Furler sail choice - opinions wanted

[longterm]

I've bought a Profurl 320 for my 1990 C30T; when I bought the boat in February it came with 3 jibs: a 110, a 150, and a storm jib that I'll probably never use.

I'll need to get one of my jibs cut down and prepared for the furler; here is my thinking:

If I use the 150, I'll have more flexibility than if I use the 110;
I can get foam luffs put on it so it'll sail better when I reef it;
On light-wind days in summer, I can use the 150 fully-extended. Here in Nashville, wind is often light in the summer, and this boat will never leave fresh water.

I singlehand a lot.

A friend said, if there's little or no wind, a 150 won't help much, and when I'm single handing it's going to be tough to handle.

I could have both sails cut down, but I don't want to switch out sails, and doubt I'd ever do it.

What would you guys do, use the 110 or the 150?

Bob

 

[Brad on Vashon]

Well, one thought is the cost of recutting the sail and adding the luff foam is about half the cost off new sail. If they are more than 5 YO, you may be better off getting new. So age might be my first consideration. What my sailmaker told me is that a 140 is about the most you want, but when you roll in you are not just reducing the area, but also where the sail Area is... The CE is lowered, so if you pick the 150, when you roll in 15%, it's a different 15% than when you've to a straight 135. The same thing is true with the 110, you will have a very small part of the sail left-- you would probably never reef it, unless you were in a squall.
The bet advice I can give is to talk to a sail maker.

 

[Calif. Ted]

On light-wind days in summer, I can use the 150 fully-extended. Here in Nashville, wind is often light in the summer, and this boat will never leave fresh water.

The 150, I wouldn't bother with the foam luff, just have your sailmaker make sure the luff is strong enough to take about 3 turns on the furler. If it was bad enough you wanted to furl more you'd probably just furl the whole thing and sail on the main.
How long would you stay out if a big storm hit anyway?

 

[longterm]

The bet advice I can give is to talk to a sail maker.

problem with talking to the local sailmaker is that she has a vested interest in doing the mod...

I think I'll call her and get a set price though...

 

[longterm]

The 150, I wouldn't bother with the foam luff, just have your sailmaker make sure the luff is strong enough to take about 3 turns on the furler. If it was bad enough you wanted to furl more you'd probably just furl the whole thing and sail on the main.
How long would you stay out if a big storm hit anyway?

I don't know what the foam luff actually is; the sailmaker recommended it, saying it would make the sail work better when reefed; do you not agree? Is she recommending unnecessary work?

 

[longterm]

Well, one thought is the cost of recutting the sail and adding the luff foam is about half the cost off new sail. If they are more than 5 YO, you may be better off getting new.

They're the orig. sails, so they're 22 years old. I think he's sent them to a sail company in the past...

Can I buy a sail already made for a furler? What would ou choose: 110, 135, 150?
What if I were to go with a 135 and not worry about reefing?
I see a 135 from North for $1275; good choice?

 

[Stu Jackson]

Many folks have come to the conclusion that a 130 or 135 is the best "compromise".

 

[longterm]

Many folks have come to the conclusion that a 130 or 135 is the best "compromise".

That's what I'm thinking... And I'm leaning towards a new sail rather than cutting down the 150--but it'll come down to the cost to modify the 150...

 

[Calif. Ted]

I'd think it would be $600 to $800 or more to adapt your old sails, besides the luff you'll need to add a sunband, might not be cost effective with a 22 yo sail.
For a new sail a 135 would be a good compromise as Stu suggested.
When you furl a genny it starts to bag in the center, a foam or rope luff is added to try and maintain a more even furled shape.
North has always had a good reputation, and that price seems pretty good depending, might check it against a few online lofts.

 

[Bad Obsession]

I carry a 155 and a 100. I RARELY use the 100 but it is nice when I need it. It is a bermuda cut with a high clue. I can fly that and a full main in 15 knots and I am very comfortable.

I would never do another 155. The boat came with it and I thought it was a good idea. A 135 is a better sail.

I have 6 years worth of single handed cruising on the Chesapeake Bay. Trust me, I wish I had a 135. The 155 is not necessary.

 

[longterm]

I carry a 155 and a 100. I RARELY use the 100 but it is nice when I need it. It is a bermuda cut with a high clue. I can fly that and a full main in 15 knots and I am very comfortable.

I would never do another 155. The boat came with it and I thought it was a good idea. A 135 is a better sail.

I have 6 years worth of single handed cruising on the Chesapeake Bay. Trust me, I wish I had a 135. The 155 is not necessary.

I'm sold! I think I'll get a price from our local sailmaker, but will probably go with a new 135 from North--they seem to have the best price.

 

[rbmcintire]

I carry a 155 and a 100. I RARELY use the 100 but it is nice when I need it. It is a bermuda cut with a high clue. I can fly that and a full main in 15 knots and I am very comfortable.

I would never do another 155. The boat came with it and I thought it was a good idea. A 135 is a better sail.

I have 6 years worth of single handed cruising on the Chesapeake Bay. Trust me, I wish I had a 135. The 155 is not necessary.

