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The Contessa Corner → Sails & Rigging → How old are your sails?
Hello Stefan;
I work in the town in Meaford, Ont., and Gary Bannister keeps a Contessa 32 in the marina here. I see him occasionally and would be willing to ask him if there is any definitive way to date your boat next time I see him at his boat. There may have been design or construction quirks that he may be familiar with that would help narrow it down.
Since I now have two old sails(20+yrs), main sail that is stretched out beyond use and the 110 genoa that needs repair in the seams, is there anything one can do with them? I have plans on getting new ones this spring. I would think cutting up the old sails into smaller sails could be an answer? Any thoughts out there on this or anything else that would be useful? cheers, jklee
I like John am looking for new sails...
Now my question is... has anyone have any advice on an "open foot Main sail"
at the show most of the dealers were pushing this... that 80 to 90 % of sails sold today were "open foot main's"
Lookinf for some advice here.
Thanks
jose
My main is loose footed. (only attached to the boom at the corners) It works well. As you adjust the draft, the shape is maintained all the way to the bottom. Another advantage is that you can get around the boom. I have a gybe preventor strap that loops around the boom. I like open footed, but it is not a revolution that will increase speed by 3 knots and change your life. If you have a strong aesthetic feel for the traditional foot, then go with that.
I have to agree that loose footed mains are the way to go. You have far more control of the sail. No one likes change but we've never regretted the switch - our sailmaker talked us into it, telling us he'd change it if we didn't like it. Absolutely love it! We never used to touch the outhaul, now we're always tweaking it to get the right sail shape. BTW, this is on our Crealock 37. Just bought a new main for Tess and had it loose-footed too. Check out our blog for a photo of it - keep in mind we just wanted to see it so it's not completely set up (or even raised all the way). But you can see how the loose foot overlaps the boom just a hair.
Thanks for the advice
As traditional as I might be... I like performance... looks like I'm going "foot loose"... sounds like a song
Another question.... Full Batten or 2+2... any suggestions would be appreciated..
José
Since I am in this boat too, what is a 2+2? I believe full batten are for racing sailboat, ie Spirit of Canada, as they go the full length of the sail to keep the sail shape stable. Normal batten for us go only about half way to keep the leech shape. I think I am correct but could be wrong. jklee
I have 2 + 2 on my loose foot main. The top 2 battens are full length (leech to luff). The bottom 2 are traditional length. The top ones are not too long so you get the advantages to full battens without the handling problems that you would get with long battens like the lower ones if they were full length. But I am not sure of the complete story of the reasoning. I believe they are also now considered standard equipment. I am happy with mine.
We have 1+3 on Tess - the top batten is full and the rest are not. Can't sail how it works though since we haven't had her out yet. Our sailmaker recommended that combo.
Once again... thanks for the input...
I think that I will be going with the 2+2... seems to be the way to go.... I'll have to look at what I have now and go from there.... not sure it's in the bag at this time...
Thanks
jose
I have put in my request for a quote from Lee Sail's (from their New England rep) for a Main Sail with 2 + 2 loose sail plus a storm, working jib and a gonoa 125%. I like to know what the cost would be for all of them before I make final plans on new sails. When I get the quote back, I will post it.
I too am looking at new sails. Sent out for a quote with a Kingston sail maker that is highly regarded (In my opnion and from others, and he made Morava's Storm Jib) and he recommeded a Loose foot along with 4 full battens. I received a quote for approx. $1,740 plus (of course) taxes. The material is dacron - as for strength I didn't get that - but I can find out. I also told him about my baggy sail and he thought that he might be able to fix the outhaul and tweak the sail to get another couple of years out of it.
I then asked for a quote from UK Halsey in Toronto - and again they recommended a loose foot with 4 full battens tappered at the leech. Their price was $1,375 (which included a 20% TO Boat Show discount) - and then add the taxes. The material is 6.62 High aspect dacron.
