Looking for information/ advice on new main sail for a Hunter 33 (1981). New sailor and the boat we are looking to purchase does not have a mainsail. Not sure how you lose one... We have the dimensions from the owners manual so getting a sail made shouldn't be an issue. My question is how does the sail attach to the mast and the boom? Slugs? Slides? Any advice would be much appreciated
Hunter 33 (1981) Main Sail
- Thread starter mcg23emt
- Start date
Many folks today have loose-footed mains, so the foot connects to the boom at the clew and the tack only. Slides attach the main to the mast.
Ok makes sense, so the foot is not attached to the boom. How do I detemine what size slugs/ slides attach the luff to the mast?
Welcome to SBO forums and to sailing
I would suggest you have a conversation with someone at the SBO store who could help. You could send @Dave Groshong a private message via the forum.
It’s possible that you may require a few other items that he might help with as well.
Typically your main sail has a rope along the foot of the main that slides into the boom. Then there are slides that attach to the luff of the sail that runs up the mast. There are a number of systems for these. If you can take photos of the mast where the sail goes, that may help us see what you might have.
But all of this doesn't really matter too much if you find a sailmaker that can come to your boat, take measurements and see that they need for your mainsail. As you are a new sailor, you would do well to use the services of a sailmaker that can provide this service and see what you need. This is difficult to do on a forum. For example, the slugs that my main sail uses to go up the mast are a very specific size - without precise measurements at the mast, there is no way anyone could tell what slugs are needed in my mast...
Just my 2 cents worth...
dj
First.... get educated... go HERE and study.....It's a good place to get started if you want to learn how sails are measured and priced.
Once you have your sailboat's sail measurements.... you can call around to ANY sailmaker to get a quote.
Once you have your sailboat's sail measurements.... you can call around to ANY sailmaker to get a quote.
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If I were you, being a new boat owner and all, I would find a local sail loft to come out and measure for my new sail.
You cannot really rely on the as-built measurements.
I purchased my first new sail last year, and was fortunate to have North Sails come out to the marina, measure up for the new main sail, and I was very comfortable that I was going to get the right sized sail. I also went with a loose foot.
You can do the same measurements yourself, but if you have someone nearby, they are happy to come out and sell you a sail. I also wanted a full batten, and based on that requirement, it was recommended I add a Tides Strong Track to help with the friction. I am glad I added the Strong Track.
You cannot really rely on the as-built measurements.
I purchased my first new sail last year, and was fortunate to have North Sails come out to the marina, measure up for the new main sail, and I was very comfortable that I was going to get the right sized sail. I also went with a loose foot.
You can do the same measurements yourself, but if you have someone nearby, they are happy to come out and sell you a sail. I also wanted a full batten, and based on that requirement, it was recommended I add a Tides Strong Track to help with the friction. I am glad I added the Strong Track.
Give me a call if you'd like, I'm always happy to help if I can
877-932-7245 x116
Mon-Fri, 9-3:30 Pacific
877-932-7245 x116
Mon-Fri, 9-3:30 Pacific
I would suggest that you phone SailWarehouse in California who can answer those sail-slug questions while you wait. I recently got a 135 and an inner jib from them, made by Rolly Tasker, and can't say enough about the quality and service.
I don't recommend loose-footed mainsails unless the rest of the boat has been designed for it. In fact from an engineering view the traditional system of sail slides in the boom is massively stronger. End-loading a (40-year-old) boom not designed for it is asking for trouble especially if you do not have end-boom sheeting. The vang, also, will bend the boom horrifically.
In fact, with a loose-fitted main, the vang is really not even needed. What does it do then? - it's not adjusting anything about the sail at all. If anything, tensioning the vang with a loose-footed main only ADDS pocket or bagginess - its original purpose was to stiffen the lower forward 1/3 of the sail, which is where undesirable bagginess happens on traditional mainsails. Given a loose-footed sail you can adjust this with the outhaul. And you can't do much else for the sail shape after that. Worse, if you do not have end-boom sheeting, you're adding even more bending moment to the boom which can lead to potentially catastrophic failure of the (40-year-old) extrusion.
Those who are constitutionally skeptical when I say stuff like this may be enlightened by the fact that Selden went to reinforcing their booms for use with end-loaded/loose-footed mainsails by the incredibly boneheaded measure of adding, to inside of the extrusion, a lengthwise horizontal plane, to make it resistant to lateral bending - which happens, and cannot be stopped otherwise, when the whole after half of the sail falls off to leeward through bending the extrusion between the outhaul point and the sheetline. But then some of those Beneteau buyers insist on such huge Bimini tops and other things to avoid the 'inconvenience' of the mainsheet in the cockpit (at the end of the boom where it belongs) that the boats have sheetlines mounted LESS THAN 50% of the boom's length back from the gooseneck! And then they fit a massively expensive hydraulic vang! (or, worse, a Boomkicker.)
I started in this industry in 1972 and I'm a pretty clever guy; but I seriously do not understand the mentality of some people at all. My dad would roll over in his grave. His philosophy might be summed up:
complication + weight + expense = not sailing.
I don't recommend loose-footed mainsails unless the rest of the boat has been designed for it. In fact from an engineering view the traditional system of sail slides in the boom is massively stronger. End-loading a (40-year-old) boom not designed for it is asking for trouble especially if you do not have end-boom sheeting. The vang, also, will bend the boom horrifically.
In fact, with a loose-fitted main, the vang is really not even needed. What does it do then? - it's not adjusting anything about the sail at all. If anything, tensioning the vang with a loose-footed main only ADDS pocket or bagginess - its original purpose was to stiffen the lower forward 1/3 of the sail, which is where undesirable bagginess happens on traditional mainsails. Given a loose-footed sail you can adjust this with the outhaul. And you can't do much else for the sail shape after that. Worse, if you do not have end-boom sheeting, you're adding even more bending moment to the boom which can lead to potentially catastrophic failure of the (40-year-old) extrusion.
Those who are constitutionally skeptical when I say stuff like this may be enlightened by the fact that Selden went to reinforcing their booms for use with end-loaded/loose-footed mainsails by the incredibly boneheaded measure of adding, to inside of the extrusion, a lengthwise horizontal plane, to make it resistant to lateral bending - which happens, and cannot be stopped otherwise, when the whole after half of the sail falls off to leeward through bending the extrusion between the outhaul point and the sheetline. But then some of those Beneteau buyers insist on such huge Bimini tops and other things to avoid the 'inconvenience' of the mainsheet in the cockpit (at the end of the boom where it belongs) that the boats have sheetlines mounted LESS THAN 50% of the boom's length back from the gooseneck! And then they fit a massively expensive hydraulic vang! (or, worse, a Boomkicker.)
I started in this industry in 1972 and I'm a pretty clever guy; but I seriously do not understand the mentality of some people at all. My dad would roll over in his grave. His philosophy might be summed up:
complication + weight + expense = not sailing.
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As of March 19, 2021. I have a set of what probably were original equipment sails from my 1983 Hunter 33. JSI / Jihnson. Headsail is about a 110, 120, roller furling with sun strip. Main I think is single reef. In storage about 20 years. Serviced by a New Jersey sailmaket in '95. I think I put one season on them. Call my cell? 908-247-0540.