Roller Furling Sail weight.

[Phillip]

I have a catalina 30 tall rig and Im getting ready to purchase a new furling sail for it. My question to other 30 oners is how high a wind speed can you carry your 135%. Secondly and most important the weight of the sail cloth , I am getting differant qoute some say 6oz others 7oz . I am going to the Bahamas this summer , would the 7oz be better or is it too heavy and over kill...

 

[John]

Cat30TR

MY boat is a 88 I have a150 I think it is 6oz . My main is a stanard rig sail that gets hosted upto the top of the mast for extra standing hight.I think the last owner was tall.The boat sails well in15 knots 18 knots if its not to gusty.I have a window that I dont like to reef in the middle of . when I roll past the window im at about 110 %and my sail gets cut way down.In18knots I go over to obout 21deg. At22knots I roll to about 26 deg.When theres more wind then that my wife calls it a (no sail day) and my sail boat turns into a pontoon boat.My sails are about 8Years old I start to worry about ripping my 150 at 17 knots more wind then that and I start depowering. Ive been think about geting a100 or 110 for nasty days to save the ware on the150and to have a back up.

 

[Chris Gonzales]

6 oz Tasker Sails

Phillip,I own a C30 TRBS and purchased a new 135 6 oz Tasker jib from National Sails about a year ago. This sail has a foam luff for roller reefing. Looks like a good quality sail.Sailing on SF bay in the summer means 20-30 kt winds almost all the time. The 135 is ok with single reefed main to about 18-20 kts and then I feel the need to furl it. I have heard much from other sailors around here that they wouldn't dream of having anything bigger than a 110 on a boat sailing these waters. My 135 seems fine but I always reef and trim the main first to depower before furling. Of course, opinions vary depending on whether one races or not but, a 135 is a good average size for most uses. A 100-110 won't hurt either. If you are woried about being overpowered I would think the "reef early" axiom would apply by furling early or buying a smaller headsail to start. The boat will still move either way.Chris

 

[Tim S.]

Sail Weight

Summer in the Bahamas and Fl waters can be pretty light. Either way, you may wish to consider going with a lighter weight(6oz) 135%, and using UV treated Dacron for sun protection. The reason here being that the uv Dacron is lighter weight for those light air days, yet being true sailcloth, it is stronger and adds strength to the leech and foot of the sail when you are reefed for the stiffer breezes.The Drawback, is UV Dacron is a true sacrificial fabric, and will need to be replaced in about 4 years if left in the sun the whole time. Sunbrella on the other hand is a true cover, but will still require a rstitch in 3-4 years. Sunbrella also lends no strength and is roughly twice the weight of UV stabilized Dacron.