New sail advice wanted

[charles_reed]

We are looking for new main & genoa for our Moody 35.
Were on the east coast and have been looking at quality sail makers such as Dolphin & Quantum (parker & kay). Also considered Hyde sails & Lucas sails who made the originals.
Our sailing is mainly cruising with the occasional race for a bit of fun.
Have decided to stick with a high quality cross cut Dacron for longevity instead of the racier laminates.
Was intending to go for a fully battened main, but after some research and speaking to sail makers have come to the conclusion that if you want to retain full control over the shape of the sail in varying conditions then this is not the way to go. Coupled with the fact that they cannot be depowered like a conventional sail I think I will be going with a full top batten & standard for the rest.
Your thoughts & advice please.

Graham.

I can't comment on sailmakers as the people I used to use have gone through 3 takeovers and staff-changes.

I'd certainly agree that woven fabric is better all round than laminate, but rather than use Dacron, look at Hoods Vectran or the Bainbridge alternative.

I would strongly disagree with the advice you've been given regarding fully-battened mainsails. Perhaps the fact that they last about x3 as long as conventionally battened sails may have something to do with it?

Firstly the pros for full battening. You get about 20% more thrust for about 80% of the heeling force compared to a conventional main.
That they do produce more thrust than a conventional main is undeniable, and that you cannot depower by slackening the mainsheet and luffing the main is also true.
You have to reef rather earlier, and on mine I have a 4th reef in addition to the 3 there used to be on the conventional main. The longevity is far greater, I'd reckon at x3 the life of a conventional main. You can build in far more roach (mine overlaps the backstay by 600mm) for light air performance. (You can always reef, but adding to a sail is not so easy).

The cons - obviously far more expensive (between 30 and 50%), lifting them is far harder work than with a conventional main, and if your sailmaker doesn't choose the batten-ends carefully enough are difficult to drop except head to wind because of friction. You need wear-patches where the sail touches shrouds and in light winds in troubled seas the thunder of batten inversions is trying. Finally, if you race seriously, you may find your handicap going up under some rules - most club racing isn't affected, as handicap is by observation. My first, smaller full-battened sail could be taken down on any point of sail, the current one has to be near enough head-to-wind to get it to shift.

Personally having tried both on the same boat I'd never consider a conventionally battened main again. But then I sail single-handed, in the Med (where light winds are more of a problem), and do about 3000 - 3500 nm a year, rather more than most weekend sailors.

 

[flaming]

You can build in far more roach (mine overlaps the backstay by 600mm) for light air performance.

600mm!!! Good grief, tacking must be a pain in light winds, if not actually impossible without dropping the halyard.

Our race main overlaps the backstay by about 30mm, and that's annoying enough!

Otherwise, can't overly take issue with much of what you say, fully batterned sails do make a lot of sense for cruising, one pro you haven't mentioned is that they are a lot more forgiving of poor trim.
Although I would add another con. Which is that you will struggle to get the same pointing ability, especially as the wind gets up. Not a huge issue for cruising, but a big reason for them not being common on race boats.

 

[glazell]

I have narrowed my choice of sail makers to Parker& Kay (quantum) & Dolphin on the east coast & Sanders sails at Lymington.
I am seriously loooking at Hoods Vectron as a choice of cloth for its shape holding power in a cross cut sail. Peter Sanders mainly uses Hood cloth in his sails for it’s tightness of weave and stability. He also rates Hoods vectron cloth.

 

[properjob]

I once had Crusader make me a new main, big mistake and never again.

On my present boat the sails are by Jeckells and although 18 years old are still in good condition, my local sailmaker recons that they are very well cut and still have a few years left in them. The radial cut genoa in particularly is good, I shall certainly get a quote from them when I replace my sails in a couple of years time.

 

[Zephyr362]

new sails

properjob, what was the problem with Crusader?
I've just ordered a new bi-radial laminate main and genoa from them, what should I be looking out for?
I've had a cruising chute from them which seems fine