Cover for jib?

[Tori]

We are new to sailing and new live aboards. We are located in Florida so there is lots of sun...I am going to pay a professional to survey our rig and tune it and check the sails but it will be several weeks to a month before we can afford this. (new head takes priority )
In the meantime he asked if I have a cover for my jib? It is on a roller furling and I don't really want to take it down so am looking for info on a cover to protect it from UV. Or us this needed?

[skipmac]

Is there a colored strip of cloth, probably blue, about a foot wide along the back and bottom edges of the sail? When you roll the sail up on the furler do you see only that colored edge?

That is the sun cover that should be built into your roller furling jib.

[Tori]

No there is not it is solid white

[Unicorn Dreams]

If the leach and foot have a colored border, then it's probably UV resistant cover when sail is rolled up. You can get a UV resistanr cover made to add additional protection. I t wraps around rge whole jib and furler with a zipper. Boat that was next to me had one as the boat was going to sit for about 2-3 years.

[skipmac]

If the jib is solid white then 99% certain there is no sun cover. And yes, you absolutely, positively should have one, unless you want to buy a new jib every 1-2 years.

If you are going to be at anchor and not sailing then go ahead and take it down until you can afford to get a cover.

You can have a sail maker sew the colored strip on your existing sail. This is what I would recommend as the sail is automatically covered as soon as you roll it up on the furler. No need to go dig out an extra bit of gear to go over the sail.

[Tori]

Any idea as to the cost of having this colored strip sewn onto the sail?
It has been up about four weeks and the wheels in the mast are froze so it is REALLY hard to put the sail up and down and we gave been going out twice weekly or more learning how to sail.
So I guess my questions are:
Is it maybe damaged already? It is brand new
Should I take it down and have things sewn immediately?
Or should I cover it?
Or just take it down?
We have an extra jib that came with the boat it is in storage so I am going to go look and see if it has colored strips tonight...

[Unicorn Dreams]

It shouldn't cost that much, just a strip of cloth 12"
wide and 4 rows of stitches.

[Tori]

Ok cool I am going to check the sail in storage as well

[rtbates]

Two things:
1. Are you sure the jib is rolled in the correct direction? What's on the backside of the rolled up edge?

2. There are WHITE sun covers..Un-roll the sail a bit a look to see if there is a 12-18" wide fabric strip sewn along the edge of the leech(the long leg of the triangle).

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by rtbates

...........Un-roll the sail a bit a look to see if there is a 12-18" wide fabric strip sewn along the edge of the leech(the long leg of the triangle).

..........and the foot (bottom edge)

[Tori]

Ok the rigging guy from the neighbors boat who is doing mine in two weeks just cane over
(I was freaking out a little )
He unrolled the jib and said it has a white Dacron uv protector sewn onto it...
He also told me in under five minutes without any advanced knowledge that my boat was a late 70's S2 that came from up north and was used for racing

He was correct on all counts can't wait fir the official visit great chance to learn!

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Tori

Any idea as to the cost of having this colored strip sewn onto the sail?

Depending on the size of the sail it will take maybe 2-3 sq yards of fabric and an hour or so at the sail maker. Wild guess a couple of hundred.

Originally Posted by Tori

It has been up about four weeks and the wheels in the mast are froze so it is REALLY hard to put the sail up and down

Wheels in the mast? Do you mean the wheels at the very top of the mast where the rope that pulls the jib up goes up, over and back down. Those are called sheaves and it is pretty important to have them working. At the earliest opportunity you need to go up the mast and squirt some appropriate spray on the sheaves to see if you can free them up. If they are all metal and do not have any non metallic parts (including bearings inside the sheave) try spraying/soaking with PB Blaster.

A couple of other comments

As rtbates noted, it is possible to have a white sun cover strip sewed into a roller furling sail. They are not common but do exist. Just look carefully to see if there is that extra strip going up the back edge (leech) and bottom (foot) of the sail, about a foot wide.

Leaving the sail out in the sun will not kill it immediately but it is cumulative damage. The longer it sits there the more the UV rots the stitching and fabric of the sail.

[Tori]

Yes the sheaves those do not roll and we did not discover this until it was already stepped the rigging guy is going two work on them in two weeks.
He says is does gave a white strip to protect it from the sun

[GordMay]

Roller furling headsails are generally fit with a sacrificial UV cover along the leech (and sometimes the foot); typically made of Sunbrella, but it may be UV coated Dacron. UV coated Dacron is lighter weight, has a shorter life, is available in white only and costs more. With Sunbrella, you have your choice of colours, and has the longest UV life available.
➥ http://www.neilprydesails.com/pdfs/C...20Mainsail.pdf

[s/v Jedi]

You can't sail the boat safely when the halyard sheaves aren't turning. Now, when the luff of the sail or the halyard stretches a bit during the puffs, the halyard will chafe on the sheave, which will quickly burn through the halyard and the sails come tumbling down

Also, I recommend to buy a book that explains all the bits and pieces on a sailboat, as well as what to do to make the boat sail -right the way it's supposed to-. Read it a couple of times and then ask a fellow old-salt-sailor to come on your boat and show you how it's done. Then let him see how you do it and let him comment on what you do wrong or silly etc. Feed him plenty rum to keep him going

As new live-aboards, do not forget to check out the anchoring gear. It will be the most important part of the boat, much like the foundation of a house. Have that old salt look at it and suggest bigger anchors and propose a weight, like 66 lbs. Keep saying higher numbers until the old salt starts to laugh out loud. Write down that number and get the anchor that size

ciao!
Nick.