloth is fantastic, I don't think you will be disappointed.
Top is full length, we managed to adjust the car to set it a little better than this photo.
My worry is the luff where the hard point of the non tapered batten stops. It seems to create a hinge, effectively a second luff. I guess proper tapered battens would be the answer.

Unfortunately it's also 25cm short on the foot and 10cm short on the luff, but that's another problem.

View attachment 55363

Who is the loft providing such great service?

 

[Boo2]

that is GPL Liteskin (bombproof) cloth

Apologies for the thread drift but can anyone tell me exactly how bombproof Liteskin is cf eg a good cruising dacron ? How would the longevity compare if that is different from the strength ?

Boo2

 

[Kerenza]

Who is the loft providing such great service?

These issues only appeared yesterday, the first opportunity since Christmas eve delivery to raise the sail in light air.

At the moment the MD is apparently talking to the measurer at the boat show today, so I will give them a short time to respond, but rest assured I will be naming them when they have the opportunity to explain and offer remedy.

 

[Georgio]

Apologies for the thread drift but can anyone tell me exactly how bombproof Liteskin is cf eg a good cruising dacron ? How would the longevity compare if that is different from the strength ?

Boo2

Liteskin us a lightweight double taffeta coating that DP offer on their "Carbon Sport" and "GPL" laminate cloths. more info here.... http://www.dimension-polyant.com/en/Laminate_Racing_2_4_1.php

My Pentex cruising lam genoa has a traditional double taffeta that really is bombproof and looks good after 10K miles but is heavy so I'm hoping that liteskin on my new (racing) genoa will protect the laminate without adding too much weight.

hope this answers your question.

 

[Georgio]

These issues only appeared yesterday, the first opportunity since Christmas eve delivery to raise the sail in light air.

At the moment the MD is apparently talking to the measurer at the boat show today, so I will give them a short time to respond, but rest assured I will be naming them when they have the opportunity to explain and offer remedy.

Well done Kerenza, I think it is fair to give the loft a decent chance to respond and remedy before any naming and shaming. All lofts make mistakes, some more than others I expect, it's how they deal with it that makes them good or bad IMO.

 

[Judders]

Well done Kerenza, I think it is fair to give the loft a decent chance to respond and remedy before any naming and shaming. All lofts make mistakes, some more than others I expect, it's how they deal with it that makes them good or bad IMO.

Indeed. What has impressed me with the loft I use (Doyle) is not that the sails have been perfect first time but that the two times they weren't, the guys pulled an all nighter to make them perfect the next day.

 

[Kerenza]

So not very good news so far - although the headsail looks OK.

The loft are now suggesting a £5k triradial carbon laminate mainsail can be reworked, to increase the sail size.
Doesn't sound sensible or something you want in a brand new sail. -Is it?

I have now asked for my money back.

 

[dom]

So not very good news so far - although the headsail looks OK.

The loft are now suggesting a £5k triradial carbon laminate mainsail can be reworked, to increase the sail size.
Doesn't sound sensible or something you want in a brand new sail. -Is it?

I have now asked for my money back.

It probably would be possible to "rework" the sail, but to do it properly would likely require the bottom third of the sail to be redone. Money back is certainly what I would also go for. But just to cover yourself, take multiple photos of the sail which clearly depict all of the panels. Then if they do insist upon a re-work (probably not be worth their effort IMHO) you can ask for before and after panel-plans in order to obtain more advice on here / another sailmaker.

Good luck and hope all sorted quickly.

 

[Georgio]

I would not be that happy about a rework of a brand new (and expensive) sail but it depends what they are suggesting exactly. If the sail is very short at the foot it would be difficult for them to fix that while keeping the loads correctly aligned to the panels.

If the sail is otherwise ok, you could offer to take it from them for a very significant discount and then get your rating adjusted to suit the smaller sail but personally I would want the sail as ordered and push for that.

what did they say about the lack of tapered battens?