So, interesting - not sure what to do - UK Halsey has a great price but do I really need that type of material - keeping in mind I might (hope) to do some extended sailing around the Atlantic perhaps in three years?
I also sent out a request from North Sails but have not heard from them yet.
Any ideas?
ivanross "Morava" #266
Well those prices are a hec of a lot better than what I received from quotes here in Canada. From North Sails a 7oz Dacron ( I guess that is over the top) they wanted $1,985 plus tax which is another 14%. They were willing to give me a 25% discount if I ordered before the end of Jan. and sent them 50%. I have not done that. From my simplistic knowledge it looks as if you are getting a good deal for all the sails including the jibs. Also, all my quotes only included 2 reefs for the main.
ivanross "Morava" #266
I found North's quotes ridiculously expensive.
Thanks for the ukhalsey website, will check it out tonight. So, a 6.5 oz sail coth is better then 5.93 oz sail coth. I was not concern about price, though I do not wish to pay more then need be, but the quality of the sails I had quotes on. What do others sail with and what are your thoughts. I was leaning towards Scott Sails because of the sail weight for ocean sailing. ~jklee
I've never heard of Scott Sails but Lee's are pretty chintzy. Good luck with the decision!
Just a quick note, if one is going to use Lazy Jacks, full battens would be the best for the main though I am told 2+2 batten system would also work. I am looking into getting lazy jacks, as I sail solo and they would be a great help on keeping the main on the boom and not in the water or all over the boat when reefing and dousing the sail. ~jklee
I've heard full battens hang up on lazy jacks. At least, I think I've heard or read that somewhere.
I do not have lazy jacks. When I reef using slab reefing, I put in one reef at a time, even if I want to go from no reef to two reefs. I lower the sail by one reef length and pull in the tack and clew lines. This makes a loop of sail that only extends below the boom by one half of the reef distance. I then lower the sail more and put in the next reef creating a second loop of sail. By pulling in the lines for each reef, I end up with multiple small loops of sail that are not in the way. If I went straight to the second or third reef then I would end up with one large loop of sail hanging well below the boom and would require lazy jacks to keep it under control.
Sail quote from Hathaway. They have 2 prices, one from there shop in CT (USA), other offshore.
Main sail w/ 6.77oz dacron w/ 3 reef, 2+2 battens, loose-footed $1840 - USA, $1196 -offshore
Genoa 125% (he recommand 135%) 5.77 oz dacron $1198 - USA, $780 - offshore
Working jib (80%) 6.77oz dacron $890 - USA, $600 - offshore
Storm jib (50sqft) ?? oz, $495 - USA, $395 offshore
total $4,423 - USA, $2,971 - offshore
Any commends on the Genoa size, 125% versus 135%? What do others have as there Genoa?
I hope this helps others. ~jklee
In my conversation with others, it looks like the 135% genoa (extra $20+/- over the 125% cost) has won out over the 125%. One last question for the forum before I make my decision, if others would be so kind to respond, what weight of sails do you have? In my search I have been given the following weights: 5.77oz (genoa), 5.93oz (all sails), 6.50oz (all but storm jib), 6.77oz (main, working jib), 8oz (storm jib); if weight = strenght then why would the main sail quoted to me have small difference in price? All of the makers have the basic design for each type of sails so weight has to mean something. Since I have plans on Ocean voyage in the future, I would think medium to higher weight would work out to stronger sails, which one would like to have on a voyage. Though I could be complete wrong in my thinking. Comments?
Oh yes, I had one sail maker tell me that unless you have moving LazyJacks that move out of the way when raising the main, they just get in the way with the main. Tought you might like to hear this as one point of visit on the subject.
Finally, sorry that I did not get aquotes from UKHalsey for comparison of cost to the other sailmakers. I sent in my request but I guess my message was lost as with another sailmaker, who finally found it 4+ weeks later. ~jklee
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