New Sail

[rogerschwake]

  After looking at the repairs and adding a second set of reef points, I'm thinking about a new sail. Living here in Iowa there are no sail lofts around, so will have to mail order from someone. Do any of you had any suggestions for a loft to build a good gaff sail. Also your thoughts on adding a second set of reef points to a Sun Cats sail. Went for my last sail yesterday, the snow will be coming any day.
ROGER

[capt_nemo]

If I were in the market for a new main'sl for Sun Cat "Frisky" (present one only 3 years old) I would seriously consider having it made "loose footed". A loose footed main'sl can be tweaked to achieve better sail shape than one "attached" to the boom.

Believe a few Sun Cat Owners have replaced their factory sail with a loose footed one and are quite pleased with its performance.

With regard to a second set of reef points - not necessary. Since the boat was intentionally designed to be underpowered, a SA/D of only .1, with the sail at FULL HOIST most Owners consider the FIRST REEF already tied in! The single set of reef points in the factory main IS the SECOND REEF.

When you sail the boat for a while in really heavy air, with the reef tied in, you'll notice that its performance is somewhat sluggish, especially when tacking. This is because the reduced area main'sl lacks the DRIVE to really punch through a steep chop and maintain the boat's momentum. Now comes the "Heresy" - try adding a small easily tacked jib on the Forestay and guage the before and after difference yourself. A small headsail works wonders in providing additional DRIVE. Borrow a hank on jib for a day and try it! In very light wind the underpowered boat responds quite well to a large Drifter type of headsail.

First homemade Nylon Working Jib set "flying".



Second homemade Polytarp hanked-on Working Jib.



Large homemade Polytarp Drifter.



capt_nemo

[rogerschwake]

  Thanks for the reply. The last two times I went sailing with the reef in, had to luff most of the time to keep from being over powered, and taking water over the coaming. This is the reason for the questions about a second set of reef points. Would like to know if you can mark progress to windward with a second reef in. When the time comes to add sail I was thinking about a spinnaker, there work to get set flying but add lots of sail area. The other question was were do I go for a good gaff rigged sail, there's are no sail makers up here in Iowa. Thanks and praying for a short winter.
ROGER

[frank]

Mack Sails in Stuart Florida are great to deal with

[Norm]

You might want to check with Sailrite in Indiana.  They build sails and are nearby.

Norm

[Craig]

Ditto Mack Sails! They are the best!

[Tim22]

Hyde sails made a great loose footed sail for my Sun Cat. In fairness Dick Herman did the legwork working with Judy B and Chip Buck at Hyde sails to make a prototype for testing and a second and final version which is the pattern Hyde now has and the one that my sail was made from.

Tim

[bfelton]

I second Tim's suggestion.  I have the same Hyde sail that he's referring too.  They do a great job.  In reference to a second reef.  I had one put in my sail, but I haven't tried it yet.  I sail on San Francisco Bay where it gets winds in the summer above 25 knots.  I am still getting used to the boat; it's a big change from sailing a Pacific Seacraft Flicka.

It's much cheaper to order one when you order your sail.  If you don't need it, there's not much lost.  If you do need it, you will be all set.

Bert Felton

[capt_nemo]

If my Sun Cat main'sl wasn't in such good shape (only 38 months old) I'd be first in line for a loose footed replacement.

My experience with the loose footed gaff headed main'sl on my homemade 12' sailboat, coupled with all that I've heard and read about controlling the shape of such a sail, have me convinced that it is definitely the way to go.

But, I'm not willing to go so far as to intentionally accelerate the weathering and stretching of "Frisky's" main'sl to justify a replacement at this time.

capt_nemo

[rogerschwake]

  I'll be calling Mack and Hyde sails soon to get some bids. The loose footed idea must be a good one because any time I read about new sails some one brings up loose footed main sails. I haven't heard anyone say anything about full batten main sails on this sight, it seems like other sights think its the way to go. What do some of you think about the idea? Thanks for all the good ideas and let me know what you think about a full batten sail on a cat.

ROGER

[bfelton]

If you have not rigged lazy jacks yet, I highly recommend it.  This leads to a reason not to have full battens which is you will have a harder time raising your main.  With lazy jacks deployed, I can raise my main and reef it without heading directly up wind.

Bert Felton

[tmorgan]

I bought a loose footed Hyde sail last summer and it is great.  The loose foot makes a noticible difference in the " power" the sail generates.

[dlane83]

Not sure if anyone is reading this post any more, but I just read it and have a few thoughts to add on full battened sails.  While full battens add weight to the sail, the new batten materials are lighter than they used to be so they may not make it much harder to raise the main.  Besides, the battens wouldn't need to be very hefty on a small rig like this.  If they would make raising the sail more difficult, there are sail slide arrangements that might help or a small winch could be added.  I like fully battened sails especially with lazy jacks since the battens help keep the sail close to the boom when the sail is reefed and they prevent the sail from flopping down on one side or the other of the boom.  They can be used with loose footed sails and hold sail shape better in light air.