New main sail - Hunter 23.5

MikeyJ

.
Dec 15, 2018
41
Hunter 23.5 Carlyle Lake
Okay, time for a new mainsail. Seem like loose footed is the thing now. My old one has full battens. Is it worth the extra? What kind of fabric should I go with? How about the weight? What else do I need to know??

Lake sailing, an occasional race, a few times a year. Hunter 23.5
 
Jun 8, 2004
10,024
-na -NA Anywhere USA
Personally I would go with a standard main. I think a full battened mainsail for this boat is not needed. Raced and won with a standard main with battens at the end of the sail. I was very much involved in the design of this boat. However others will disagree but you are the owner and I did sail like you too.
 
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Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Last I knew sailmakers were Rx’ing mixed full length and partial. All full length can make the sail more difficult to hoist and the sail always looks properly trimmed even when it isn’t. On the other full length reduces flogging one of the major factors in sail cloth breakdown. See what your sailmaker Rx’s.
Consider one set of reef points. Sail# and boat insignia? Leech and foot lines? Sail cloth and weight? Spreader patches?
 
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Sep 17, 2018
90
Hunter 23.5 Charleston, SC
I've been fantasizing about a new mainsail for a while now. My boat came with a sad triangle from an overseas sweatshop. The original sail was moderate roach, full batten, bolt rope, which keeps the mainsail in shape with minimal intervention. I think the original design has some room for improvement, however. The B&R rig deserves a fat roachy main. My next sail will be modeled after the current Marlow-Hunter 22. Loose foot, fat-head, partial-full batten.

h22leftprofilelr.jpg

I would add spreader patches because my boat likes to go downwind with the mainsail flat against the spreaders. Our boats are only rigged for a single reef so make it a deep one.

Really your best outcome will come from writing down what you want and taking your list to a local loft and let them pick out the right fabric for your budget and do the design from measurements. It sucks spending half the value of your boat on good good sails but it sucks even more limping around with a shitty bedsheet. I am saving my pennies and will be putting my order in soon. :thumbup:

-Z
 
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Jun 8, 2004
10,024
-na -NA Anywhere USA
Hunter along with B & R believed in a larger main for power with if I recall reefing (1) which in most cases will work for the po requirements as sailing on a lake is different than at the coast. However the age of the sail was not said along with other iissures. I saw no need for full lbatten mainsail on this boat but others will think differently. My experience comes from involvement with the design and selling quite a few which included sailing. Again suggest talking with dave groshong at the forum store as they back up their equipment.
 
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Likes: MikeyJ
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Regarding the big roachy main - I agree. It's free sail area and beneficial in terms of aspect ratio. I would love it if it looked like Spitfire wing - supposedly the most efficient wing shape.
 

MikeyJ

.
Dec 15, 2018
41
Hunter 23.5 Carlyle Lake
I've been fantasizing about a new mainsail for a while now. My boat came with a sad triangle from an overseas sweatshop. The original sail was moderate roach, full batten, bolt rope, which keeps the mainsail in shape with minimal intervention. I think the original design has some room for improvement, however. The B&R rig deserves a fat roachy main. My next sail will be modeled after the current Marlow-Hunter 22. Loose foot, fat-head, partial-full batten.

View attachment 179779

I would add spreader patches because my boat likes to go downwind with the mainsail flat against the spreaders. Our boats are only rigged for a single reef so make it a deep one.

Really your best outcome will come from writing down what you want and taking your list to a local loft and let them pick out the right fabric for your budget and do the design from measurements. It sucks spending half the value of your boat on good good sails but it sucks even more limping around with a shitty bedsheet. I am saving my pennies and will be putting my order in soon. :thumbup:

-Z
Fat head? Is that what it's call? I do like that sail! No sail lofts around me. So I need to know what I'm talking about when I start asking for what I want.
 

MikeyJ

.
Dec 15, 2018
41
Hunter 23.5 Carlyle Lake
Would that be legal in club racing.(not that I would do many. Just once in a while)
 
Sep 17, 2018
90
Hunter 23.5 Charleston, SC
Fat head? Is that what it's call?

Would that be legal in club racing.(not that I would do many. Just once in a while)
That's a good question and I think technically what I posted is a 'flat-top' main. I'm not a racer but I think most orgs would give you a penalty for it since it is a significant upgrade from original. I think a true 'fat-head' main looks more like this:

43E1DC91-389C-4360-BB6F-FF378D3A648E.jpeg
(Hunter 25-2--From elsewhere on this forum)

You could probably slide with this if it was white and you weren't cleaning up the fleet.

I spent some time looking for reviews of the SBO Store sails for Hunters and the few mentions I could find were positive. You might give Dave G a chance and see what he can do for you.

-Z
 
Feb 18, 2011
315
Hunter 260 Cave Run Lake, KY
@The Rabbit has some nice photos of his flat top main on his H240- see this discussion, with photos on page 2 comparing it to the original main: