UV cover on wrong side of sail

[dohagen]

I just bought a new roller furling jib and the sail maker put the UV cover on the wrong side of the sail. He has offered to move it to the other side, but I am concerned whether the additional holes in the sail from the stitching will weaken the sail. Any thoughts?

[Guess52]

Is it possible to re-wind the drum and furl in the other direction?

My furling system is ancient Pro-furl P40, but I know for a fact that it was possible to reverse with that system because when I bought the boat the previous owner had the jib rolled up the wrong way for years and all the exposed area was UV trashed - not just the stitching, fabric too.

A trip to the sail-maker and we cut the 120 into a 95 and had new UV backing put on (and I made DAMN SURE it was on the outside when furling).

[donradcliffe]

No, the sail will still be strong if you restitch the sun cover. The other alternative may be to change the lead on the furler and roll it up the other way.

[dohagen]

I did change the direction of the furler, but the angle from the last block to the furler is pretty severe. I am looking to see if I can find a longer bail for the last block.

[Kestrahl]

It does weaken the sail with the second set of holes created by restitching the UV cover on the other side. Changing the furling line on the drum and the lead to the other side of the boat is the easiest solution.

[skipgundlach]

We intentionally changed our rotation when we got our new headsail.

Top down, it's rolled in counterclockwise...

[roverhi]

Have the sailmaker R&R the IV cover to the right side. If you didn't have a foam pad o the luff, might see if he'll throw that in for their screw up. Thant will make for a way better setting reefed sail.

If the lead to the furler is bad on the other side, it is not a fix.

[foothillsailor]

Had a similar problem --sailmaker fixed it at his expense. Only complaint was that he could not completely remove the 'glue' or adhesive that was left on the jib when he removed the 'wrong side' UV cover and replaced it on the correct side. Any unnecessary holes I suspect were insignificant in terms of weakening the sail especially as they were partly covered by the UV strip---10 years later still no problem ---outside of any leftover adhesive on the wrong side I wouldn't be overly concerned about having the sail maker change the UV cover to the other side.
Just my 2 cents worth.

[MarkSF]

It is normal to have to replace the sun cover a few times in a sail's life. I'm not even convinced that the stitching makes holes, per se. Surely the needle forces the threads apart, and passes between them? This is what I see whenever I sew with my Sailrite LSZ-1. Otherwise everything you sewed would start to tear at the stiches.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by dohagen

I did change the direction of the furler, but the angle from the last block to the furler is pretty severe. I am looking to see if I can find a longer bail for the last block.

Without a picture, I find this pretty hard to believe, not that I doubt you.

All you're doing is making the drum rotate the other way, so the distance difference of the furling line coming off the drum has to be maybe all of 12 inches. I'm not sure how that can change the fair lead to the first (forward-most) block.

Our first block is a swivel block on the bow pulpit, pretty far back. The rest are Johnson bullet blocks on the stanchions. Pretty basic, but works just fine. If I had to do this I would see essentially NO difference.

I'd check your geometry WAY BEFORE I had all that work redone for perhaps nothing. And which might compromise the sail.

Good luck, either way.

PS - I'm "really into this" today, 'cuz the same subject came up on another boating forum yesterday and I just put on my "summer small jib" this morning.

[northwestsailor]

I had the same problem but with a twist. We could not furl in the other direction because Reef Rite furlers have safety pin on a bail that allows the sail to be furled but not let out unintentionally. Interesting setup!

My sacrificial cover on this older sail was shot so I left it and just had a new cover sewn on the correct side. Within a few years the sail will be replaced but just wanted to get a few more years out of it.

[Paul Elliott]

You could always hoist the jib upside down???

Seriously, re-stitching shouldn't have an appreciable effect on the sail.

[Hudson Force]

I'm reminded of the novice mechanic that the guys ask to provide them with a left-handed wrench! Furling drums turn both ways and they turn from the same angle on the same fairleads both ways with the difference only being the inside diameter of the drum. I guess there is a rare possibility for something significant here, but it's doubtful.

[Emmalina]

Last time I had a head sail for my old furlex system they got it on the wrong side.
Not reversable so the sail maker put another strip on the port side. Made the rolled up sail a bit bulky but made the sail a lot stiffer... I believe they are still using that after 10 years ....

[JBlumhorst]

Originally Posted by MarkSF

It is normal to have to replace the sun cover a few times in a sail's life. I'm not even convinced that the stitching makes holes, per se. Surely the needle forces the threads apart, and passes between them? This is what I see whenever I sew with my Sailrite LSZ-1. Otherwise everything you sewed would start to tear at the stiches.

+1. Removing and Restitching the sacrificial edge cover will not compromise the dacron structurally in any perceptible way.


Judy B
Independent Rep. for a global sail loft