What Kind of Headsail is This?

[sanibel sailor]

How about half a cover with clips on the other half matching the D rings?

[pbiJim]

Originally Posted by endoftheroad

Anyone ever had a pvc sail before?

I think that it was back in the 1970's that Popular Mechanics published some plans for a do-it-yourself sailboat that would cost less than $1,000 total to build, including sails. As I recall, those plans had you using a blue tarp as material from which to make the sales.

That's the closest thing that I've ever seen.

I have been seeing some plastic sails on racing boats lately, but they look noting like that. The racing sails have either been clear or black with scrim woven into the material. The color of the scrim varied & the pattern of the scrim was very inconsistent.

[Jim Cate]

One sure way to determine if it s meant to be a sail is to do like sailmakers do in the loft when inspecting a sail: Tie it up horizontally from all three corners. Put a lot of tension on the "halyard, sheet and tack". Inspect visually to see if it has shape sewn into it. A tarp or cover will be flat, while a sail will have, well, sail-like shape!

Certainly an odd bit of cloth!

Cheers,

Jim

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by endoftheroad

The mainsail of my friends boat was of pvc material when he bought it from the previous owner. He naturally took it off of the mast and boom and didn't use it.
So...it seems that the previous owner was really using these things for functioning sails.
There is alot of work, care and thought into building this thing.
I started this thread thinking that someone here on the forum may have seen this type of material for sails somewhere
It definately is a headsail.

Target90000,
there isnt any cable or rope, only 19 stainless loops (i'm not sure what you would call them) for what would seem for fastening some sort of hanks.
There are no pockets for battens.

19 loops would be called "shakles" that hook to the slides

[Bash]

Originally Posted by tropicalescape

19 loops would be called "shakles" that hook to the slides

Nope. Look at the third photo. No shackles present. Those are D rings.

[Lagoon4us]

BBQ shade sail methinks?

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by Bash

Nope. Look at the third photo. No shackles present. Those are D rings.

The D rings are the "shakle" is what I was thinking,no?

[endoftheroad]

jim cate,
it is for sure the shape of a sail. it is not a tarp, although i might end up cutting it up and using it as such. i would donate it to someone if they wanted it, i'm in key west.

bash,
you are correct, the shape of those "loops" are "D" shaped.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by endoftheroad

jim cate,
it is for sure the shape of a sail. it is not a tarp, although i might end up cutting it up and using it as such. i would donate it to someone if they wanted it, i'm in key west.

bash,
you are correct, the shape of those "loops" are "D" shaped.

G'Day EOTR,

Perhaps you misunderstood my comment... The shape that I was referring to is the three dimensional shape that an airfoil sail has, not the outline triangle. You can't really see that shape with the sail lying on the ground.

You may have actually hoisted the sail on your boat... I dunno, but as I said, sailmakers "hoist" sals horizontally for inspection. In that position gravity tends to give the sail the same sort of shape that wind does when the sail is n use. It is a useful technique to get a rough idea of a sail's properties.

I suppose in your sail the D-rings could be used to attach hanks in the same manner that conventional sails use grommets. It is not a common method, though, and one wonders why it was used.

It remains a mystery why the PO would cause such a thing to be built!

Cheers,

Jim

[sigmasailor]

Originally Posted by endoftheroad

Look at the pics close up, it is meant to be a sail and not a tarp.

Anyone ever had a pvc sail before?

Doesn't look to a sail to me. It could be rigged as sail (rings on all corners) but at the first gust it would be ripped apart.
Agree with previous suggestions: some sort of tarp.

[sy_gilana]

It might have been contemplated as a sail, but it would never function as such. My reasons for saying this are:

The "hanks" Are not up the longest side as any other headsail would be.
The ring pretending to be the clew is not bisecting the clew angle.
None of the attachments would hold in any sort of decent breeze.
The weight of the "cloth" would make it impossible to use in a light breeze.

I suspect, the previous owner was given it by someone who found in in a garage.
Now that it was found on a boat, a nautical assumption is being made.

I suspect its an awning or drape or some other type of protection meant to be hung by the adjacent side to the right angle corner, possibly by threading a wire through the loops alternate left right, and can be drawn to one end like a curtain.

IMHO..

[estarzinger]

I would guess it's meant to be a storm jib. It might be intended to be zip tied to the headstay thru those D rings.

As an aside, The ORC requires "for each storm or heavy-weather jib, a means to attach the luff to the stay, independent of any luff groove device.", and zip ties are in fact one of the 'ORC approved' techniques, not that any of that is likely relevant to this sail.

[savoir]

Cut it up and use it as an awning. You might need to add a few grommets or rings but any sail/canvas maker can do that. That stuff will do a great job keeping the rain out. With a few nips and tucks the narrow top section should cover your front hatch nicely and let you open it on rainy days.

[tropicalescape]

is meant for UV protection for the jib,to make the sails last longer while cruising in the intense UV enviroment of the tropics?....

[Hoofsmit]

Originally Posted by endoftheroad

This thing is new, it was given to me. The previous owner found it in his boat and has no clue either. It is heavy pvc (i think) material, like an inflatable dinghy fabric.
It measures 32' 34' 13', with 19 loops and 3 on the other side.
It isn't sewn, it's glued or wellded or something.
Anyone seen anything like this?
Should I save it for an emergengy headsail?

In the middle picture the sail is still semi folded.

My money is on a tarp or rainwater collection, can't see why you would have d rings on the luff and the leach?As someone has stated there are no shaped panels cut into the cloth so it could only be used as a mizzen or none driving sail.
Just my impression on it, happy sailing