Kevlar Foresail, Roller Furling..?

[Fairwind]

I recently purchased a Lancer 28 which came with 5 hanked on foresails. We have installed roller furling and converted the working jib and 120% Genoa to roller furling, projects that went smoothly and successfully! But our BEST foresail performance-wise is a 110% hanked on Kevlar number that pulls the boat like a locomotive. It is a stiff, nasty sail to handle, cannot just be stuffed in a sailbag but must be carefully folded and stowed when not in use. The foredeck crew (my wife) hates it. I'm toying with the idea of removing the hanks and installing a luff-tape so it can be roller furled. (If our Sail-Rite machine can even sew this stuff). Does anyone know if a Kevlar sail will tolerate being roller furled and what sort of UV resistance does Kevlar material have? (will a sun-cover be needed). What I'm really asking is does anyone own or even seen a roller furled Kevlar sail? Any info appreciated..

 

[Tim R.]

You can certianly sew on luff tape and it will probably roll just fine but it will only perform well if all the way out. You would want to sew on a cover to protect it from UV. I would probably take it to a local sailmaker for this type of conversion.

 

[sailingdog]

Yes, you can roller furl a Kevlar sail. Adding a sacrificial UV protection strip when you take it in to get it modified to fit the RF unit is probably a wise idea as well.

 

[Fairwind]

Yes, you can roller furl a Kevlar sail. Adding a sacrificial UV protection strip when you take it in to get it modified to fit the RF unit is probably a wise idea as well.

Here are a couple of shots of the sail in question before the roller was installed..I'm going over to the boat and get it NOW!

 

[Prime Time]

Furling Kevlar Sail

Best to check with the sail maker. May furl but not reef due to the different stresses applied. Many racers at our club use laminate sails and can furl them but never reef them.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I agree

Why on earth does anyone feel the need to quote the entire original post when submitting a reply? Besides being totally unnecessary, it is annoying.

I think, perhaps, that folks don't know that clicking on "Reply" automatically pops the full quote up. Folks can reduce the amount of quotation by editing down between the "/quote" blocks. Hitting Reply (quick) doesn't, nor does "Post Reply" button.

It does take up a lot of space. In many cases, quoting just what's necessary is more pertinent. Many have been very good with posting spread out quotes and filling in their answers.