What colour UV strip ... and why?

Bav34

Bav34

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The UV strip on my genoa is white ... well, grey actually.:(

It is time for replacement and it got me wondering why anyone would opt for white as opposed to the more usual blue. Is it down to short term aesthetics in as much as for the first few seasons it blends in with the sail? But so what?

I can see roughly 60 yachts from where I am sitting and 10 of them have gone for white so it's not an unusual choice ... but the dirt shows up more.

Any thoughts?

Just for info. I was quoted £84 !!!!! to remove the strip and £8.84 a foot to replace it by Comfort Afloat in Gosport and £35 to remove plus £116 to replace by Arun sails ... and I can drop the sail off in Clarence Yard.

(I guess my luff length must be 35 foot-ish)

Guess who's getting my business;)
 
Presumably white will reflect more radiation than other colours though the visual colour doesn't necessarily say how much UV is reflected. Reds and yellows would probably absorb more UV and might therefore degrade quicker. Blue might absorb less UV than other colours and could be nearly as good as white.
 
Why?

Well I suppose we have white (read: grey) as our sparayhood is white (read: grey) as I'm sure many other boats try to have colour co-ordinated schemes?

Regards
Donald
 
Bav34 said:
The UV strip on my genoa is white ... well, grey actually.:(


Just for info. I was quoted £84 !!!!! to remove the strip and £8.84 a foot to replace it by Comfort Afloat in Gosport and £35 to remove plus £116 to replace by Arun sails ... and I can drop the sail off in Clarence Yard.
Click to expand...


You may already have done so, anyway ask both sailmakers which fabric will be used: the two most commonly used are Sunbrella (or sunbrella-like products) which is the most expensive option, comes in a lot of colours and may even last more than the life of the sail

or a light dacron fabric coated/impregnated with a UV protector, which gives a slightly rough appearance on one side of the fabric, this usually costs a lot less (say 30-50% less) than sunbrella; I am not sure it is available in blue colour, so maybe the white UV strips you see are made with this second cloth ? This fabric is a lot lighter, IIRC sunbrella is around 9Oz while this coated dacron is more around 4Oz.

FWIW My genoa had the second type of UV cover, white coated dacron, it had lasted five years, and as the sail will probably be used another five years only I replaced the sacrificial strip with the same coated dacron; I did the work by myself and the result is more than ok, though after two days of rolling, folding, pressing, pulling and pushing the sail through the sewing machine I got the suspicion that sailmakers are vastly underpaid :laugh:
 
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Grey

We went for grey as it matches several other accoutrements on the boat. The other reason is that I thought there might be too much glare from a white one on the sun-kissed deltas and levees of the west coast of Scotland
 
I have also been looking at replacing a UV strip, Are you sure it was £8.84 per foot and not per metre?. That is roughly what I have been quoted from 3 sailmakers also been quoted £4 per metre to remove the old one. Seems a lot as it's almost coming off itself:)
I have approx 15m of the stuff to replace my dilema is do I replace it at a cost of over £200 or take it off myself leave it for a few years then buy a new sail :confused::confused::confused:
 
Well I have a red one which will be replaced at end of this season with a blue one.
Blue because it will match the sail covers and Bimini etc.

Also it is an ex-charter boat, hence the red UV strip from a certain company. Nothing against them, blummin good condition boat I bought and at a good price. Just prefer to not look like a charter boat.
Will also be sorting out the coachline stripes at the end of this season too.
 
We replaced our UV strip earlier this year as part of a general sail service when we bought our new-to-us boat. The sails are 1997 so it probably had the original UV strip on. It was blue. Blue matches the boat, so we replaced it like-for-like - did not even consider a different colour. Looks smart.

It cost us around £350 including collection & delivery for full valeting and minor repairs (some stitching, repair patches etc.) for genoa, main and mizzen, and new UV strip on genoa. Cheapest quote we had by £100s and very happy with the personal service... Crusader.
 
I would be inclined to check out the Sailrite web page, www.sailrite.com .Check out the recommended materials then buy locally and do it yourself. Probably a video there showing how to do it. I use a Singer industrial machine set into a table with a couple of tables same height to feed the sail through the machine. Domestic machine would handle a genoa set up with correct needle and thread. Sounds like a lot of money being paid for a simple job. Sunbrella is expensive though. I would consider a sacroficial strip of Dacron.
 
