New Sails

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New Sails

Postby MNdaysailerII » Sun Mar 11, 2012 7:46 pm

Does anyone have experience with Intensity Sails replacement sails for a DSII? They seem reasonably priced and I'm curious about the quality as compared to Doyle, Neil Pryde, etc (most of which cost 2x the price of the Intensity Sails).
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Postby Skippa » Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:44 am

I replaced my sails at the beginning of last season with Intensity sails. Both main and jib. Fit is very good and I had no trouble at all with them.
I consider myself a recreational sailor. The performance difference between the Intensity sails and the set that came with the boat was very noticable.
I am pleased with the quality.
There are some very good threads about intensity and other brands in the "Sails" catagory that you may find helpful. Welcome to the forum!
Kevin
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Postby ChrisB » Mon Mar 12, 2012 8:51 am

I have an Intensity mainsail I've had for a little less than a year and a jib I've had for about 18 months. So far my only complaint is that the reef point on the mainsail was too small (not enough sail reduction) so I had a local sailmaker add a second reef point for $95. Other than that I'm very pleased with the sails and would buy them again.
Chris B.
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Postby MNdaysailerII » Mon Mar 12, 2012 9:40 pm

Skippa and ChrisB, thanks for the helpful feedback. Did you set up a block for the reefing system or just improvise using the existing hardware?
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Postby Skippa » Mon Mar 12, 2012 9:52 pm

I modified the boom a bit to duplicate the same reefing system I have had on a couple of my earlier boats. Parts are all available from DR Marine and didn't cost much.
Eye strap on the aft port side of the boom. Secure a line to the eye strap and run it up throught he reef eye in the back of the sail, run it back down to the boom on the starboard side and through a single cheek block and forward to small halyard cleat mounted about mid-boom. Also needed to add Gooseneck Tack Bracket w/ Reef Hook. Total hardware cost about $35.00.
Simple jiffy reefing system that I can reef and unreef from the cockpit while single handing. The addition of a topping lift simplifies the reefing process.
Good luck.
Kevin
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Postby ChrisB » Tue Mar 13, 2012 8:05 am

I had jiffy reefing on my original Neil Pryde main but the block at the leech end of the boom was too far foward for the reef point location on my Intensity main so I added a second. I have not had a chance to put the sail up since I had the second reef point added (hopefully this weekend). On the fwd end, I run a line from the gooseneck up to the reef cringle, down to a fairlead on the boom and too a cleat on the boom.
Chris B.
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Postby MNdaysailerII » Tue Mar 13, 2012 12:32 pm

Thank you both for your advice. If you have ever taken any pics that'd be great. Kevin, it looks like we're in each other's backyard - maybe we could arrange a time to meet later this Spring and I could see your modifications firsthand?
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Postby owldraco » Wed Mar 14, 2012 10:38 pm

We just received a new main from Intensity today. It is bright white and very crisp. We used their recycling program thru Ella Vickers. They took off the price of shipping for us. And shipping was pretty fast. Ok, we live east of the Mississippi River, so a little closer to Ella and Intensity.
Ok, a couple of questions. The battens it came with are narrow fiberglass with a rhombus cross-section. And they are roughly tapered towards one end. Now which end goes in first and can we seal them somehow so we don't get fiberglass splinters?
It also came with tell-tales but they are unattached. I guess it is a bit of personal preference as to where you want to attach them. I will have to research that a bit. I know I have read it somewhere.
The sail also came with a long bag, Mom and I are guessing it is for storing the sail while it is still attached to the boom.
There is also a sail slug on the clew as well as the bolt-rope. Maybe to loose foot.
It also seems at first glance to be a little smaller the the old sail, but it was probably stretched out. Or maybe the old sail was for a different boat. Or I am remembering it wrong.
Can't wait to try it out. Hopefully I will remember to bring my waterproof camera.

Andrew
Central KY
'84 (?) DS II
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Postby GreenLake » Thu Mar 15, 2012 3:04 am

The slug on the clew may be there to help transfer the loads from the leech more efficiently. That does not mean that the sail is mean to be flown loose-footed. (My sail, from a different maker, is set up the same way - you just insert both slug and boltrope).

