Lancer 28 Mainsail help!

[Jesse]

Hello all. I'm a new Lancer 28 Sailboat owner and I still have the original sail. After buying the boat I have only been able to sail about 3 times and now the slides (external) began to stick in the mast slide and then I ripped the sail. Long story short, I ripped the original sail so much that it no longer even hoists properly. It is rotted, stitched a ton, and no longer useful.

I also discovered that my sail iis significantly smaller (shrunk perhaps) than the 27.00' and 9.25' (P, E) that many websites list. Do sails shrink over time?


Where in the heck do I find a new/used sail that will work for this? I am having such a difficult time. I know that it has a bolt-rope foot and has external slides (3/4").


Can anyone please help????

 

[RichH]

Yes, boltropes do shrink, sometimes significantly when the sail is used 'hard'. Everytime you stretchout a boltrope it becomes a wee bit shorter and fatter when you relax it (called hysterisis). Top quality mainsails usually have the boltropes so arranged that they can be 'conveniently' and economically restored back to the original dimensions by a sailmaker or a simple DIY project. Most 'bargain' sails dont have this ability to be 'readjusted'.

Bacon Used Sails, Annapolis MD for 3 used sails that will 'fit' your boat: http://www.baconsails.com/search/bo...i=32.00&boat_j=11.50&boat_p=27.00&boat_e=9.25

But if you can show a digital picture of the tears and they arent in a 'vital' stress area, sometimes a good sailmaker can affect a good/cheap patch and thus give you time to 'save up' for a proper sail.
Got a pic?

hope this helps.

 

[Jesse]

I don't actually have a picture, but I will gladly post one. The tears are along the leach (2 seams actually). I have had the sail mended by upholstery folks, but I don't think that sail repair was their forte. I'm all about getting a used sail (like the $250 one listed on the baconsails) but my main concern is that it wont have the proper foot or luff configuration (slides, grommets, etc)


Are sail manufacturers/distributers usually able to configure this things for you or is it best that I buy the sail as is and send it to a repair facility like sailcare. I just want to do this one right.

Your input is greatly appreciated