Took my C 25 out for only the second time this season and when I was flaking the main it started to break away at the seam. My guess is its the orig which makes it 20 yrs. old. The question is should I go back to Catalina Direct, or am I better off with a loft in my area? Grigs
Main Sail ????
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Sail Loft
I recently blew out my jib. I took it to a sail loft who repaired it for pretty cheap. My sail is much newer than yours and yours being 20 y/o you may consider just replacing it since the sail cloth is probably worn out and blown out. If you want to get through the end of the season then you may consider having it resown.
I recently blew out my jib. I took it to a sail loft who repaired it for pretty cheap. My sail is much newer than yours and yours being 20 y/o you may consider just replacing it since the sail cloth is probably worn out and blown out. If you want to get through the end of the season then you may consider having it resown.
Check a Local Sail Loft
They will give you a correct diagnosis about the viability of the current sail or if you should go with a new one. Hint: There are good buys/competition for sails at local boat shows. Grigs: I didn't realize that you are from Warwick. I live in Seekonk and replaced my Main at the Newport show 3 seasons ago. Best deal (and comfort) I found was with Steve Thurston of Quantum (formerly Thurston) Sails in Bristol. They made the sail on site (not offshore as many do) and had it ready in about 4 weeks.
They will give you a correct diagnosis about the viability of the current sail or if you should go with a new one. Hint: There are good buys/competition for sails at local boat shows. Grigs: I didn't realize that you are from Warwick. I live in Seekonk and replaced my Main at the Newport show 3 seasons ago. Best deal (and comfort) I found was with Steve Thurston of Quantum (formerly Thurston) Sails in Bristol. They made the sail on site (not offshore as many do) and had it ready in about 4 weeks.
Sewing Machine
My Wife has done some minor sail repairs with good luck using a standard sewing machine. If you sail a lot or race buy a new sail. But if you sail a little locally a repair might be the way to go. Extensive repairs such as sewing back on the sun protector on our jib we took to Schurr sails in Pensacola. But minor repairs just require a needle and some thread. We actually made a new mainsail for a 22' boat using a kit from sailrite. It was kinda fun. We had a full basement floor to lay things out and used a standard sewing machine. though not racing quality it was a good functional sail. It was prety simple. Sailrite provided the pattern and we just had to cut and sew. The hardest part was hand sewing the leather parts.
My Wife has done some minor sail repairs with good luck using a standard sewing machine. If you sail a lot or race buy a new sail. But if you sail a little locally a repair might be the way to go. Extensive repairs such as sewing back on the sun protector on our jib we took to Schurr sails in Pensacola. But minor repairs just require a needle and some thread. We actually made a new mainsail for a 22' boat using a kit from sailrite. It was kinda fun. We had a full basement floor to lay things out and used a standard sewing machine. though not racing quality it was a good functional sail. It was prety simple. Sailrite provided the pattern and we just had to cut and sew. The hardest part was hand sewing the leather parts.
sail rot
If it's that old and it's coming apart at the seams, chances are the rest of it is degraded. You might be able to repair it, but how much time are you gonna buy? Why take it off, take it to a sail loft, pay for the repair, bend it back on, only to have another seam rip out at another spot? I'd get some sail repair tape and put a band-aid on it, then shop for a new sail during winter lay-up.
If it's that old and it's coming apart at the seams, chances are the rest of it is degraded. You might be able to repair it, but how much time are you gonna buy? Why take it off, take it to a sail loft, pay for the repair, bend it back on, only to have another seam rip out at another spot? I'd get some sail repair tape and put a band-aid on it, then shop for a new sail during winter lay-up.
Dacron Lasts a Long Time
Dacron when not exposed to sunlight lasts a long time. Age isn't the problem it is how much has the sail been used. Also for some inexplicable reason some sail lofts use nylon thread to sew their sails. The nylon "rots" much more quickly than the dacron sailcloth. One of my Mainsails is original 1980. I took it to Schurr Sails who originally made the sail for evaluation. He said that the sail was blown out a little but that unless I was racing it was a good serviceable sail. He said the same thing about my 160% genny. He did repair the sun protector on the genny. I'm a lucky man . Two serviceable mains.two serviceable 160% gennys and a 110 genny. A asynmetrical spinnaker rounds out my loft. Only the spinnaker is less than 20 years old. All of these sails came with the boat.
Dacron when not exposed to sunlight lasts a long time. Age isn't the problem it is how much has the sail been used. Also for some inexplicable reason some sail lofts use nylon thread to sew their sails. The nylon "rots" much more quickly than the dacron sailcloth. One of my Mainsails is original 1980. I took it to Schurr Sails who originally made the sail for evaluation. He said that the sail was blown out a little but that unless I was racing it was a good serviceable sail. He said the same thing about my 160% genny. He did repair the sun protector on the genny. I'm a lucky man . Two serviceable mains.two serviceable 160% gennys and a 110 genny. A asynmetrical spinnaker rounds out my loft. Only the spinnaker is less than 20 years old. All of these sails came with the boat.
Here's What I Did...
I blew out a 2 ft. section of leech last October. Kerr sails is here in Tulsa so I took it to him for diagnosis. He said it was brittle enough that sewing in a patch would likely just lead to tears elsewhere. He put a sticky patch on it and said good luck. My main was 21 years old, it had served a noble life...LOL. I got four bids for a new main. One from the local loft (Kerr), North, Doyle, Island Planet in Oregon (Tasker), and compared on-line pricing for my boat from Sail Warehouse and Kelly-Hanson. I sent email bids to the four lofts all with identical criteria to make sure they all were bidding the same thing. With the exception of North who was insisting that I buy a loose-footed main and they didn't want to sell me anything else, everyone offered the same thing. Many on-line retailers of sails are marketing off-shore sails which, despite other's comments, doesn't mean that the quality suffers. Price isn't always a reflection on quality. If it's important for you that your sail carries a particular builder's insignia, then so be it. The C-25 is such a common sail plan, I don't think you will have trouble finding a quality sail at a good price. Catalina Direct has very good pricing on most of their items, but don't neglect to check out other lofts and on-line retailers.
I blew out a 2 ft. section of leech last October. Kerr sails is here in Tulsa so I took it to him for diagnosis. He said it was brittle enough that sewing in a patch would likely just lead to tears elsewhere. He put a sticky patch on it and said good luck. My main was 21 years old, it had served a noble life...LOL. I got four bids for a new main. One from the local loft (Kerr), North, Doyle, Island Planet in Oregon (Tasker), and compared on-line pricing for my boat from Sail Warehouse and Kelly-Hanson. I sent email bids to the four lofts all with identical criteria to make sure they all were bidding the same thing. With the exception of North who was insisting that I buy a loose-footed main and they didn't want to sell me anything else, everyone offered the same thing. Many on-line retailers of sails are marketing off-shore sails which, despite other's comments, doesn't mean that the quality suffers. Price isn't always a reflection on quality. If it's important for you that your sail carries a particular builder's insignia, then so be it. The C-25 is such a common sail plan, I don't think you will have trouble finding a quality sail at a good price. Catalina Direct has very good pricing on most of their items, but don't neglect to check out other lofts and on-line retailers.
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