If you roll your sail when it's off the boom, it will last longer. That's the purpose for the long bag.

For the main, you want the tell-tales at the leach, approx at each batten location. Check http://arvelgentry.com and read the paper on tell-tales posted there. You watch whether they curl or fly aft to find out whether you've sheeted your main correctly.

There's more info in the paper, so to keep things focused just on your main, you only need the two sections entitled "Main telltails" and "Leech tails".

The best location is not as much a matter of preference, but depends on where along the sail the aerodynamic conditions are such that a tell-tale will dependably change the way it flies or flutters in a way that allows you to make firm conclusions about your sail trim.

What is a matter of preference is how involved you want to get. I'd suggest to keep it simple until you've mastered steering by or rather trimming to the telltales you have, then add more.

The basic set for the main are the leech telltales and for the jib, the set of steering telltales. (An much more experienced sailor once added a second, upper set of jib telltales on my boat to help diagnose some trimming problems - however, I've not been able to use them since, as I can't see them...)
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Postby ChrisB » Thu Mar 15, 2012 8:00 am

Andrew,

I hadn't noticed if there was a taper to my battens on my Intensity main. Guess I have to check now to satisfy my curiosity. According to Ulman Sails website, the thinner end should be toward the luff of the sail and the thicker end toward the leech. My battens came with white sail repair tape on each end which is holding up well. In the past, I have used electrical tape on battens when the end caps came off and were lost at sea.
The best way to store the sails is rolled either on the boom or not. The fewer folds you put in the cloth (none is best) the longer the sail will last.
I'm not really sure the purpose behind the slug and bolt rope on the foot but I concur with GL that it is not for flying the sail loose foot. Put both into the slot on the boom. My main seems to be the same size as the old one though I've never laid one atop the other to find out.
Chris B.
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Postby owldraco » Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:59 am

Could we put a coat of polyurethane or acrylic on the battens where they are tapered, so that we don't get splinters? As for the size discrepancy, it is probably my imagination. My old main looked just like this one.

1030

Except mine was shades of yellow and brown, but it did not have the DS letters or reef points on it.

So stuffing the sail in a bag is bad right? :-)
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Postby ChrisB » Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:16 am

Poly or acrylic on the battens sounds reasonable to me.
I wouldn't even consider stuffing a sail into a sailbag unless it was an old, blown out piece of junk. The way it was explained to me is that every time the sail is folded or stuffed, the fold breaks down the resin in the sailcloth and it is the resin that gives the sail its stiffness and shape. The best way to prevent the breakdown is to roll the sail for storage.
Chris B.
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Postby K.C. Walker » Thu Mar 15, 2012 12:34 pm

There's no problem with putting a finish over your fiberglass battens. Though, if you roll your sail there's really no reason to take them out, so minimizing your splinter possibility. I was getting splinters from a carbon fiber windsurfer mast and sprayed some car urethane clearcoat on it and that held a really well. Any Polly or acrylic would be fine for this purpose, though.

Tapered battens are a good thing, and yes the thinner part goes forward.
KC Walker, DS 1 #7002
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Postby GreenLake » Thu Mar 15, 2012 4:40 pm

+1 on not taking out your battens. Saves a lot of wear. Just make sure you roll the sail so battens are parallel to the roll. Then they don't bend.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Postby brucybaby » Thu Oct 11, 2012 4:51 pm

Thanks for all the ops on Intensity Sails guys/gals. Just sold my Chrysler C20 :cry: so, I decided to console myself with a new main sail for the DS2. My old one was the '71 original. Bagged out to the max, taped all over and stitching was coming out everywhere. Even the luff roping was even starting to disintegrate. ....and THE INTENSITY PRICE! Low enough to still allow me to recoup my investment if need be. I know these sails are probably not made in the good ol' USA but.................一個人必須做什麼,必須做一個男人的 !!! :D


Just shipped today, hopefully an Indian summer or two left in 2012 so I can try 'em out..I can't wait!!!
Bruce
'71 Oday DS2-Dashaway: Hull# 25873 Class# 4842
Ray Twp., MI
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