Catalina 36 Tall new mainsail recommendations?

[jviss]

Greetings,

I think I need a new mainsail. It was made in 1988. It's a fully-battented, 6 batten sail made by Kent in Michigan. It has three reef points, the first a flattening reef that takes out a big shelf in the foot, the other two regular. It's very well made, but I fear is blown out.

There's dizzying array of options for main sails: cross-cut or tri-radial, dacron or laminate, big roach or not, etc., etc.

We are coastal cruisers. I would like good performance, and good performance life as well as structural life. I like light weight and ease of handling. I also don't want to break the bank.

I would be very interested to hear what folks have gone with, and why, and how it worked out.

Any praise for sailmakers, issues, quirks, regrets, modifications, and so forth would be interesting as well.

Thanks,

jv

 

[hvbaker]

If your last set of sails were from 1988 you are not likely to be willing to spring for high end sails. That will eliminate the laminates and other performance sails. What kind of wind do you routinely sail in? Try fx sails, the sail warehouse, north sails, Doyle sails. From those sights you will probably figure out what you need and are willing to afford. Also don't be afraid to call the lofts and ask them for recommendations based on your intended use.

 

[jviss]

If your last set of sails were from 1988 you are not likely to be willing to spring for high end sails.

Bad assumption. I'm not particularly concerned with price, while I still want value for the money.

 

[jviss]

Anybody?

 

[Jared1048]

Greetings,

I think I need a new mainsail. It was made in 1988. It's a fully-battented, 6 batten sail made by Kent in Michigan. It has three reef points, the first a flattening reef that takes out a big shelf in the foot, the other two regular. It's very well made, but I fear is blown out.

There's dizzying array of options for main sails: cross-cut or tri-radial, dacron or laminate, big roach or not, etc., etc.

We are coastal cruisers. I would like good performance, and good performance life as well as structural life. I like light weight and ease of handling. I also don't want to break the bank.

I would be very interested to hear what folks have gone with, and why, and how it worked out.

Any praise for sailmakers, issues, quirks, regrets, modifications, and so forth would be interesting as well.

Thanks,

jv

I know your looking for a new mainsail but I happen to have a 140% genoa made for a 1989 Catalina 36 tall rig! It ended up being too big for my boat.

Its a North Sail - Dacron. Excellent condition (90% life left). No damage to the sail and used only 2 seasons. UV sunbrella cover (dark blue). Luff 44', foot 22'. You can tell this sail wasn't used very much as the tell tails are still crisp and not fraying. The entire sail is crisp for that matter. Previous owner wanted a carbon sail instead for racing. He said he paid $4200 for the sail new. I'd be looking to get what I paid for it. $750 (got a smoking deal because I sail with the guy).

send me PM if your interested

To address some of your questions for a main. Full batten is what you want. I went through this site and got a new Doyle Mainsail and couldn't be happier with it. Made from Marblehead Dacron. You don't want a square top as your not racing and it would just add more heal to the boat with that much more pressure at the mast head. Get a loose foot for better shaping ability. I'd get a Dacron if your not super into racing. That's for people who want the extra 8% performance while sacrificing longevity. As a cruiser you want longevity. The full battens will also help in that as it helps shape the sail better and it prevents wild flogging. Doyle is also priced well. North sails are very popular but are very expensive. I got quotes for around 5k for a 31' boat. Doyle was a little over half that.


Good luck!

 

[jviss]

After some research I'm thinking of replacing both the main and genoa; I like the UK Tape Drive sails. No idea what they would cost yet. Anyone have them?

 

[Kestle]

We sail with UK, and couldn't be happier. However, the boat is in California and we have light, predictable air.

Being from Cape Cod, I'd lean toward Doyle or the North cruising sail fabric. I also agree with a loose foot and full battens. Depending how you sail ( the number of experienced people on he boat) I'd also look into boom furling for the main.

Budget permitting, getting a new main and jib simultaneously does allow a better slot setup IMHO.

Jeff

 

[Maine Sail]

I have purchased 8 or 9 sails fro Dirk at National Sail supply. They are Rolly Tasker sails and a tremendous value. The current owner of our old C-36 is still using the full batten main and it still looks great when we see him on the bay... About half the price of many other lofts...

 

[Stretch]

We stare at those sails along time, so I went with a tri radial laminate from North Sails, the 300 series. I am replacing both sails and getting the old stuff recut for off season sailing, saving the new ones for april to october. They have a grey tint available.
I considered the doyle sails from SBO, but good service for repairs from the local North loft, club racing and a desire for something nicer to shape, and a 15 % discount for this time of year,made my decision. About 8000.00 inc taxes for our sized boats. Only a minor price difference between the laminate and the top dacron. Only a minor difference between a 110 % and the 130 I ordered. Included battens, numbers etc, telltale wdws, 2 reefs.

