Help me with new sails

[Dave Lochner]

A lot of Sabre sailors have been using Great Circle Sails. Brian Hancock has designed many sails for Sabres, including the 36, 362 and 38. He is knowledgeable and easy to work with. The sails are well built and reasonably priced as his marketing costs are low and he does not pay a franchise fee. His sails are built in the same lofts that the big guys use, so quality is the same.

When I replaced the sails on my Sabre 362 I went with radial cut Contender Cloth. It is a Dacron laminate, not as expensive as the exotic cloths are. Since I was down sizing the Genoa from a 150 to 135 I wanted to improve the performance of the sails and I wanted to have sails that would continue to hold their shape long after Dacron had begun to stretch.

[Valmika]

I am a cruiser and just use dacron for longevity . My only comment is on the full batten. I was talked into full batten on my new main and it does give me a bit more roach and power. My issue is with my stack pack when bringing it down many times one of the lower battens can get jammed up in the bag and I have to go up and pull it back to clear it. This never happened with my partial lower battens.

[Kd9truck]

When I bought the vessel I am in 3 years ago the Dacron “quantum” cruising sails that were on it were starched out but still very strong and functional. I shopped around for prices and materials. I found a online sail retailer, National Sail supply, they make Rolley Tasker sails, I was able to get the 140 Genoa and Main for the same price as one of the two sails I needed in a price comparison to Doyle, UK, Quantum, or North.
All above sail makers have lofts and reputations to validate there pricing, and personalized service that you pay for. I went the cheap road, the sails are identical to the Dacron Quantum they used Banbridge Marblehead fabric as mentioned earlier.
I have no intention of racing, but if I get an itch I’ll assess what will make my vessel faster for the money. Hull paint, less weight, more efficient prop, a rollerfurler code zero on a added bow sprit, etc.... there are lots of ways to increase the speed of a vessel...but terminal velocity of your vessel may be the ultimate money pit. At some point your vessel will not be capable of going and faster regardless of what you do to it.
Good luck

[Knotical]

All good points, thanks again.

Dave, I left a voicemail for Brian.

[Kd9truck]

Valmika
Re: Help me with new sails
I am a cruiser and just use dacron for longevity . My only comment is on the full batten. I was talked into full batten on my new main and it does give me a bit more roach and power. My issue is with my stack pack when bringing it down many times one of the lower battens can get jammed up in the bag and I have to go up and pull it back to clear it. This never happened with my partial lower battens.)))

I have the same issue with the lower battens, I have to climb the mast to fit the sail into the stack pac, I had though about putting a down haul on the sails headboard for off shore occasions. Mostly I pull the leach end of the sail and batten in the bag as I walk up to the mast. I do wish there was a better way but I don’t want to give up the full battens.