Bad, is that 100 a furling sail, or do you have a wire (or spectra) luff in it and use an attachment point on deck? I am trying to devise a way on our boat to quickly set a small jib or high-cut staysail. One thought suggested to me so far, was to add another fairlead up on the mast, 12" below the existing headsail fairlead. I already have a second jib halyard run.

Longterm, it's recommended when you get your furler sorted out and prior to measuring for that 135, that you see that a halyard fairlead is in place, down from the masthead to get separation from the headstay. This will really prevent a halyard wrap happening at the wrong time.

The previous owner and several dockmates have told me the C-30 is such a headsail-driven boat (particularly the TR w/ the bow sprit) . Do you ever have conditions where you like to drop the main and run headsail only?

 

[dj2210]

Long term
What do others in your lake use? Yesterday was a nice wind- 12 knts gusting to 22 knts. There were several boats running under 150 alone- no main. I have a C27 and ran a 135 with a reefed main to give a nice balance. For me reefing the main before reefing genoa works best. I have a new 135 with the stripe foam luffs and not sure if I would do it again. Makes the leading edge a little bulky.

 

[Stu Jackson]

rbm, that "halyard fairlead" you mention is actually called a halyard restrainer and is a small block on the mast that increases the angle from the halyard to the top swivel, and is required on almost all furlers except the ProFurl which comes with its own built in restrainer at the top of the foil. You're right about the purpose and correct about measuring.

FWIW, for those buying new sails, there's nothing that says a 135 has to be a deck sweeper, and you can order your new sail with a high cut clew to improve visibility forward. Any jib size is measured by the LP, not by the height of the clew or by the luff length. So that's why many suggest using a local sailmaker who can come to your boat and discuss your options with you. One also has to take into account the height of the drum above the deck. One size does NOT fit all (boats).

And, yes, masthead rigged boats, like the C30, C34, C36, C25, C22, etc, can all run easily with just the jib. We do it a lot. Two weeks ago I sailed against a flood upwind with just the jib and had a nice sail, got where I wanted to go. I've mentioned that my mainsail cover is the last "work" I have left on my boat.

 

[mortyd]

when i was shopping for a new head sail i got so many opinions - all of them of course expert, all of them of course correct and all of them different - that i decided to call catalina and the first thing kent asked was where i sail. since the answer was long island sound - the dead sea - i chose a 150 and have been happy. of course it's a compromise and rarely the perfect sail for a given condition, but so what?

 

[Bad Obsession]

My 100 was a hank on sail that was on the boat before the profurl was added, from what I can gather on my boat's past. I had a sail maker add luff tape to it and I will just put it on the furler when winds are forecast to be high. I didn't have the UV tape sewn on it because I don't leave it up unless I plan to use it again. It folds nice and stores in a small area too.

It is difficult to change once you have left the anchorage when you are single handed. This being said, I have done this a number of times. I should probably be on a harness and jacklines at this point for my own safety since the autohelm is running.

A good 135 with a foam luff would probably eliminate my need for the 100.

 

[tsheie]

LT, I'm adding RF this spring (not a Catalina, a SanJuan7.7) and got a new RF sail from SailWarehouse in Monterey (Jim Johns 831-646-5346 www.thesailwarehouse.com), made to order by RollyTasker and was $750.. as you can see, it's easy to spend more. Maybe you've already done it.. I'm not advertising for 'em, I'm just happy with the sail and price..

 

[Brad on Vashon]

Lt, yes you absolutely can buy one pre made with the Luft foam. I bought mine from North sails that way. You really do want the foam. It helps the sail maintain it's shape and efficiency when you've rolled it I about 20%. But given they'e original, unless you are really having to pinch pennies, I would seriously consider a new sail. Here in Seattle, that was about $1700 for a cruising head sail for a 34 foot boat from the North sails loft.

 

[longterm]

Do you ever have conditions where you like to drop the main and run headsail only?

I doubt I'll do that much at all; if the day is too windy to singlehand, I'll bring someone with me or not go at all. Saturday we had some really high winds, and had a fun day of sailing--this was with a 110 though and not a 135, and there were 3 of us.

I might be inclined to sail on just the jib someday though... Never say never...

Since I'm converting from hank on jib to a furler, could my existing jib halyard do what you were describing? I'm not familiar with it.

 

[longterm]

Long term
What do others in your lake use? Yesterday was a nice wind- 12 knts gusting to 22 knts. There were several boats running under 150 alone- no main. I have a C27 and ran a 135 with a reefed main to give a nice balance. For me reefing the main before reefing genoa works best. I have a new 135 with the stripe foam luffs and not sure if I would do it again. Makes the leading edge a little bulky.

That's about what we had yesterday here as well; I agree, I'd probably reef my main first...

There are only 4 C30s on the lake I'm on; there are probably a ton more on the other lake, but I don't sail there... As to what they have on their boats, I don't know; two of these sit in their alps all the ime, and I've not seen the other out in a while. I do knew that the J105 that I crew on a lot has a 135, but of course it's built for racing...