Judging from recent posts, looks like several people are getting new sails this winter. Acornrunner, Anstigmat, me.... Anyone else? I'd love to exchange some ideas, get some feedback on plans for new sails. To get the ball rolling:
I'm ordering semi-custom sails from M&H Bartles Sailmakers up in Boothbay, ME, thanks to a suggestion from another forum-member. Why them? It's a one-man shop - Mike Bartles - and he actually makes his sails himself, inhouse, in Maine. Mike prices are reasonable ($1350 for main/jib), especially considering my requested customizations. He's been VERY responsive, both on phone and email, as we worked out what he can do and my wish-list. I've asked him specifically for a sail to help me in my lighter inland winds, but to give me two sets of reef points so I can also do some "expedition" cruising down at the Coast. I'm not racing so not wanting collision windows, etc, but I do want to stay (mostly) class legal. My new sails will be in 4oz white Defender Cloth.
What we've settled on is very close to a North Sails-type main, with a high roach, also known as a "butterknife" or "algorithmic curve." The sail carries as much roach as possible in it's top 1/3, while staying within class rules (look at page 13 of the Bylaws, Measurement Book). Example here, notice the "breaks" along the leech:
Usually these are made with full battens - like in a catamaran, where I've used these types of sails. Of course, we'll have to make do with the battens that the rules allow us. FWIW, Mike is sourcing tapered battens for me - his idea - he says it'll give me a nice straight exit. We'll see, just give me nice strong batten-pockets, please.
Mike will shape a relatively full draft into the sail, using both broad-seaming (sewing it into the sail by changing the width of the seams) and adding a roach along the luff. When he first proposed that, I naturally said "huh?" but now makes sense. He'll be adding a curve to the luff to give me a fuller draft, good for low winds - when the mast is straight. When the mast bends, it'll pull out the draft - the extra cloth will go along the mast rather than billowing out into the draft. So, lighter air, more draft; heavier air I vang on, it bends the mast and we flatten the sail, as per usual. Mike assures me that my outhaul and downhaul will still work as normal, so hopefully this works. Speaking of which, I don't use a cunningham, I use a boom downhaul, gives me a cleaner mainsail foot and luff. It also means that sometimes I pull the boom below Band #2, but I'm not racing, so who cares? This is the one place where I'm getting away from class rules. but if I ever sell, then the next owner easily can get a cunningham ring or strap sewn in. Other than that, I've asked for a draft stripe 2/3 of the way up, leech telltales an inch above each batten pocket, mast slugs instead of bolt-rope, reefs at 18% and 40% (set up for slab reefing) This last based on GreenLake's suggestion - I'll have options for a little bit of sail taming (get that full upper roach out of the wind) or a LOT of taming if I'm ever "caught out" in a real storm. Anything in between, I can handle by aggressively flattening the sail and/or twisting it off.
As for the jib, we're going with standard measurement from the bylaws. There's not much overlap for our jib, so Mike is building a compatible draft curve with a straight exit to match in with the mainsail. I can then pull into position as needed with my jib car and inhaulers. I'll be using jib hanks, no roller furling. But I'm also insisting on a luff wire instead of rope, I'm very particular about a taut foresail luff - I hate scallops and I also think that cranking on the jib halyard helps me bend the mast at the hounds. Of course, don't want a vertical crease either, so I have a separate jib halyard tensioner rig and lead it to the edge of the cuddy for frequent adjustment.
Of course, all this works only if I have very accurate mast measurement. Yes, I'm going by the class-rules (page 8 of bylaws), but I'm triple-checking all measurements. Would not want a sail that I cant fully extend along mast or boom... Also, I need a fairly accurate idea of my mast bend, so I'm putting my mast on two sawhorses and hanging a 20-lb weight in the middle. Then measuring against a string pulled taut between mast head and foot. This per Mike's recommendation, including the weight. I have a tabernacle, so we're taking that into account.
Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated. If you too are getting new sails, what's your criteria, what are you getting?