I need a new main sail

[UNCIVILIZED]

Lots of good info on sources with good reputations. What about lofts, or outfits to avoid? Both in the US, & overseas. Especially lofts which email a data file to their 3rd world loft, which then generates the sail & ships it to you/the loft.

And do we want to get into discussions about types (manufacturers, & specific cloths), as well as cloth weights, & sail features that are definitely worth having?

I know it's a small boat/sail, but that doesn't necessarily mean that one should be happy with a cheap cloth & the resultant short lived shape. Or it not having some of the "gucci" features which make it easy to handle, & or perform well. Especially if the sail will be doing double duty; racing, & cruising, both.

Also, to the OP, what are you thinking in terms of; battens, hardware, reefing, leech line features, etc.? And I'm guessing that you want a standard, cross cut dacron sail. But assumption is the mother of all **** ups, so... Please specify exactly what you're after. And you can get a fairly decent idea of available features & options by visiting the websites of several lofts, & noting what they offer. Especially smaller, independent lofts. Who tend to spend a lot more 1 on 1 time with the buyer; before & after the sale to ensure that everything's correct, & that the customer is happy with their purchase.

BTW, if you don't already own it, The Sailmaker's Apprentice is a great one to add to your sailing library. It explains a huge amount of what goes into a sail, or that can. As well as how to do much of the work on sails yourself, should you so choose. Both old school hand work, & more modern techniques.

Brian Hancock's book Sail Power... is a decent one, & often can be found online in PDF format, gratis. Another perhaps worth perusing is Dan Neri's book. Though it might be a touch advanced for you ???

But definitely buy Ivar Dedekam's book on Sail & Rig Tuning. It has lots, & lots of detailed illustrations, with captions, thought bubbles, & text explaining 95% of all sorts of sail trim & rigging adjustments, & how they affect your boat, & it'ss handling, etc.


Oh, & despite their titles, none of these books is overly racing oriented. Though they'll definetly help you to sail your boat better. Plus, of course, assist you in deciding what features you do or don't want in your sail(s). And the "little things" definitely do make a big difference in this case.

[Lake-Effect]

About 3 years ago, I bought new sails for our 19' boat, at fairly good prices since the boat-maker was clearing out old stock. They're nothing fancy, simply the stock sails for the boat, but oh man the difference was amazing.

In particular, the boat behaves much more nicely when it starts to blow, particularly the genoa. The old one would start flogging and complaining above 12 kt and was very hard to trim. The new one is much better behaved, and the main keeps a better shape.

So - if you own a small boat, and you sail alot, and you're going to keep the boat for a few years... treat yourself to new sails.

I see quite a few small Tanzers in our area. I haven't sailed a T22 but I hear they're fun.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by NoahTreat

Lots a great replies. Thank you for that.

According to Tanzer22 website. My mainsail has a Luff of 23' and foot of 9' and a leach of 28.43". Am I reading that right? I'm not finding any used sail with those exact dimensions. I've searched all the links previously posted

Will a sail with similar but not exact dimensions work?

If you aren't racing and looking for every fraction of a knot then close enough is fine. Of course you have to find one that's slightly smaller as slightly to large will probably not fit. Wouldn't hurt to measure your own rig to make sure.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by NoahTreat

Lots a great replies. Thank you for that.

According to Tanzer22 website. My mainsail has a Luff of 23' and foot of 9' and a leach of 28.43". Am I reading that right? I'm not finding any used sail with those exact dimensions. I've searched all the links previously posted

Will a sail with similar but not exact dimensions work?

You can go a bit smaller on luff and/or foot, but not larger. Much more than a foot reduction would be a noticeable reduction in sail area, and could impair your light air performance. But if you are budget restricted, small reductions will not seem so important... or at least when I was in that position and buying used sails, I could ignore small issues!

Jim

[SV THIRD DAY]

I've seen very good prices and quality from https://islandplanetsails.com/
I'm about to get a price on a new mizzen sail from Dave and have seen his quality work and customer service.

[Larry Florida]

Originally Posted by skipmac

If you want to go new I bought my new main from Mack Sails in FL. Been buying sails from them for 40 years. Never had a problem. Prices were just as good as Chinese mail order sails.

Heard good things about Mack Sails. Planning to see them in the fall for a new main.

[NoahTreat]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

Lots of good info on sources with good reputations. What about lofts, or outfits to avoid? Both in the US, & overseas. Especially lofts which email a data file to their 3rd world loft, which then generates the sail & ships it to you/the loft.

And do we want to get into discussions about types (manufacturers, & specific cloths), as well as cloth weights, & sail features that are definitely worth having?

I know it's a small boat/sail, but that doesn't necessarily mean that one should be happy with a cheap cloth & the resultant short lived shape. Or it not having some of the "gucci" features which make it easy to handle, & or perform well. Especially if the sail will be doing double duty; racing, & cruising, both.