 

[Stu Jackson]

The ideas here are good. In all the "what sail should I buy" posts, someone has also noted that local lofts offer measurements for YOUR boat and usually (not always) better service, while mail order places offer great pricing but if something goes south you may have issues.

I have two good friends who both bought from a local loft. One loves his sail, the other hates the sailmaker. Go figure.

You have the material, the cost, local vs. mail order, loose vs. bolt foot, foot shelf or not, and all the other things that go with it.

If it was my boat, I'd make up a spreadsheet with features and costs and work from there.

Good luck, happy hunting. I know you're now on the C36 Forum, too, so they might have some suggestions as well.

It would be nice to know what you finally decide.

Best regards,

Stu

 

[jviss]

Yes, Stu, being an engineer and a bit obsessive, you can imagine that I already have a spreadsheet and a requirements and specification document, can' tyou?

I went to the Newport Boat Show yesterday and spoke with Ben Sperry of Sperry Sails again. He's a great guy. After having been quoted by he and the other sailmakers at the "basic" end of the spectrum, I wanted to see what a more high performance fabric and radial construction did to the price. Well, it about doubles it!

I'm really keen on Dimension-Polyant Hydranet Radial. It's a Dacron weave with Dyneema fibers woven in the warp:

DIMENSION-POLYANT adds a new Hydra Net® radial range of styles for radial constructed sails to the successful line of Hydra Net® fabrics. With its special weave and finish Hydra Net® radial features unsurpassed strength and longevity, exceeding the specifications of other wovens and many laminates.

Hydra Net® radial is constructed with an extremely high share of Dyneema® fibers in the warp direction. Hydra Net® radial is an extremely tight weave achieving superior shape retention along with a soft hand. Design targets that were possible with laminates only can now be put into practice with Hydra Net® radial. The Hydra Net® radial range of fabrics comprises several styles that can be combined for step-up constructions.

http://www.dimension-polyant.com/en/Hydranet_2_2_1.php

Take a look at the pdf that's linked there.

Cost? Ben said, roughly, that if a high quality Dacron sailcloth is $15/yard, this is $50/yard. So more than three times the price for the material; though the labor for a radial cut sail is more, it's only marginally more. It increased the main quote, going from crosscut Dacron to radial Hydranet by about 1/3.

He gave me a sample of the material, and it's truly marvelous. It's not at all like a coated Dacron sailcloth, you can feel and see the weave, the texture, and it's somewhat translucent. You can get laminate-like performance, and soft handling and long life, supposedly much longer performance life (versus structural life) than Dacron.

You can also go lighter with this than Dacron for equivalent strength, and it lends itself to step-up construction, so maybe go heavier on the leech, etc.

Really cool stuff.

 

[Stretch]

Very nice, I see what you mean about easy build up, there is 4 layers at the outhaul in the picture.
What cloth weight will you decide on, this looks like a great light air material.

 

[Maine Sail]

Just to give you an idea of National Sail Supply/Rolly Tasker..

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Catalina 36 tall mainsail with top 2 battens full [/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Price: $1479.00[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
8oz dacron, top 2 battens full, bottom 2 standard, 1 reef. Comes standard with leech line with clam cleats at reef and clew, 3/4" internal slides on luff, rope foot, tell tales, flo-stripes, sail battens and sail bag. Construction includes triple-stitched seams, large corner and reef reinforcements, with handsewn leather chafe protection.
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Catalina 36 tall fully battened mainsail [/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Price: $1620.00[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
8oz dacron, 4 full battens, 1 reef. Comes standard with leech line with clam cleats at reef and clew, 3/4" internal slides on luff, rope foot, tell tales, flo-stripes, sail battens and sail bag. Construction includes triple-stitched seams, large corner and reef reinforcements, with handsewn leather chafe protection.
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]

Add a reef = $80.00

Cunningham = $25.00

Flattening reef eye = $30.00

The main on our CS-36 is their "Offshore" series and is beautiful, bullet proof and beautifully put together.. It was less than half that of North Sails, for the identical specs, and they also build their cruising sails offshore, as many are doing today.

 

[steve77]

I just got a new 135% genoa for my C34 from National Sail Supply. They were very nice to deal with and have prices for Catalina sails on their website. Next year I'll be ordering a fully battened main from them.

 

[Maine Sail]

I just got a new 135% genoa for my C34 from National Sail Supply. They were very nice to deal with and have prices for Catalina sails on their website. Next year I'll be ordering a fully battened main from them.

I think I just saw your new head sail at PYS last Thursday........

 

[steve77]

I think I just saw your new head sail at PYS last Thursday........

Very likely. I wasn't there but I think the yard installed it that day. I went out on Sunday and everything worked fine. Until I hit that rock...