Inmast furling again.

[Kestrahl]

Originally Posted by daletournier

No it dosent. It should be simple(i hope) to get this one right, being a Catalina, ive given them measurements but I'm sure they will have this sail on file....famous last words...lol.

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You should do some research before buying a new sail. Challenge High Mass Fiber is one of the cheaper dacrons and the last thing you want with a in mast furling mainsail is a stretchy fabric. Maybe get a price made locally out of a higher grade dacron. Taskers used to be cheap but not so much anymore.

[Pete7]

And I think there is one of the problems. I don't know how big this yacht is but must be >45ft hence the quote for 10oz fabric, but a more expensive cloth is going to cost unfortunately. Just occasionally a small yacht has an advantage and at 200 sqft ours is much smaller. Therefore lower loads so we can use a good quality Dacron without going down the Ventron/Hydranet/composite route.

An article in Cruising World bears out your comments,

The Lowdown on In-Mast Furlers | Cruising World

"Woven polyester (Dacron) comes in varying grades that are virtually impossible to tell apart by looking at them. Only the lowest stretch, most tightly woven materials will provide the required stretch resistance. Reducing stretch across the material’s thread line (bias) is the key. And yes, you guessed it—these are the most expensive woven materials available"

[daletournier]

Hi, I thought the price was resonable for a 47 foot yacht. And to be honest I don't know alot about sail cloth. What would you recommend to use for off shore cruising?

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[daletournier]

Originally Posted by Pete7

And I think there is one of the problems. I don't know how big this yacht is but must be >45ft hence the quote for 10oz fabric, but a more expensive cloth is going to cost unfortunately. Just occasionally a small yacht has an advantage and at 200 sqft ours is much smaller. Therefore lower loads so we can use a good quality Dacron without going down the Ventron/Hydranet/composite route.

An article in Cruising World bears out your comments,

The Lowdown on In-Mast Furlers | Cruising World

"Woven polyester (Dacron) comes in varying grades that are virtually impossible to tell apart by looking at them. Only the lowest stretch, most tightly woven materials will provide the required stretch resistance. Reducing stretch across the material’s thread line (bias) is the key. And yes, you guessed it—these are the most expensive woven materials available"

Just asked Quantum for a quote. I'm not sure laminated sails are the best for cruising, ive seen several boats where their laminated sails have become un laminated...opinions?

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[Pete7]

Ask a local sailmaker for quotes in Marblehead and Vectran for a crosscut main. Marblehead is arguably the closely woven Dacron available on the market. Vectran will be more but offers some advantages, however, both materials are worth spending some time googling as they have both been around for a long time. I think the patent for Vectran has now expired allowing a number of manufactures to produce it.

This is worth a read:

Sails, Sailmaking, Sailmakers, Lymington, South Coast, Hampshire, Sanders, Saunders, Yacht, marine upholstery, dinghies, quality, boat, design, standard

and

Cruising Sails |

My sailmaker prefers hydranet for tri-radial sails and Vectran for cross-cut believing Vectron is more stable to the different loads on a cross-cut design.

Pete

[Kestrahl]

Marblehead is the tightest woven but suffers a lot from UV. AP Blade from Dimension Polyant has good UV, weave and finish. In Australia they use a lot of Contender dacron which is available in low and high grade. Hydra-net is great but expensive. Laminates - if you are in a cold climate are normally okay.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by Kestrahl

Marblehead is the tightest woven but suffers a lot from UV. AP Blade from Dimension Polyant has good UV, weave and finish. In Australia they use a lot of Contender dacron which is available in low and high grade. Hydra-net is great but expensive. Laminates - if you are in a cold climate are normally okay.

Thanks, good info.

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[Kenomac]

What boat did you buy?

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

What boat did you buy?

Hi Ken, I've flicked you a email.

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[Sputnik]

Hi,
The horizontal crease looks like the sail has been furled without any tension on the halyard...does it reduce when you have full tension on the main halyard?
It is possible to have vertical battens....does anyone on this topic have any experience with them?
I am considering fitting new sails to my 2003 Hunter 356 (original sails, always been fitted, but only used 6 times! They laundered well and are still quite good). Crusader in the UK has quoted £4k for a FURL MAXX PLUS MAINSAIL VEKTRON inc carbon battens. or £2k with MAIN ITM - DACRON, but they have not quoted a weight yet.
Neil

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Sputnik

I am considering fitting new sails to my 2003 Hunter 356 (original sails, always been fitted, but only used 6 times! They laundered well and are still quite good). Crusader in the UK has quoted £4k for a FURL MAXX PLUS MAINSAIL VEKTRON inc carbon battens. or £2k with MAIN ITM - DACRON, but they have not quoted a weight yet. Neil

Neil, if the sails have only been used 6 times in 13 years are they stretched at all? Also was this whilst you owned the yacht? if so why do you need an expensive sail cloth like Vectron and with carbon battens too. I am sure Crusader will want to sell you this but do you need it? this looks like a gold plated solution.

You are 4 foot longer than us with a 50% bigger main, but our new furling main was £870 in 7.5oz DP C-Breeze.

Pete

[UNCIVILIZED]

With the creasing issue, have you played with; halyard tension, mast bend, clew line lead angle, & clew line tension while furling? And it probably wouldn't hurt to get some hands on expert opinions of things. Both as to furling the current sail, & it's shape, lifespan, & functionality. Not just from sailmakers, but from folks with no fiscal interest in things.

Also, maybe some of the other in mast furling owners can explain their straegies for dealing with rolling up the more shapely portion of the sail???

In looking at new sails, especially material wise, a 500sqft+ battenless Dacron sail is a bit of a recipe for a D-cup. Particularly if the boat's of even average mass & righting moment. Some styles of construction could mitigate this, but I don't know if they can be used for in mast furling mains. Thoughts?

And, I'm unclear as to what the boat in question is, but if she's near the 50' mark it's probably worth trying to get Dockhead's thoughts on the various questions posed in here. As 2'ish years ago he was going through the new sail selection process himself for his 54'er. Which, he went with a Vectran based laminate for all 3 sails; main, blade, & yankee. With his main being an in mast one. And from his posts he seems more than happy with them. Plus they've exhibited zero wear or stretch, IIRC.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

Also, maybe some of the other in mast furling owners can explain their straegies for dealing with rolling up the more shapely portion of the sail???

I just pull on a piece of string and the sail rolls away. Starboard tack helps as the sail rolls anti clockwise looking from above. However, worth remembering that the sail is cut much flatter than a slab reefing main. A bit of drag on the outhaul helps a nice smooth wrap.

I am currently playing around with boom angles to see if this makes any difference. It's just an idea but having the boom horizontal or at 90 deg to the mast may not be the best way to do it. Since the longest part of the sail to furl is the foot, having this roll up on top of the the previous turn may not be the best solution. Instead have the boom angled up towards the stern slightly and have the sail cut with an 85% angle so the thicker sail foot rolls up in a spiral, if that makes sense may help reduce the risk of a jam with the foot.

The other area I have noticed can jam is when a fold occurs towards the leech about half way up. This may be down to the material being stretched creating a hook. I need to try the new main to see if this potential problem is removed.

Pete