What sails for SF 50

[Gludy]

Prodder?
Do you mean a pole?

[Nordic cat]

He means a bowsprit I think

[ireaney]

To me a prodder is a retractable bow sprit so when mooring at a marina it can slide back so you dont get over charged, admittedly a bow sprit could and are foldable giving the same advantages.

[Nordic cat]

Something like these...

Alan

[Talbot]

Having decided on which sails, you also need to decide what sailcloth and what cut.

Bi - radial cut cheaper design with the sail in single horizontal panels

Tri-radial cut - used by the racing fraternity, sails look as if they are in a star pattern, which gives a much better shape (although more expensive)

Dacron - classic cruising material which will last for a long time, but get baggier and baggier. Cheapest

Laminate - cruising laminates are available. They maintain their shape for much longer, but dont have the long life of pure dacron. more expensive.

Spectra reinforced dacron. These would be my choice (in a tri-radial cut) They have the longevity of dacron and retain their shape much better. They are probably the most expensive (naturally).

There are lots more exotic blends, but these tend to be racing sails rather than something to cruise the ocean.

[Gludy]

Yes I was planning a retractable bowsprit anyway.

My partner is tiny at some five feet and we both want to make the sailing as easy as possible. Hence we initially are thinking of a roller furling from the bow sprit plus single line reefing on the mainsail.

What is the disadvantage of single line reefing?

One of the things we like about the SF50 is that at 5ft 10inches I am tall enough to easily zip up the Lazy Jack bag without stretching too muh so we have gone for slab reefing rather then in boom reefing.

[Gludy]

"Having decided on which sails, you also need to decide what sailcloth and what cut."

Having just begun to get my head around which sails I now have more decisions!!!

From that list the Tri-Radial cut in Spectra reinforced dacron seems to be the ticket.

Roughly how much more expensive are these than just Bi-radial Dacron?

Also is it normal to carry spare sails when cruising?

[Talbot]

I dont have details on prices, and in any case any details would not be relevant to a 50ft cat!!!

I would certainly want enough spare sails to get me out of trouble, normally you achieve that by retaining the old when replacing, but that wont be a problem for you!!!

Here is a link http://www.oceansailing.ca/pdfs/New_...on_Furlers.pdf to a furling system for code 0s and for use on removable bowsprits, with comparisons to other systems - this would be easier for a small crew to use.

[jzk]

Originally Posted by Talbot

Laminate - cruising laminates are available. They maintain their shape for much longer, but dont have the long life of pure dacron. more expensive.

We have UK spectra tapedrive sails. The sails are spectra and the tapes are kevlar. We got the boat in 2000 (Beneteau 47.7), and we still race it with those same sails. They are fantastic, extremely durable, and hold a nice shape.

I would certainly think that if you were willing to invest in a new SF 50, the cost differential between crap sails and something that will really make that thing sing is negligible. And, they will last a very long time, so you might even save money with them. I am not sure I would go too exotic - carbon tapes, etc., but I have found the Kevlar and Spectra to be a really nice, durable combination.

Tape Drive Cruising Sails

Our sailmaker keeps bugging us to get new sails, but for the life of me, I can't understand why we would.

[Gludy]

I have no idea of the costs of sails.

Cost is secondary to me but neither do I want to be changing performance sails all the time.

My view is that I want sensible, long life performance cruising sails and I am willing to pay what I need to get them.As I am learning I need to ask many questions and the natural assumption as to why I ask may not always be right

So what sort of difference would there be in performance between a set of cheapish bu-directional sails compared to say a ti-directional Spectra/Kevlar/Dacon mix sail?

Just indications of the difference would be useful in understanding.

[Gludy]

Ok more questions
Using a bowsprit with a furling say Code Zero (Why the name?)

How long would it take to change the furled sail over to say a Screacher?

[gosstyla]

Glundy, based on your stated objectives I thought you would also go with a roller furling main.

[Gludy]

I have been advised that roller furling mains tend to jam and are not as reliable as they should be.

We would much prefer it to be roller reefing and would probably have gone for boom reefing.

Views welcome

[Talbot]

I have had in-mast reefing, and they do make an enormous difference when you are short handed, but there is the tendency to jam if you do not do the procedure correctly.

A jammed in-mast is a nightmare, hence a lot of peoples reluctance.

One of the main reasons for the jam is the use of a baggy sail, which bunches up in the slot, cruisers often end up with baggy stretched sails, thus you hav the recipe for people not to use in-mast.

in-boom does not have that narrow slot, the full length battens help to keep it in shape, and in any case, if it does all go wrong, you can still take the sail down

In your position, I would be very seriously looking at the different in-booms - it will make reefing much simpler for your wife. I like the pro-furl, but there are may others on the market.

[Gludy]

How much performance do you lose with the in boom reefing?

Is the sail shape effected?