Advice for newbie on equipping a boat with a Main Sail

[Redwood707]

I just made the leap a few weeks ago and purchased an 18 foot Laguna Windrose 18. The hull seems to be in decent shape and the trailer is solid. Im not great with money so the price was right and ill be able purchase the rest at reasonable intervals avoiding wallet shock (probably not). The boat came without a boom or main sail. The mast from what I can tell is the original and is around 23.2 ft. in length. I went to a local yachting store and purchased a boom that is 8ft (roughly same shape 2.5''x3'' Elipse or teardrop), original would have been 7.5ft if my research is correct. My question (thank you if you have read until this point) is what are my options for buying a sail? does the foot of sail need to be all of the 8ft boom or can it be shorter? I found a website that leads me to believe I can purchase a brand new main for my exact boat windrose 18 see link here
Windrose 18 - MZC Cruising Mainsail - Charter | MAURIPRO Sails alternatively I found some used sails but the dimensions arent very close to the E= 7ft and P=20.What type of things can I do to run A shorter sail? say like a 16.5 by 7.5? Im as green as it gets when it come to sailing but I have been in and around water my entire life and have been fascinated by sailing. Any help would or advice would be much appreciated. I am going to attach a few pictures.
Slide opening in Mast= 3/16 or 1/4 see photo Mast is 23.2 ft Main Halyard block/pulley is mounted just below the top im guessing its at 23.0
Slide opening in Boom= 1/8 Boom is 8 feet long

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

There are parts of this world where boat sails are handmade from cloth, burlap, cotton sheets,, denim, etc… in every shape and size imaginable, all of which propel the boat. Obviously, trimming a poorly dimensioned sail Is a first world problem.Buy what the budget allows and have fun.

 

[rgranger]

Have you tried rigging the boom yet? I would be worried that the longer boom is going to hit the back stay when you tack. If it turns out the boom is too long you can most likely drill out the rivets on the end cap of the boom and hacksaw off a few inches of the boom until it clears the back stay.. put the cap back in the boom and re-rivet it in place.
Regarding your search for sails check out a place called Bacon Sails out of Annapolis.

 

[Redwood707]

Thank you Don and Thank you Rgranger. I have not tried rigging the boom yet(picked up today), waiting for the gooseneck(ordered online today RL 252 Luff Groove Roller Reefing Gooseneck) I was told at the shop this one would get me pretty close. I think ill need to find or fabricate the small cube piece that goes inside the coupling joint on the gooseneck. I will check clearance of the boom from the stern stay tomorrow, any excuse to step the mast is fine with me im still in awe when I look at it with the mast up. If the boom doesnt need to be cut down I think ill take your advice don and try and get my hands on this sail (specs below). how much space to spare is normal on a boom? if boom is 8 can the foot of sail be 7'11'' ? Thanks very much for any input.

17' 2''

18'10''

7' 11''

5.5- 6OZ DACRON

ROPE LUFF

SINBAD

FAIR 4

BIT DIRTY- MISC STAINS

M 23-007

53

$95

 

[Joe]

That's a decent price for the mainsail. Plus now you have all the particulars you need to shop around for a used sail. beside the P and E you want know the connection method. Slugs are mentioned and your pictures verify that. Slides are flat, slugs are round (like rope). You might check the Minney's Yacht Surplus site. They have an inventory list with the dimensions that you may get lucky. If the sail you find is too big you can take it to a sail loft and have them re cut it for you. Good Luck.
note: I didn't see much on the Minney's site, they feature more cruising size stuff.. but it's always fun to peruse for hidden gems.

 

[shemandr]

If the sail is 7'11" and the boom is 8' you can sail the boat so long as the boom clears the backstay.
You will want the sail to be a few more inches short of the end of the boom so you can rig an outhaul - A very important sail control.
It adjusts the tension along the foot of the sail which changes the depth of the lower main. The depth of the main controls the power of the main and relates to its ability to sail upwind.
I can't tell from the pictures what is at the aft end of the boom.
(To rig an outhaul there is a block somewhere on the end of the boom that turns a line from the clew of the sail to a cleat more forward on the boom. You need at least 3" of travel for the outhaul. The tightest or most stretched position needs to be a few inches from the block to avoid jamming. There are dozens of ways to rig an outhaul so put a little care into choosing one. Look at other similar boats and see what diameter line they use which will choose the block size, and the cleat size. Don't skimp on line - you should use ultra low stretch to be able to set the draft and have it stay there. Use a cleat that will retain the line even if comes loose - like a jam cleat with an eye and a stopper knot in the line.)

 

[Scott T-Bird]

One thing you should realize is that the boom will always be a little longer than the E dimension by at least a few inches. If you don't have to cut the boom down to clear the backstay, there will be no consequence to having a boom that is a little longer, except that it may look a little funny. But do not buy a used sail with an E dimension that can't be stretched nearly flat with the outhaul. Sometimes there is a black band placed around the aft end of the boom to indicate the E length (the top of the mast may also have a band to indicate the uppermost position of the head of the sail). If you want a new sail, then you can get one with the P & E dimensions intended by the designer of the boat. If you want to buy used, then work with the closest fit you can find, but if you find a sail with P & E dimensions too long for the spars, you will never get a good sail shape. If you find a sail with smaller dimensions, there is no harm, you just don't have as much sail area as you could have. The boat will pretty much sail just as well and less sail area is better as the wind strengthens to the point of reefing anyway.

