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Main sail

chefrsp

chefrsp

Richard Pims
Hello all,
I blew my ma sail out this past weekend in heavy winds returning from Block Island. I am planning on ordering a new sail to be built over the winter, but will not have it in time for the rest of the sailing season here on Long Island.
Does anyone have a used main that they are no longer in need of and might consider selling?

Thanks in advance
 
Yes i have a main spare for my 384 I think its the origional . Boat came with the spare and a new one was in place. Illl consider talking about it !
lee nicholas 727 741 8510
 
I don't think your main will fit Lee. He has a 382.
You may want to try Boater's Resale of Texas.
 
I just checked Boater's Resale stock. Here is one that will fit:

J-105 Dracron Mainsail North w/ 1reef Luff: 40.50' Foot: 14.30'
 
If you are going to buy a sail made for another make, make sure to check bolt ropes and slides are same size, if not you will have fees to alter these. May be major money.

Dick
 
These are the mainsail deminsions for a 382:
Luff - 40.5
Foot - 14.5
Leech - 42.37
Area - 293.3
 
Old thread, but... I want to have a new main sail made in the next few months, before next May at the latest. I have looked around some for a good used one, and still not out of the question, but think I want new.
Does anyone know of a reasonable sail maker they could recommend?
 
Thanks Warren, sent them a RFQ. Looking for a standard replacement, maybe heavier weight, full batten would be nice (and easier to flake).
 
I bought 2 years ago my genoa and gennaker from national sail supply: https://nationalsail.com/
He represents Tasker Sails. Sails are made in Vietnam. Price and quality were great.
Check the prices now, they may change because of tariffs.
My main is getting tired, so if you find better sailmaker post it here.
 
Precision sail came back with a quote.
The lowest cost option was $2475, 400 series 8 oz Dacron, one reef, 4 full battens. This is a 15% off sale price, until Thanksgiving.
I think I like the next higher up option,
500 series 8oz Dacron, $3028 which is a 25% sale price. I would add one more reef point for $180 extra. The next up one is a tri radial sail for $150 more, not sure I need that, more of a base race sail.
Interestingly, the luff is slightly longer at 40.85' from stock, and the foot is 14.34', slightly shorter.
These were lengths they have in their database.
I'll wait for national sail to reply, see where their price point is.
 
It's only about 4", for the luff at least, my guess is that others have given actual measurements and the fit was fine, so they go off that. Hoping it's that anyway.
 
When you order the sail, they will send you measurement instructions and a form to fill out. You measure the full luff length and foot length of your boat, then they subtract a couple inches for stretch etc. The also have you measure the position of the tack pin, and distance to the backstay to get the safe amount of roach, and the distance between your boom and dodger so the boom height will be correct.

So what you will get is a custom sail for your boat, not a sail cut to standard dimensions.
 
National sail replied, copy paste from the email.

Custom built in Challenge 8.88oz Fastnet dacron to the dimensions you have provided, luff 40.5', leech 42.37', foot 14.5', standard partial battens, 2 reefs - $2,346

Sail comes standard with leech line with clam cleats at reefs and clew, tell tales, draft stripes, sail battens and sail bag. Construction is to full offshore specifications and includes double rows of triple-step seams, large radial corner and reef reinforcements, alloy headboard, with handsewn leather chafe protection.

We will need to know the size and type of standard luff and foot slides (if applicable) which we install for you. Sail comes ready-to-hoist

I think I would ask for full battens added to this.
 
What is difficult is comparing the cloth. Note that the Precision sails quote includes 2 options, both 8oz, and more than a $500 difference. It is simple enough to know what is better when comparing the same brand/line, but harder when comparing across brands.
The Challenge website lists the Fastnet 8.88 as warp 500/fill 750. Does that make it similar to the 500 series cloth from Precision? IDK.

On cloth weight. I started with 9oz main and 9oz 100%, soon after added a 7.5oz 130%. I learned that 9oz is too heavy for the main. Especially with full batons, it just isn't subject to stretching loads. I think 7.5oz would be about right for the main. What did mine in was UV damage. I can't stress this enough, get a new sail cover. Sunbrella loses its UV blocking ability after a few years. Mine was pretty old, looked fine, but the sail was damaged along the leach where it sat exposed to the sun under the sail cover. It still had great shape but tore apart in my hands while flaking it one day. The body of the sail was still very strong. So, talk to the sailmaker about UV resistance of the cloth.

For the Jib, again, 9oz was a too heavy for the 100%, but 7.5oz was ok for the 130%. Even lighter might be better. Jibs need to be lighter to fly in the wind well. My 7.5oz was quite stretched by the end of my circumnavigation. So, I might look at lighter but more high-tech cloths. They make offshore cruising cloth that is Dacron, but with Kevlar strands mixed in. So, it has superb stretch resistance, but you can go an oz lighter. Lighter will always sail better; it is simply a matter of durability.

