New sails advice

[Gareth j]

Hi, I have just acquired a westerly centaur and I am new to sailing. I am looking to buy new sails and would appreciate some advice. I have a self furling headsail, will a new 135% genoa suffice or do I need 150%? Will a foam luff help? (Opinion seems split) will I benefit from uv protection in the UK? Will two reefs be enough or would 4 be better on the mainsail? Can anyone recommend a good sail maker?

 

[dunedin]

Others with more specific experience of the Centaur will probably be along shortly, but my tuppence worth would be:
- for a genoa on a furler a foam (or rope) luff is near essential - not heard of any “split opinions” on this from people who have them
- sacrificial UV strip essential unless want the hassle of removing after each trip
- unless planning to sail to Cape Horn you won’t need 4 reefs in the mainsail - I like 3 reefs but may depend on how and where you plan to use the boat
- decide whether want lazyjacks and a stack pack cover - extremely worthwhile on bigger boats, but may be less relevant at Centaur size
- best to have a sailmaker who can visit boat to measure up - hence need to advise location to get suggestions of suppliers

New sails are great if you can afford them, as make sailing much better. But if budget type may be able to locate second hand sails if have time to search

 

[Tranona]

135% is more common these days and a foam luff does help with a normal dacron sail, although with a smaller headsail the need for reefing it is less. Yes to UV protection. 2 reefs is adequate for most but if you intend sailing in heavy weather then have points put in for a third.

There are plenty of good sailmakers (in fact most of them fall into this category!) If you want the lowest price then buy on line from China, typically 20% cheaper, more on mains than jibs because of the greater labour content. For personal service then go to a local firm. Nothing really out of the ordinary so get 3 or 4 quotes from firms like Kemps, Crusader, Sanders or the South Coast

 

[Gareth j]

135% is more common these days and a foam luff does help with a normal dacron sail, although with a smaller headsail the need for reefing it is less. Yes to UV protection. 2 reefs is adequate for most but if you intend sailing in heavy weather then have points put in for a third.

There are plenty of good sailmakers (in fact most of them fall into this category!) If you want the lowest price then buy on line from China, typically 20% cheaper, more on mains than jibs because of the greater labour content. For personal service then go to a local firm. Nothing really out of the ordinary so get 3 or 4 quotes from firms like Kemps, Crusader, Sanders or the South Coast

What are general thoughts on material type? Is it basically the best you can afford?

 

[Sandy]

I've sailed a few boats with a foam luff and never felt they contributed anything to shape or performance.

 

[Gareth j]

I've sailed a few boats with a foam luff and never felt they contributed anything to shape or performance.

That's what I've read, hence the split opinion comnent

 

[garymalmgren]

Here is my experience from buy new sails from Far East Sails last year.
First to answer you basic questions.

I have a self furling headsail, will a new 135% genoa suffice or do I need 150%?
135% should be fine. If you move to 150% the sail material becomes much lighter and your sail becomes only a light weather sail.
With 135% you can furl down to a small sail that is still made of reasonably heavy cloth.

Will a foam luff help?
Yes. Definitely.

will I benefit from uv protection in the UK?
Yes. Definitely.

Will a foam luff help?
I have foam inserts and am happy with the shape of the partially furled sail.
For the price I would go for them again.

Will two reefs be enough or would 4 be better on the mainsail?
Four reefs is overkill. I have two.
You have a 26 foot boat . How many reef points do you have now?
Any extra reefs in the sail will mean extra fittings and reef lines on the boom.
I could not imagine more that 2 reefs systems on a 26 footer's boom.

Can anyone recommend a good sail maker?
Far East Sails. They have been around for years.
Far East Sails Expert Sailmakers | Sails & Sailing Accessories | Far East Sails, Custom Designed Sails
I am in Japan , so on basically the same time line and I got responses within 2 or 3 hours every time.
Remember that YOU are responsible for all measurements.
I took photos of clew, tack, sail head etc. I took 2 or 3 months before I actually pushed the order button.
Contact them. Send them your basic measurements and get a quote. You can make a decision on price on that.
The quality of the sails ( cut, material and craftsmanship) is very good and considering the price, I would say excellent.
Again. YOU are responsible for all measurements. measure twice, cut once !!!

All the best

gary

 

[Tranona]

What are general thoughts on material type? Is it basically the best you can afford?

On your boat suggest little value in going up from good dacron. Something like Vectran is 60% more, so rather than £1400 for your size it will be well over £2k for a main based on quites I had for a slightly bigger sail late last year.

In foam luffs my experience is exactly opposite of Sandy's, but as I said in my first response it depends on the type of sail A 150% genoa will benefit because you need to reef more particularly for windward work in typical 10-15 knots of wind, whereas a 135% should not need reefing quite so early. I have had 2 boats with large genoas and on both the addition of a foam luff was a big improvement. My last boat wa fractional rigged with 106% jib and reefing was not necessary until over 20 knots and no foam luff but a hollow cut luff.

 

[vyv_cox]

What are general thoughts on material type? Is it basically the best you can afford?

It depends on the amount of use of course but on my boat I would expect Dacron to last around 5 years (previous owner had blown out a Dacron genoa in three years). My Vectran main and genoa are more than 20 years old and still in perfect shape

 

[sailoppopotamus]

Congratulations on the new boat!

I got a new 130% genoa for my boat last year and wouldn't want it any bigger. Maybe a 150% genoa would push me along at 2kts rather than 1.5kts, but to me it doesn't really matter as I'd be turning the engine on anyway. I also agree with the other posters here that four reefs is probably an overkill. I asked for three reefs, have yet to use the third but it's good to know that it's there. If you intend to race the boat, keep in mind that Category 3 boats are mandated to carry either a trysail, or have a main that can be reefed by at least 40% of the luff. My third reef means I don't need a trysail.

I don't know what your budget is, but I'm assuming it's limited. My advice would be not to spend all your money on fancy sail materials. Instead, get good quality Dacron sails and a folding prop. The latter will dramatically improve how your boat sails, especially at low wind speeds, far more than an exotic sail material would.

 

[Bobc]

130% is fine, and go for the foam luff as it helps the sail retain shape when partially furled.

 

[dunedin]

I've sailed a few boats with a foam luff and never felt they contributed anything to shape or performance.

Then they probably had bad sails or badly used.

Have overtaken hundreds of boats upwind over the years, and the ones with baggy part furled jibs due to lack of foam luff generally are going slower, pointing lower and heeling more. It’s not a nice way to fail to get upwind, and most seem to give up and resort to engine when a boat with decent sails overtakes from leeward and climbs ahead and to windward - which happens a lot.

 

[Humblebee]

Hi Gareth and welcome to the forum.
Some good advice above but if you want something specific regarding the Centaur I can recommend you join the Westerly Owners Association, link here;

Log In (westerly-owners.co.uk)
There are sailmakers who have experience with Westerlys and may have further ideas for you.

 

[Cariadco]

Dacron Sails, and get Radial cut (if you can afford it)
135%
Don't bother with the Foam Luff, waste of money
UV Strip
Fully Batten Mainsail (for the performance gain)
3 Reefs
Lazy Jacks
Sail Bag
UK Sails
.......all in my opinion.

 

[jwilson]

Do you still have the original mainsail roller reefing, or has it been converted to slab reefing?

If slab reefing and there is only two sets of reef lines on the boom you can have two deeper reefs on a new sail: ie 1.5 and 3 instead of 1 and 2. I have always found that once you need to put reef 1 in, you are often wishing it was a bit deeper! And sometime reef 2 is not enough.

Padded luff roller headsail with UV strip, probably less than 150%.

 

[Norman_E]

What are general thoughts on material type? Is it basically the best you can afford?

The Centaur is no racing boat, but any boat sails better if the sails make a good shape. For the mainsail dacron is the best choice for economy, and quite good enough. If you have slab reefing a full battened sail will make the best shape and give the best performance. Two reefs are enough, provided the second reef is a deep one, and give you less rope to handle than a three reef setup. The biggest performance gain is to have a tri radial cut genoa made from cruising laminate. On my 45 foot Jeanneau the change from a rather baggy old dacron genoa to a slightly smaller laminate sail was considerable. In terms of sails, the biggest performance gain comes from the learning curve of trimming them correctly. Other than that the biggest light wind sailing performance gain was not even sails, but fitting a feathering propeller in place of a fixed three blade.

 

[Boathook]

Whether you require a foam luff on the headsail depends upon the type of furling system. Mine is a furlex and I was told that a foam luff wasn't required as when you start to furl, the center part rolls in before the foot and head so removing the 'fullness' of the sail.

 

[Gareth j]

Do you still have the original mainsail roller reefing, or has it been converted to slab reefing?

If slab reefing and there is only two sets of reef lines on the boom you can have two deeper reefs on a new sail: ie 1.5 and 3 instead of 1 and 2. I have always found that once you need to put reef 1 in, you are often wishing it was a bit deeper! And sometime reef 2 is not enough.

Padded luff roller headsail with UV strip, probably less than 150%.

I believe it is still roller reefing on the main, either that or it's been manually wrapped! I prefer the idea of manually reefing instead of using the roller reefing

 

[Gareth j]

Thanks for all the advice, it's really helpful

 

[geem]

Any new set of basic sails will make a huge difference if the old sails are past their sell by date. Radial cut would be a waste of money for your first boat. Foam luff will help. A main with full battens works well and is easy to handle with a good stackpack. I would invest my money in the fully battened main for this reason. A third reef would also be good if you get caught out in a blow you didn't expect. Plain dacron is fine and anything else would be a waste of money on a Centaur.