[C320-list] Foresail

[Greg Flanagan]

Enjoying the discussion of sails as I may need a new one sometime. We are
still using original sails. 

Brian, in Canada we have to give a nickel ($.05C) as we don't have the penny
any longer.

Cheers,

Greg Flanagan
Hoop Dancer #1076
Sidney, BC



-----Original Message-----
From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf
Of Amirault Family
Sent: January-13-18 3:01 PM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Foresail

Ted:

 

Only my .02$, and for our American readers worth less (worthless?) as it is
in Canadian funds. I faced this issue on my '01 in '14 and discussed my
needs with my local sail maker representative - the only one here is Doyle,
but any would do as well. Generally we are all interested in performance,
longevity, and price; and not necessarily in that order. I race (poorly)
Thursday night JAM on the local river in Ottawa. Here's how it unfolded for
me.

 

There are choices in type of materials, and sub-choices in quality within a
category. The best bang for my buck (NOT the best sail) was high modulus and
more expensive Dacron with a radial cut. Dacron lasts longer and is cheaper;
an important consideration when presenting the proposal to the local Board
of Economy. Additionally, its performance deteriorates slowly over time
without actually failing. This is why you can see boats propelled by their
original 30 year old Dacron sails while never seeing boats propelled by
their original 30 year old Mylar sails. Opting for radial rather than slab
cut makes a significant increase in price, but the extra labour yields a
sail of better shape which retains that shape for longer as the Dacron
begins to relax with the years. As mentioned by others, a foam luff will
greatly support general sail shape when furling.

 

Shape of the sail. I race with a full and robust crew, but also
casual/cruise sail with only my low-upper-body-strength spouse for crew. The
then current headsail was the original 150. Because I river sail, and as the
prevailing wind is downriver, on most weekends you're in crowded water and
everyone is doing frequent tacks as you quickly run out of river on
approaching the shore. To that end, vision forward with only spouse-as-crew
was VERY important to me as you really need to see. I asked Doyle for a full
Yankee cut which would yield a very high foot at a sharp angle. Doyle
wouldn't do it claiming the customer is NOT always right and I would regret
it, so we settled for a modified Yankee with a more shallow rise but not
parallel to the deck. This compromise proved correct as ther eis more sail
area than with the "full Yankee" but I still get good vision while sitting
to the side of the wheel.

 

Size of the sail was influenced by climate and my cruising crew situation.
On race nights here, because land is so close on both sides of the water,
the wind is frequently gusting double digits at race start and reduces to
light by the time the sun begins to set and so we often begin a race with at
least one reef which we let out as the wind conditions allow. So we find
that the best balance rather than using the 150 is to start with a reef and
either some furl or the full 135. For cruising my spouse will not take the
helm in less than dire circumstance and so when tacking and furling I'm
handling the wheel and she the sheets. She has problems handling the 150 in
any wind, so I needed less sail to ease her workload, and settled on the
135. This size has proved optimal for cruising with the spouse as it is a
good balance between ease of handling that you get and performance that you
give up when moving to a smaller sail. In moderate wind while racing, the
radial cut smaller jib actually gives me better speed and pointing than the
original larger slab cut sail. HOWEVER.if you are racing, I would not
recommend the 135 for a C320, and would not elect this size again, as there
are some things that you just can't know until you actually fly your new
sail. In good wind, and as cut, the 135 cannot be sheeted in as far as I
would like for optimal performance because by coincidence the spreader rests
just inside the sail area and there is insufficient billow to the sail to
fully sheet the sail in while keeping the material off the spreader; so
we're forced to adjust it just a little out of trim to keep the fabric free
of contact.   

 

So there you have it. Your local wind may be lighter. You may not pine for
race performance. Your budget may be more or less constrained. You and all
those around you may be able to hold a tack much longer. There are plenty of
permutations which would suggest a solution other than mine. The above works
for me.

 

Regards;

 

Brian Amirault 

797 Waltzing Bear, too