Sail size on on sails, is there a reason?

[Shorefun]

I have noticed on a lot of sails there is the size and type labeling. My Hunter 170 has h170 on it. I see most sails seem to be marked that way on the smaller boats.
Is there a special reason why this is or just advertising?

 

[Jackdaw]

I have noticed on a lot of sails there is the size and type labeling. My Hunter 170 has h170 on it. I see most sails seem to be marked that way on the smaller boats.
Is there a special reason why this is or just advertising?

Its done for advertising for sure, and recognition of One Design fleets while racing. When you get new sails, often the builder will replicate the graphics. Or close. The sails than come with a boat will almost always have them. Lots of smaller boats are still on their original sails!

 

[dlochner]

I have noticed on a lot of sails there is the size and type labeling. My Hunter 170 has h170 on it. I see most sails seem to be marked that way on the smaller boats.
Is there a special reason why this is or just advertising?

It is part of the branding, just like Ford puts Ford on its cars and trucks, Volvo has the diagonal across the radiator grille, and numerous other products.

And as @Jackdaw says, when racing with multiple one design fleets it helps to identify which fleet the boat belongs to.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Lots of smaller boats are still on their original sails!

Guess I have a "smaller boat" then.

Years ago Sail magazine did an "insignia" book, I still have it on the boat in our library.

 

[Parsons]

I used to laugh at people who had Ford or Chevy belt buckles. Can you imagine building your personal image based on a truck brand! But ... I'm immensely proud of my Catalina 36 Class Mark, and have it on several shirts and bags I own. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[weinie]

I cut the c/27 logo off my old sail on my first boat when I replaced it. I've been meaning to put it in a frame and hang it in my office.

 

[Joe]

Sail makers will normally ask if you want the insignia included.... sometimes there's an extra charge. They will also ask if you want a set of numbers pressed on the sail... it can be your hull no, phrf no, or your phone number,,,, what ever.... but the point is this... go ahead and have them installed rather than buying the numbers and doing it yourself to save money. (there's an ugly story behind this comment )

 

[capta]

Literally, for years I wondered at what the sail number on my main referenced, assuming it was an ID number of some sort for racing. One day it dawned on me it was the last three digits of our documentation number and I felt pretty damn stupid. Is this a common practice among yacht club racing fleets?

 

[dlochner]

Literally, for years I wondered at what the sail number on my main referenced, assuming it was an ID number of some sort for racing. One day it dawned on me it was the last three digits of our documentation number and I felt pretty damn stupid. Is this a common practice among yacht club racing fleets?

It is usually the hull number of the boat, i.e., 1st, 2nd, etc. My hull number is 113 which is the number on the sail, the hull number in the HIN, and the last 3 digits of my Documentation number. It was the 113th 36 foot Sabre sailboat built. I think when a boat is documented from the factory, the last digits in the registration number are the hull number. At least it appears to be that given your experience and mine.

Other numbers, usually much longer, are US Sailing numbers. @Jackdaw will know better about about that.

 

[Jackdaw]

It is usually the hull number of the boat, i.e., 1st, 2nd, etc. My hull number is 113 which is the number on the sail, the hull number in the HIN, and the last 3 digits of my Documentation number. It was the 113th 36 foot Sabre sailboat built. I think when a boat is documented from the factory, the last digits in the registration number are the hull number. At least it appears to be that given your experience and mine.

Other numbers, usually much longer, are US Sailing numbers. @Jackdaw will know better about about that.

Unless part of a ISAF recognized class, boats sailing in international competitions must have a sail number issued by the boast’s national authority, in our case US Sailing. They typically issue a 5 digit number that’s costs $100. That number stays with the boat. You can buy a shorter one or one with consecutive digits for more. That number will revert to US Sailing when you sell the boat.

 

[agprice22]

I understood the number was a hull id which went with a manufacturer’s insignia and model: I am... Telstar 28, 304...

 

[capta]

My PEA number should have ended in 81i from what I understand, but someone somewhere screwed it up and it's 811 on the document now and forever! Still, though close, that isn't 813, but as I said the ON is. Not that I care or it's a big deal, but it is interesting, I think.

 

[Parsons]

Sail numbers for race identification are completely up to the owner, unless (as @Jackdaw pointed out) you are in international competition. For most racing, these numbers are just unique numbers for the race committee to tell the players apart. I like to think of them like high school / college player numbers - picked by the player as long as they fit a model and are unique. Mine happens to be the hull number, but it's not necessary. I probably will never enter the old C36 into an international competition, so I'm safe with an unofficial number!

 

[Jackdaw]

Sail numbers for race identification are completely up to the owner, unless (as @Jackdaw pointed out) you are in international competition. For most racing, these numbers are just unique numbers for the race committee to tell the players apart. I like to think of them like high school / college player numbers - picked by the player as long as they fit a model and are unique. Mine happens to be the hull number, but it's not necessary. I probably will never enter the old C36 into an international competition, so I'm safe with an unofficial number!

The good part of getting a number from US sailing is that it pretty much guarantees it will be unique anywhere you sail. At clubs like WYC were we have 30+ boats in fleets, this can be an issue. Our SIs actually address this, any new boat that comes to the club that duplicates a sail number of an existing boat must change their number (normally by adding a 1 to it) to stay unique.

 

[Jackdaw]

BlueJ was originally bought and sailed in the UK, and had sail numbers issued by the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) that is the governing sailing body in the UK. That sail number was GBR 5443T. I wanted to keep the same number in the USA (so I could use both old and new sails), but our scoring system at WYC cannot handle letters! So I dropped the T and just use 5443. If the RC ever sees one of our asyms they know to drop the T as well.

 

[Justin_NSA]

I used to laugh at people who had Ford or Chevy belt buckles. Can you imagine building your personal image based on a truck brand! But ... I'm immensely proud of my Catalina 36 Class Mark, and have it on several shirts and bags I own. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

What about the folks who have brands tattooed on their bodies ?? I once saw a guy in Texas, there's a big outlet mall by the TX/OK border. He had "Budweiser" running the length of his forearm.