B323 Headsail

Jan 23, 2021
114
beneteau 323 Corpus Christi marina
Another chapter in me new to me boat: delivery captain left boat with jib loosely furled,.

When I drove there 2 days later,, 2-3+ feet of leach were torn and flying in the wind. Tears are past UV and into sail material.

Boat had fueling problem and died, so skipper stopped, (Sunday morning). I took rental car to them so they could get home, then drove home.

Tuesday, I drove out to boat and saw jib leach blowing in the wind, about 2-3’ of it. I re-wound the jib solo at dock. Tears show,but still hasn’t loosened even in 20’s plus winds. (Current furl is still dismally loose compared to what I usually see.)
 
Oct 3, 2008
325
Beneteau 393 Chesapeake Bay
I just responded to your other email. Sounds to me like that captain wasn't very good at delivery, or just didn't care.
 
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Jun 21, 2004
2,532
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
Another chapter in me new to me boat: delivery captain left boat with jib loosely furled
Tuesday, I drove out to boat and saw jib leach blowing in the wind, about 2-3’ of it. I re-wound the jib solo at dock. Tears show,but still hasn’t loosened even in 20’s plus winds. (Current furl is still dismally loose compared to what I usually see.)
Are the torn segments part of the white Dacron sacrificial UV cover? It deteriorates fairly rapidly and requires periodic replacement.
If the sail is in good condition, have the Dacron cover replaced, if you plan on racing, or if cruising, replace it with heavier weight Sunbrella that will last indefinitely.
 
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Jan 23, 2021
114
beneteau 323 Corpus Christi marina
Are the torn segments part of the white Dacron sacrificial UV cover? It deteriorates fairly rapidly and requires periodic replacement.
If the sail is in good condition, have the Dacron cover replaced, if you plan on racing, or if cruising, replace it with heavier weight Sunbrella that will last indefinitely.
I’m having a local person (recommended for rigging and sail repair) look at it. He can tell me if it’s repairable or needs to be replaced. Should know by next week, if winds calm down.
 
Jun 21, 2004
2,532
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
If the only problem is the Dacron UV cover, I paid approximately $600.00 to have it replaced with a Sunbrella cover 4 years ago.
 
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Jan 23, 2021
114
beneteau 323 Corpus Christi marina
Local guy took sail yesterday (finally had a calmer day). Looked worse than I expected. Had smears of what rigger thought was bottom paint on it!
Surprisingly, this morning the rigger called and said he could repair it. Saves significant time and money.
 
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Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
Local guy took sail yesterday , Surprisingly, this morning the rigger called and said he could repair it. Saves significant time and money.
If it does not work out, I have a sail that belonged to (deceased) "Chuck" from this forum. He had a new one made in the Islands for cheap, and I bought his OEM as he passed this way headed back north. I don't need it, so could part with it.
 
Jan 23, 2021
114
beneteau 323 Corpus Christi marina
Ron20324, that could work. I hope to see the repair in ~2weeks...
(Any idea of your price, or estimated cost to ship to Corpus Christi TX?)
 
Aug 20, 2013
173
Beneteau 311 Port Clinton, OH (Lake Erie)
Fullbore,

I have a Beneteau 311, very similar to your Beneteau 323. I too have a smaller jib, 116% in my case as per the original design. My boat, and presumably yours, cannot readily use a larger jib, because the spreaders go to the rail, while the jib sheets inside the spreaders alongside the cabin. The leech of the jib almost touches the spreaders. The only way to put on a larger jib is to have it go around the spreaders, which would work for reaching, but such an arrangement would not allow the jib to be sheeted in well for sailing closehauled.

Instead, I bought a reaching asymmetrical spinnaker for making progress in light air. It is cut as an A1.5, and will sail as high as 55 deg true in 4 kn of breeze, although is best from 60 deg down to about 140 deg true in light air, and 75 to 140 deg in moderate winds. I am still mulling over getting a larger sail for reaching in light air days (less than 7 knots). My boat came with an extended jib lead track for some reason, and it runs almost to the aft edge of the cabin. A sailmaker calculated that I could fit a sail as large as about 142% and still use the existing track (again, by going around the spreaders). Your track may not be as long.

Good luck!
 
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Jan 23, 2021
114
beneteau 323 Corpus Christi marina
CapitalistSailor, thank you.
I hope to see repaired jib tomorrow or Thursday (dependent on rigger and wind). If repaired jib isn’t “good enough”, will call rep to have new one made...
 
Jan 23, 2021
114
beneteau 323 Corpus Christi marina
Ron20324 doesn’t seem to be interested in selling the spare jib, which is ok with me.
 
Jan 23, 2021
114
beneteau 323 Corpus Christi marina
Hi Ron20324, sail repair has taken longer than expected.
Repair person just told me its done, but required a lot of work. Based on what he said, I don’t have high hopes that it’ll look good...
I hope to finally see it tomorrow.
 
Jan 23, 2021
114
beneteau 323 Corpus Christi marina
Ron20324,
I saw jib today. Looks okay. Might be about as good as older OEM sail (current repaired one is OEM).
Didn’t have chance to sail it yet, hopefully will before much longer...