New Sails, thin and pretty, or thick and white

The reason colored sails use a lighter material is so it will accept the dye for color. The 5oz material will not accept the color. I would go for the white 5oz the will last for 20 years, plus. The UV rays will not affect them as much either.

Kenny if those are the original sails, they have lasted 27 years! A new jib with the original colors might make the main look faded.
I am still running the original main on my 82 5.8na.
I converted this boat to the na rig and had to order the correct jib.
Mine is the blue/white, the yellow was Phillip Mumm's

Go for the colors! Beautiful Boat.

They are the original sails, they did have about 6 years off when the second owner stopped using the boat. The main is in surprisingly good condition, still stiff, the jib is getting sorry, little tears, worn zipper, etc...

I say stick with the colors. While white has its advantages, you need to have some color somewhere on the boat.

how old are you?

..............over 35, get the colors

how rich are you?

..............colors won't make a dent in your savings, get colors

are you likely to sell the boat in the next 10 years?

...............if so stay with a colors

If you like the colors I would stay with them. Even if you have to replace them in 20 years instead of 25 years it will make those 20 years more enjoyable for you. Odds are you will get rid of your boat before a new set of Dacron sails wears out anyways.

I don't remember seeing your sails at Wilmette, I will have to keep an eye out for you. I have a blue sail color H18M, not sure if I will make it this weekend or not. If so it will be Sunday.

i would look into a square weave Dacron.. they hold up very well.. do whatever you want with the colors... I would talk with Chip from whirlwind and see what he things would serve you best. he is great to work with.

Mylar/pentex/and other laminate sails have definite advantages... they weigh less... don't mildew (unless you really try) and they are real fun to fall through when you capsize (as they tear pretty easily).. downside... UV sensitive.. and have much shorter life expectancy. oh yea... they cost a lot more too.... If you make a living sailing.. they are the way to go.. if you don't.. i would still consider them if the price is right. ... but Dacron is a great choice.

Jibs are usually much cheaper and i would start with the new jib (as you mentioned).

I found a new jib makes a huge difference.

U might take your main to a good sail shop and see if a new bolt rope, leach line or leach cut could re-shape up your main.. and save $1400.00 or more

Wow that boat looks amazingly familiar. Like I think it's sitting in my driveway right now.

Your sails look better than mine color wise though and you seem to have the same problem with the batten pockets as I do. Is that just sail tape on them or is patched? If so how long has it been taped and how well has it held up, and what tape did you use?

oh and can I have your old sails when you get shiny new ones? 😉

edited by: Quarath, Aug 05, 2009 - 10:41 AM

oh and can I have your old sails when you get shiny new ones?

haha...

newjsi.com and westmarine sell this clear sail tape.. $12 for 20'? i think.. it is very very very strong and sticky.

i have around 15 little patches on my spin with it. and it has held on through 100+ snuffs and douses. i would use it in a tear on any sail but you really want a patch on a sail (imho).

how do they patch on the pockets though I would think that would be the hardest you can't just sew through or you close the pockets?

See could be my boat for all you know.... hehe..haha..hoho

That's just some sacrificial sail tape. Colored sailtape is awfully expensive when you are dealing with rainbows! The clear tape is a great tip.

The tape was bought from west marine, it is white dacron and it is not professionally packaged: It is like some dude chopped 15' off a giant roll, wrapped it around a tube and secured it with masking tape, really. It sticks on great, but leaves icky goo when you peel it off (but I don't care, I just slap on a new piece). The PO was using duct tape.

I have seen other people that had the clear window material stiched over the batten pockets to protect the sail, but I am of the mind that if it is sewn on, I don't want it to chafe, so I would still slap on some tape.

Like I said, the main is pretty good, under the sailtape there is only one batten pocket with any wear from the shrouds. The bolt rope is pretty banged up at the foot too, where it slides into the mast.

Sorry Q, but I will keep them, spares are good. Did you see this ad: http://www.thebeachcats.com/classifieds/showproduct.php/product/1829/cat/4

edited by: kgatesman, Aug 05, 2009 - 12:20 PM

Sorry Q, but I will keep them, spares are good.