I had always assumed that mine had a white strip because white would not clash with whatever other colours were already on a boat; more importantly, it is also less expensive to install because the edge is simply tucked into the folded tape that runs down the leech, which is also white like the sail. (That is why some replacements in coloured fabric give a barber-pole effect when furled).It lasted five years. I replaced it myself using blue sunbrella, same as the stack-away / lazy-jack affair that I made for the mainsail. I use an industrial Pfaff zig-zag machine. I would imagine that a domestic sewing machine would have a hard time coping with the thickness if you take the strip round the leech and not just slip it under the tape.
 
PuffTheMagicDragon said:
. . . . it is also less expensive to install because the edge is simply tucked into the folded tape that runs down the leech, which is also white like the sail. (That is why some replacements in coloured fabric give a barber-pole effect when furled). .
Click to expand...

Two points:
1 If UV strip is tucked under tabling or leach tape then it is not protecting that edge of the sail . . . so tape / tabling will have to be replaced with the UV strip. "cheap and cheerful", only until it all has to be replaced.
2 Barber pole effect is more usually due to insufficient tension while rolling the sail; leaving white sail material exposed. If it is the edge of the sail that is exposed then above comment applies.

Many years ago, in the days of hank on sails, I was inspecting a boat with the intention of buying it. I politely commented to the owner that the working jib was well beyond use. Owner offered to have it valeted, "no its to far gone for that" Owner looked puzzled. "Do you mind if I tear it?" Owner looked at me as if I was mad, and said OK, so without much effort I tore a strip of tabling off the sail along the stiching perforation . . . . which (along with other sail repair experiences) is why I would not accept a UV strip that did not cover the edge of the sail.
 
srm said:
. . . which (along with other sail repair experiences) is why I would not accept a UV strip that did not cover the edge of the sail.
Click to expand...

Me neither (apart from preferring to do the work myself). ;)

Keep an eye out for white UV strips; most that I have come across do not go round the leech but are simply tucked under the tabling. Re the barber-pole effect, yes, lack of tension does produce it. However, many sailmakers who replace UV strips do take the easy way out and do not go round the tabling. Less work = more profit but a more affordable cost for the client. I don't think that many clients appreciate the extra work that is involved in fitting a UV strip as it ought to be properly done; they just look at the bottom line and how much it is going to hurt them!

P.S. You will find that sometimes, the tabling is cut from a strip of heavier material than the sail that is also more resistant to UV light. Sailmaker still saves on labour because he first sews the inner edge of the UV strip to the sail, trims the outer edge to match the leech, and then fits the tabling over sail and strip in one go.
 
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Agree that white should last longer, and dark colours don't just rot faster, they "suck in" heat, and will partially iron in those wrinkles that occur if you don't re-roll loosely after a reefed session out on the briney.
How about getting out the sewing machine and making yourself a cover, having done away with the strip?
cheap, re-useable on any subsequent sail (which will be cheaper to acquire without a strip) and easily maintained by it's owner/maker.....

Simples.
 
UV strip is not designed as UV proof ... it is a sacrificial strip designed to be replaced at intervals as it degrades.
It's only a fixed cover that completes itself when furled so that sail thread and expensive material is defended against UV attack.

I quite like the Blue ... but then again the white that doesn't show like a sign I can appreciate. ;)
 
Billjratt said:
How about getting out the sewing machine and making yourself a cover, having done away with the strip?
cheap, re-useable on any subsequent sail (which will be cheaper to acquire without a strip) and easily maintained by it's owner/maker.....

Simples.
Click to expand...

Thought about that as have two sails without UV strips (another of the previous owners quirks). However, on doing a web search came across a manufacturer who recommended that covers are not suitable for windy locations so that rules out my neck of the woods. F9 last night now moderated to F7 gusting F9.
 
Good thread this ( groan), especially re how sailmakers can or have to cut corners...

About the only stall that got my business at S'ton boatshow was the Sailrite one ( Solent Sewing Machines).
By the time I had added up genoa socks and uv replacement strips, covers for the shiny new deckhatches and a fancy Stackpak to end sodding around in the dark on the coachroof when sailimg,in, I could ''justify'' the investment in part..
We shall see ! Though the main and working jib on my last boat were hand-me-downs recut to suit and, modesty aside, none the worse for that- the heavy domestic machine really suffered though and the clews were a sod..It really ain't rocket science and makes one that bit more selfreliant, mebbe.

For anyone else considering some winter sailmaking DIY, the Sailrite website offers a lot of kit/books/advice and encouragement.

http://www.sailrite.com/
 
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