Also, to the OP, what are you thinking in terms of; battens, hardware, reefing, leech line features, etc.? And I'm guessing that you want a standard, cross cut dacron sail. But assumption is the mother of all **** ups, so... Please specify exactly what you're after. And you can get a fairly decent idea of available features & options by visiting the websites of several lofts, & noting what they offer. Especially smaller, independent lofts. Who tend to spend a lot more 1 on 1 time with the buyer; before & after the sale to ensure that everything's correct, & that the customer is happy with their purchase.

BTW, if you don't already own it, The Sailmaker's Apprentice is a great one to add to your sailing library. It explains a huge amount of what goes into a sail, or that can. As well as how to do much of the work on sails yourself, should you so choose. Both old school hand work, & more modern techniques.

Brian Hancock's book Sail Power... is a decent one, & often can be found online in PDF format, gratis. Another perhaps worth perusing is Dan Neri's book. Though it might be a touch advanced for you ???

But definitely buy Ivar Dedekam's book on Sail & Rig Tuning. It has lots, & lots of detailed illustrations, with captions, thought bubbles, & text explaining 95% of all sorts of sail trim & rigging adjustments, & how they affect your boat, & it'ss handling, etc.


Oh, & despite their titles, none of these books is overly racing oriented. Though they'll definetly help you to sail your boat better. Plus, of course, assist you in deciding what features you do or don't want in your sail(s). And the "little things" definitely do make a big difference in this case.

This is my first sailboat. I don't know enough to answer your questions. For now, I just want a stock replacement main sail. Just like the one that comes with the boat.

This is all part of my education experience. I've already learned a lot, and realize I have so much more to learn.

[sailah]

go here:

Masthead Sailing Gear

scroll down until you reach ~23' and then look over to the foot length for your dimension. I found a few new ones around $500. But all depends on how the sail attaches to boom and mast. I've bought from masthead and been well pleased with their sails. Shipping is UPS I used my account so it was cheap to commercial address.

like this

15998 | | Masthead Sailing Gear

maybe this but foot is a little longer than yours. Up to your measurements if you can make this work. Helps to actually measure your rig vs going off stock dimensions

16020 | | Masthead Sailing Gear

[NoahTreat]

Originally Posted by sailah

go here:



Masthead Sailing Gear



scroll down until you reach ~23' and then look over to the foot length for your dimension. I found a few new ones around $500. But all depends on how the sail attaches to boom and mast. I've bought from masthead and been well pleased with their sails. Shipping is UPS I used my account so it was cheap to commercial address.



like this



15998 | | Masthead Sailing Gear



maybe this but foot is a little longer than yours. Up to your measurements if you can make this work. Helps to actually measure your rig vs going off stock dimensions



16020 | | Masthead Sailing Gear

Lots of a great info. I'm learning.

Quick question. The sail that comes with the boat has a leach 28.43". I've seen a sail with a leach of 23.85". The luff and foot are the exact as my old sail but the leach is different. How does that translate???

What does that mean? Educate me

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by NoahTreat

Quick question. The sail that comes with the boat has a leach 28.43". I've seen a sail with a leach of 23.85". The luff and foot are the exact as my old sail but the leach is different. How does that translate???

What does that mean? Educate me

I don't get that one either. Since the tack of the sail is 90 degrees, making the shape a right triangle then by basic geometry the length of the luff and foot will fix the length of the leach.

Either it's a typo or one of the sails has a very large roach and using the rounded length as the measurement.

[NoahTreat]

Originally Posted by skipmac

I don't get that one either. Since the tack of the sail is 90 degrees, making the shape a right triangle then by basic geometry the length of the luff and foot will fix the length of the leach.



Either it's a typo or one of the sails has a very large roach and using the rounded length as the measurement.

I think it's because not all sails are a true 90° triangle

[davil]

you need to consider the ROACH concept when looking at the leech as a mainsail is NOT a flat triangle.


Roach[edit]
A fore-and-aft triangular mainsail achieves a better approximation of a wing form by extending the leech aft, beyond the line between the head and clew in an arc called the roach, rather than having a triangular shape. This added area would flutter in the wind and not contribute to the efficient airfoil shape of the sail without the presence of battens.[1] Offshore cruising mainsails sometimes have a hollow leech (the inverse of a roach) to obviate the need for battens and their ensuing likelihood of chafing the sail.[10]

Roach is a term also applied to square sail design—it is the arc of a circle above a straight line from clew to clew at the foot of a square sail, from which sail material is omitted. The roach allows the foot of the sail to clear stays coming up the mast, as the sails are rotated from side to side.[11]

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by NoahTreat

I think it's because not all sails are a true 90° triangle

Except for rigs like lateen, gaff, and such every main I've ever seen was pretty darn close to a right triangle.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Except for rigs like lateen, gaff, and such every main I've ever seen was pretty darn close to a right triangle.

Skip, there are lots of boats with <90 deg boom angles. Many cats have steeply raked masts, some traditional boats too, some Hereschoff (sp?) designs, and all have <90 deg.

Not a big deal IMO for the OP. Oh, no pro would measure the leech along the roach curve... not a useful measurement.

Jim

[NoahTreat]

Had to google "roach curve". Never heard that term until this thread. Anyone reason why this place is awesome.