Oh I know I was just Razzing ya. I would keep mine as spares to. Sucks to waste a whole weekend if you drove up to the lake to camp and fell through your sail the first day.

I am always on the lookout for good backup stuff but I never have any money when I find em cheap.

Those others sails are very .....pink.

edited by: Quarath, Aug 05, 2009 - 04:06 PM

The pink is very interesting, is that faded red, or is it original pink, maybe a lousy photo?

Sailboatowners.com (when I had the Mac 25, this was the go-to forum) will make me rainbow sails, the loft is not identified, Challenge Sailcloth is used: http://shop.sailboatowners.com/sbsails/detail-sbsails.htm

The Whirlwind website does not support multi-color, but I will give them a phone call to see if they will do this.

Any thoughts on what a flat top is worth in terms of performance?

edited by: kgatesman, Aug 06, 2009 - 03:59 PM

Dustin, you cleaned up that picture really nice, I have only lost 30 pounds though, you took me down to nothing.

Isn't Lake Michigan awesome? It's been a spectacular sailing season.

A square top sail will give you a noticable increase in performance.

And yes we have had some great days on Lake Michigan this year, to bad it has been a little cooler then normal though. Wetsuits in July tend to keep my wife off the baach and water.

say yes to square tops!

how do they patch on the pockets though I would think that would be the hardest you can't just sew through or you close the pockets?

remove the batten... cut through all the threads that secure the pocket to the sail ... remove pocket... replace.. it is about 30-45 minutes work if you have the equipment.

Keep in mind when you sew a sail.. you are putting in perferations... and that weakens a sail. not as big a deal on Dacron but more so on pentex/mylar laminate sails... i have ripped 1 main 3x (at the batten pocket) and finally just blew it out (across 2 panels) by over sheeting and hoping out on the wire... it was a long / slow 5 mile ride home with a shredded main....

edited by: andrewscott, Aug 06, 2009 - 04:13 PM

Wetsuits in July

Thats evil, just plain perverted.

I don't come out of hiburnation till
the WATER temp gets above 70f

Our water temp never really gets much into the 70's on lake Michigan. But water in the high 60's isn't bad as long as we have nice air temps. The problem is we had July days with air in the 60's and water in the 60's also. Then when you add good wind it gets down right cold on the water. We actually didn't have any 90 degree days in July.

Just one of the compromises for having such a big fresh water lake to sail on. Feels and looks like a fresh water ocean when on your cat.

I don't come out of hiburnation till
the WATER temp gets above 70f

I have yet to sail in water over 60f and I don't even own a wetsuit. Of course I kinda have a bit of a built in wetsuit as far as extra insulation goes.

currently our gulf water is about 90*.

in feb the water gets to the upper 50's. I sail in gear, but no wet suit (I HATE THEM)

Right on Scott: My skinniest crew members complain after about an hour on any day.
This summer in Chicago has been unusually cool, I don't think we have broken 85 degrees yet (but coming this weekend). Usually in July there is a week that is at or near 100 degrees, it didn't happen.

edited by: kgatesman, Aug 07, 2009 - 11:14 AM

Andrew in February our lake is right about 30 degrees and you would need ice skates. But we usually have some good strong wind then also : ) But also not sure I would really like 90 degree water either, that is almost to warm to be refreshing.

Cold water temps aren't a big problem if the air temp is high until the wind picks up and you get spray and or flip.

that's when you need one of these.

Chicago is opening up Lake Michgian beaches for surfing, from September through March. I am not kidding. People have been winter surfing on the the Michigan side of the lake for a number of years. They are heartier men than I.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2DXDJBlZeA

Scott,

Have to agree, weak westerlies & cool temps = Brilliant SE winds this summer. Exception being this weekend but I was too jet lagged to sail in the banger winds. Another plus is the air may be cool but the water is warm! Yesterday/Saturday hotter than hades and the lake was 55 degrees!

PS Go with the colors.