Spare sails

What spare sails do you carry?

  • A full suite

    Votes: 14 31.8%

  • Just a genoa

    Votes: 11 25.0%

  • Just a main

    Votes: 1 2.3%

  • I don't bother

    Votes: 18 40.9%
  • Total voters
    44
Phoenix of Hamble

Phoenix of Hamble

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mishapsandmemories.blogspot.com
We're going to order some new sails soon as part of our liveaboard prep... And it led me to thinking...

The old sails are tired, but serviceable, but the question is, do we keep them onboard, and accept the space they take up, or get shot?

What do you do? (Ignoring storm sails etc)
 
That's a lot of space. I realised that I already have just too much stuff on board "just in case". The "sensible" thing to do when I got new sails last year would have been to keep the main as an emergency spare but instead I gave both the old ones to a used sail broker (who I doubtless will never hear from again) and plan to improve my sail repair knowledge real soon now.
 
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I carry 3 different size genoas (all furling), 2 staysails (1 full hoist, one 1/2 size) for the detachable inner forestay, spare main(old but useable). Also have cruising chute.
All except the main get used, according to conditions.
Both mains have a very deep third reef which in conjunction with my small staysail forms my storm rig.
 
Is it suit or suite.

Your poll doesn't cover my state I have - 2 roller genoas (soon to be 3), a working jib, a solent, genniker, and 2 spinnakers as well as a spare main. I even have an (utterly useless) storm jib - too big for real storm conditions in which I use the working jib on the foresail roller. Current FB main has 4 reefs and has just replaced the one I've used since 2002 which died of UV exposure over about 17K hours of use in the med.
 
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We had the old sails on board when we bought the boat, then, when we saw how much the stern lifted out the water when we took them off, we decided to store them in our mum's garage carefully wrapped and labelled. The idea being that if we needed one we could get it couriered out to us in about a week, we'd bear the cost of that rather than the weight on the boat!
 
We took the following- all old /arrived with the boat:
1 spare Genoa for the furler; 1 hank on 'light airs' Genoa for the detachable forestay;1 'dirty blue' (heavy Yankee) also hank on; storm jib . No spare main. We used them all, in various combinations, and more than once were very glad that we had spare 'keep us going' sails to hand until repairs were made.
 
we carry 2 genoas, 3 kites, 1 main, one storm jib and one trysail - that is enough. we also carry a sailrite sail makers sewing machine and enough spare bits to do our own repairs. it came in handy when SWMBO had to make new canvas work last year swell as the odd sail repair or 3,
 
Phoenix of Hamble said:
We're going to order some new sails soon as part of our liveaboard prep... And it led me to thinking...

The old sails are tired, but serviceable, but the question is, do we keep them onboard, and accept the space they take up, or get shot?

What do you do? (Ignoring storm sails etc)
Click to expand...

Went through a similar exercise a few years back.

When we bought the boat she came with a full batten main and 3 genoas (150%, 135% and 110%).
Main well past it 'sell by' date and binned. The genoas were in better shape. Never used the 150% (great in light airs, but once the breeze set in that sail got to bo too big very fast) and the 110% left us somewhat underpowered. The 135% suits us best most of the time.
Bought a new main and 135% genoa. Kept the old 135% genoa as a spare and sold the 150% and 110%.

Also carry a cruising chute and a hank on working jib. That will do us.

Once you move aboard permanently space/room is important and sails take A LOT of room.
 
Keep them. If you are going “live-aboard” then you may be doing a lot more sailing to much further places and suffering much more chafe. Use the old sails when bagginess doesn’t matter – long days going down wind. I was two weeks out of Senegal and a week short of reaching Tobago when my baggy old main split. I had the new one to put on. Better that way round.
 
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