FWIW, I bought all Hood Sails in 2016. Main, 100%, 130%, #2 Spinnaker, and Trysail. After the main was damaged (after 25,000 nm on the ocean) I replaced it with a main from Precision. Partly because they were the only loft delivering sails during covid. I got the cheapest the had, since I didn't have many miles left and just needed to get home. I think it was 300 series cloth, and against their advice. It's fine. I don't expect it to last a really long time, but for the day sailing I mostly do now it is perfectly fine. And, I learned to sew my own covers, so that isn't an issue anymore.
 
Challenge listing their Dacron warp/fill as two weights means it is directional cloth, and will be oriented towards the major load direction. This would give a stronger sail but be lighter. A nice feature.
The email says "...with cam cleats at the reefs"
Slightly confused there, the sail has cam cleats on it instead of brass eyelets?
 
The cleats are for the leech line. So after reefing if you need to adjust leech tension there is a cleat for each reef point. Vs. only being able to adjust it at the base of the sail.

Normally they are jam cleats. I guess they think cam cleats are an upgrade.
 
Interesting, not sure I've ever seen that, or knew what I was looking at if I did lol!
 
I finally ordered the new main sail. I asked for the two reef points at 4' and 8', what my original had. Also added full length battens. It's a Roly Tasker sail, from National sail supply. Excited to get it.
 
I bought a full batten main from Rolly Tasker in 2022 and have been happy with the quality. If you don't have it installed already, you may want to install Tides Marine sailtrack. It makes raising and lowering the main with full battens a breeze.
 
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On the subject of raising the main easily, my main halyard runs back to the cockpit, is that what most do here or is it better to hoist it using one of the mast winches? I'm almost thinking of using the mast winch instead of the cockpit one, for different reasons.
 
With a heavy 9oz main and the tides marine track, I can fully raise the main in just a few seconds completely by hand. Followed by one turn of the winch handle to set leach tension. There is no way I could get the main up anywhere near that fast from the cockpit. I can go to the mast, raise the main, and return to the cockpit, and still have it up in half the time as if I did it from the cockpit. And since I have to leave the cockpit for the sail ties and halyard anyway...

IMHO, raising the main from the cockpit is only valuable if you have 2 people, one in the cockpit, the other at the mast.
 
Well, the old main had gotten really hard to raise. Lot of winching at the cockpit. The slides seem free, but I have never been up the mast and I have a feeling the top halyard block is not in good shape. It's on the list. Also some friction from the swivel turning block at the base of the mast. So I would reduce some friction by just winching at the mast. But am short of line cleats there. There are two or three halyards I have never used, all have to be tied off somewhere. I sort of like the idea of leaving it at the cockpit, but as Mitchell said, do both.
 
I will say I prefer at the Mast. Sonata also has the Tides system. I would highly recommend theirs or something similar.
We will also usually tail the halyrd in the cockpit and stow it so the main may be dropped from there. I have line clutches just forward of the winch there.
The winch doubles for main halyard and mainsheet. Both are led thru the clutches.
Mitchell
 
My new Rolly Tasker sail just arrived. Will take it to the boat and do a test fit when the weather gets better. Exciting times. It feels a bit heavier than the original sail, just to pick up, original 7oz maybe?
 

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I don't know how you guys in the east even own sailboats. Clear skies and 70s' this week, 80's and 90's next week.

I have only heard good things about Rolly Tasker. I think they actually build sails for some of the well-known lofts. What measurements do you take before the sail was built? Precision Sails sent me a worksheet with a whole bunch of measurements most people wouldn't even think of making.
 
I actually just used the Morgan 382 sail plan numbers. Seemed like my old sail could have been 6" longer on the foot, and I was tempted to make that 15' instead, but went with the stock sizes in the end. It's full battened, maybe that might add some speed, probably marginal, but hope it also makes it easier to flake, and not turn into a bundle hanging off the boom like it always tried to.
Plan is to not stay on the great lakes in '27, want to head east on lake Erie, then through the Erie canal to the Hudson, then out across the Atlantic.
 
That sounds like a great plan! I am fully in favor of ocean sailing.

The other measurements Precision wanted to know were things like the position of the pin for the tack (distance from mast/distance above boom), distance between tack pin and outhaul when outhaul was fully out, distance between boom and dodger with boom at exactly a right angle to mast, and distance between the end of the boom and the backstay. Of course, you a can assume those things will all be ok and they probably will be. But knowing them you can make the sail as large as possible and have the best shape possible with no wrinkles. After I gave them those measurements, they questioned them, because they had done several 382's before, and some of mine were different.
 
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