Is the boom and the mainsail the only items you need to sort out before your boat is ready to sail? If so, good luck with the new endeavor? Let us know if you find that there are more missing parts.

 

[rgranger]

A new sail is a joy…. It makes a world of difference in how a boat will behave.

 

[Redwood707]

Wow, thank you all for commenting. So I do need to cut the boom down, which means that sail with E 7'11'' is too long. I'm gonna cut the boom to 7'5'' or 90'' which is what the boat would have had when it was new and it looks like that's all the clearance I really have from the back stay. So that being said, when sail searching I should probably be looking for a sail with an E of about 7'2'' or shorter? I seem to be getting in the range where a lot of the sails are intended for windsurfing which is interesting.
I'm attaching a few photos of the hardware on my boom. let me know what you guys think about how to make that gooseneck work with what I've got. RL 252 Luff Groove Roller Reefing Gooseneck

 

[rgranger]

You will want to save and reuse this end cap...

It contains an internal outhaul. Remove the two machine screws seen on either side and the cap should slide out. After cutting down the boom, I'd reinsert the cap using pop rivets.

The other end of that wire will exit the boom someplace near the gooseneck... I could not tell from your picture how your goosneck attaches to the mast. It kind of looks busted to me.... You may need to order a new one from Dweyr.

 

[jssailem]

I'm gonna cut the boom to 7'5''..... I should probably be looking for a sail with an E of about 7'2'' or shorter

Yes Shorter. When you have the new boom set up, you will want to then measure the length of the sail foot on the boom. Note you want the mainsail clue to fall in the bow end 1/3rd of the outhaul. This gives you 2/3rd's adjustment to draw the foot taught and about 1/3rd to ease the sail. Once you get your new to you sail set on the boom, you will discover it will stretch. It will grow longer not retract.

 

[markwbird]

Check out Loong Sails. Good sails for less.

 

[rgranger]

I went to Bacon Sails to see if they had a used sail that would fit (they did not) but they did have your boat's sail dimensions on file and I had it generate a quote for a new sail....

If you go this route... I would suggest adding a second reef point to your sail.

It is real easy to spend other people's money but this seems like a very good price to me and it is a very reputable company. I've ordered new sails from them before and they were exactly more than I had expected. A new sail will make your boat happy... and you won't have all of the extra costs that come with trying to get a used sail to fit properly.

 

[rgranger]

... and ask them if they have a loose foot option.

 

[jssailem]

Sailboat Data shows the foot of the MainSail as 7ft.
E: 7.00 ft / 2.13 m
The Luff as 20ft
P: 20 ft / 6.10 m

 

[shemandr]

I hate to beat this to death but the boom has to clear the backstay at the height of the boom both sailing and with the sail down. It is usual practice to raise the boom at the dock (With a topping lift or rigid vang) to make more headroom. And many pull the boom off to one side to make the cockpit more useable. There's a sweet spot there that you have to find.

 

[rgranger]

I hate to beat this to death but the boom has to clear the backstay at the height of the boom both sailing and with the sail down. It is usual practice to raise the boom at the dock (With a topping lift or rigid vang) to make more headroom. And many pull the boom off to one side to make the cockpit more useable. There's a sweet spot there that you have to find.

Yup, I think 7.5' is going to be the max lenght of the boom and the foot of the sail should be 7'.

(Thanks @shemandr ...I've been waiting years to use that emoji)

 

[Redwood707]

Great info, many thanks. I'm still waiting for my gooseneck in the mail before i move foward with cutting the boom. I think I am going to have a new main made, probably BaconSails. How can I confirm what luff hardware I need? Theres a couple pictures at the beginning of my post that show my mast (first post third picture). I think I have round rope style track? 3/8 or maybe 5/16. Looks like those come standard with a loose foot so I'm good on that.
Thanks everyone

 

[rgranger]

Great info, many thanks. I'm still waiting for my gooseneck in the mail before i move foward with cutting the boom. I think I am going to have a new main made, probably BaconSails. How can I confirm what luff hardware I need? Theres a couple pictures at the beginning of my post that show my mast (first post third picture). I think I have round rope style track? 3/8 or maybe 5/16. Looks like those come standard with a loose foot so I'm good on that.
Thanks everyone

You can PM me an address and I'll send you a 3/8 sail slide. I have a bunch of old ones sitting in a box. You can then see if it fits in the slot. I'm not a fan of bolt rope... slides go up and down much easier.

 

[Redwood707]

The goose is loose! so the gooseneck showed up, know my next task is attaching the boom to the gooseneck. the sliding part fits inside the track on my mast and slides nicely but how about the other end? what keeps it from sliding out of the boom? I think I must be missing something. I understand that that I will attach a line to the bottom end of the goose for the "holddown?" and the vang will keep the stern end down but it just seems like if a force pushes the boom apart from the mast it could just slide right off that pin.