New Mainsail

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DJN51

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Oct 26, 2009
377
Hunter 23.5 East Chicago In
Need a new mainsail for my 95 23.5 hunter.Plan on staying with Doyle. Strictly a daysailor on Lake Michigan,at least 4 times a week 5 to 6 hrs a sail.Plan on adding second reef,stay full battens.what would be the plus or minus of going loose foot.over standard rope. Hope to see you at Strictly Sail Chicago next weekend.
 
Jun 8, 2004
10,532
-na -NA Anywhere USA
Generally, most new sails are made off shore as they are cheaper unless you get one made locally. In factr some lofts get precut sail cloth and basically sticth them up. The good ones will actually cut and sew.

As for machinery, materials and so forth, they are about the same but it is the quality of work by the individal sail loft that you should concentrate on. A standard jib is suggested and if you do not have roller furling, invest one.

Crazy dave condon, godfather of the 23.5
 
Jun 9, 2008
1,818
- -- -Bayfield
Doyle is a good and respected sail maker. If you are talking the Chicago area, then John Baxter from that area can help you answer your questions. There are a number of sail designs and materials that you can choose from to suit your needs and the cut will have something to do with the type of sailing you do, the characteristics of the water you sail on and the average wind velocity, etc. If you are a cruising sailor, then a simple cross cut pattern is the least expensive and dacron probably is your choice. If you race, then maybe a laminate with a different design pattern might make sense. Full battened is fine, but can present problems with hoising because of the rigidity of the battens and the pressure applied, so you can have problems hoisting and lowering quickly. But, there are black slugs called Allslip which work better than the white slugs most of us are used to. Also, more expensive systems like Harken's Batt Car or Strong Engineering's luff car systems are designed for that, but for a small boat like yours, you aren't going to want to spend that kind of money. If you are going full battened, then I am sure they will say you need a foot that attaches to the boom. If not full battened, then a loose foot is just fine and probably less money. Ask all the sail makers at the Striclty Sail Show and compare answers.
 
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