New sails.Crosscut or bi/triradial whats best ?tri looks very good!

trouville

trouville

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For the fist time ever i can aford!! to buy a NEW!!! sail. For some years ive watched boats leaving port flying "clickety clack" new tri radial sails made from what looked like lots of offcuts from a plastic sheeting company!And i wanted one as well!

At sea in calm conditions boats with triradials would sail past me while my semi battened main (cut 1954)would be barly filling.admitedly then i had a heavy motorsailer and the passing boat was a modern light racer!

What is a triradial and whats the difference between a that and a biradial? They dont have battens an advantage? what material should they be made from? would cotten or draylon work? I say cotten as i wonder if the material is important

If i go for traditional crosscut should i get the full battens i always wanted?S

Should i specify any particular material?

Im not raceing but do like to show a clean transum when compeating with a plastic folkboat!! My sails will be used for crusing should be easy to raise and stow in lazyjacks and have one reef.

Do triradials have a hole for the cuningham??

I always thought i knew what i would buy if ever i could aford a new main,but now im not sure what would be best for me!!

The main for a Folkboat costs about 1000euros the main for my Hilyard was quoted at 4000euros /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
Folkboats are really good fun to sail and in some parts of the world there is an active racing scene. It's worth spending a bit more for good sails on a boat like this! I think there is an active association too. I would want to contact them first if there was any chance of me racing as I would not want to contravene their rules and would seek their advice. The cross cut/radial argument is complex, especially if you are going for a fully battened main where you could get more sail area by increasing the roach In which case I think the sail would be cross cut anyway, but for headsails the radial cut will lay the cloth in the right direction to resist the forces and produce a better cut sail for performance allowing you to use a lighter cloth. Go and shop around the sailmakers and ask their advice. Kemp in particular are very good and will give you alternative quotes for different sails. If you can afford to get there the London Boat Show after Christmas is a good place to go and talk to them all in one place and get a special boat show price too...
 
Re: New sails.Crosscut or bi/triradial whats best ?tri looks very good

The rules for raceing are clear! Therefor i can ask for a price for "folkboat sails" Im not going to race at all! As the FB dosent have an engin the sail is important,it should be able to be raised in an instant and be easy to get down and stow.
Then it should be good in light airs (the med) and in f4/5 (Baltic).

What is the differance between bi and triradial in terms of performance?? Whatever i choose i will keep the standard size as it works very well!

Can a radialy cut jib be rolled??
 
Re: New sails.Crosscut or bi/triradial whats best ?tri looks very good

In that case I would go for a fully battened cross cut main with good quality roller car track up the mast and lazy jacks for stowing. I would think the Bi-radial headsail would be the best compromise as you want to roller reef it. Tri-radial would be more expensive and only justified if you are hoisting conventionally. A roller reefing sail has to be cut "flat" to stow more easily anyway so you wont get the benefit from a tri. Cruising sails should always be a bit heavier cloth anyway so there is an argument that cross cut is OK for headsails too. Frankly it's about cost effectiveness. Get some quotes and the price will probably tell you what you want. All my opinion however. Ask the sailmakers. They are the experts..... Hope this helps though....
 
ultimate performance has a downside. The sails are great, but only for a short period. Big strides have been made with laminates for cruising, but for ultimate longevity, the dacron sail is still supreme. Hoever the dacron sail however it is cut will soon stretch out of shape to best performance. There is a sailcloth that offers a compromise, which is a dacron that is reinforced with spectra (one of the trademarks is Hydranet)
 
Re: New sails.Crosscut or bi/triradial whats best ?tri looks very good

I could have a main with pentex but indeed for a "small" sail used for crusing crosscut seems the way to go with full battens which is what ive wanted forever!

Im told that the weight saving is negligable if i took a triradial--

I was wondering if it wouldent be a bit odd to see a wooden clinker sailbaot with a new triradial!! A J24 i tried before the FB really did fly with its triradial but even after just 4 years use it was badly chafed and had had tears i thought that was becouse it was just made for raceing it seems a crusing tri would be better but that and full battens would or could be expensive!!

Comments please!:

If i go for a crosscut full battened sail with one deep reef point should i look for any special material?

For the jib would it help to point if i make that triradial? Or again would a crosscut be the way to go?
While being rolled i wouldent reef just in or out. So should i go for a standard cut rather than one cut for roller reafing?
 
Re: New sails.Crosscut or bi/triradial whats best ?tri looks very good

The sail tracks another question!I have a wooden mast with the standard rope track can i modify this that its easier to hoist and lower? Ditto the boom which is a pain as the foot pops out of the slot.

Im tempted to take a metal mast or perhaps a metal boom painted brown!

As for the lazy jacks that would really suit a fully battend main neat stowage!
 
Re: New sails.Crosscut or bi/triradial whats best ?tri looks very good

I have had two sets of sails from Kemp - excellent in both cases. They are happy to talk to you about your wishes and requirements and advise accordingly. I have had Tri-radial genoas in both cases, the most recent being a cruising laminate, with both mains crosscut, with the new having 3/4 length battens. I can thoroughly recommend Kemps - excellent quality and service. (No connection other than as a very satisfied customer)
 
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