Using sails from another boat???

DougM · Dec 13, 2014

The area of the sail is a function of the length of the luff (which is about the length of the forestay), the foot, and the leech. The foot of the sail can be anywhere from just about parallel to the deck to angled upward to allow some visibility under it, which would dictate the leech length. In some cases the head of the sail by design may not hoist all the way to the top of the forestay. A theoretical 100% jib would fill the area between the front of the mast and the forestay.

kito · Dec 13, 2014

You could add a pennant at the tack long enough to get headsail up to the top. I use one on my C22 to give me better vision.

jimg · Dec 13, 2014

If you are looking at a "110" from a Catalina 22 it is probably even smaller than what you have. The 110 refers to the percentage of LP to J (mast overlap, more or less). A Catalina 22 110% jib is 99.5 sq. ft. A Tanzer 22 standard jib is listed as 106% and 113 sq. ft.

Google Sailrite sail plan database. All the various measurements for your boat and almost all others will be listed, along with definitions of the various measurements.

Brian D · Dec 13, 2014

Agree with both above. I was going to to raise my foot but I see I do not have enough room at the head. But the sail size from <100% to >100% is really a decision you have to make. Really strong winds, smaller sail. Light winds, use a genny.

To get the sail higher up the forestay, add a pendant to the tack of the sail. For now, you can use anything such as a non-stretch rope or wirerope.

Also, try this site for used sails. http://baconsails.com/sailsearch

Benny17441 · Dec 13, 2014

You are indicating a 110 sq ft jib do not confuse with a 110 % jib which measure the overlap of 10% beyond the mast. You would be better off measuring the length of the "foot" and the length of the "luff". The luff to cover the length of the forestay less a few inches to allow for necessary room to stretch and tighten. Then the "foot" to get the desired overlap 100%, 110%, 115%. I would say a Genoa starts around 130% and usually goes up to around 155%. Make sure the your cars and their location can accommodate the sheeting for the larger sails.

centerline · Dec 13, 2014

Monaco said:
I recently bought a Tazer 22 sailboat and "apparently" the jib is too short and won't raise all the way. (I say apparently because 6 people couldn't figure it out)

The specifications in the manual call for a 110 sq ft jib, so I googled it and found a 110 for a decent price but it came off a Catalina. I'm no sailboat expert (which you probably figured out) but I know there's multiple ways to cover 110 sq ft and I'm wondering if there is some kind of design standard that sail makers follow? In other words, can I use the Catalina sail?

http://www.tanzer-26.com/docs/T22Manual.pdf

I would conclude that the other 6 people that you had helping you werent "experts" either

...

so... what i understand you are saying is that when the tack is attached to the stemhead fitting, and you pull the halyard, the jib head does not go all the way up....

so when you do this, when you pull the clew back towards the mast and streach the wrinkles out of the sail, how close does the clew get to the mast?.... and how far off the deck is it?

dont count the sail as unusable because it probably will be the sail you will want in higher winds.... the boat should sail fine with it but wont develop full power in lighter winds.

a 100% jib should reasonably fill the triangle made by the forestay, mast, and deck...

and depending on the sizes of headsails you end of with in your inventory for the boat, there is little sense in buying sails that are close to the same size... so with that particular jib you already have, there is probably little need for a 100% jib also.... maybe a 110-120 and then a 140 once you get comfortable with the boat... this way you will have sails for a wider range of wind conditions....

rardiH36 · Dec 13, 2014

Looking at your owner's manual, unless your new boat has been converted to a roller furling head sail setup, you have the traditional hank-on jib. Adding a pennant would be a work-around solution for a too-short roller furling jib. For a hank-on, just hoist it up until it stops.

How short from the top of the forestay is the sail? I ask for two reasons:

1) The drawing of your boat on the cover page of the manual shows that although the Tanzer is a masthead rigged boat, the jib pictured looks maybe 2-3 feet shorter on the luff than the length of the forestay. So perhaps your sail matches this? Can you tell if your sail might be original?

2) Are you generally new to sailing? If so, won't hurt to use your (perhaps) too small sail for a while until you get used to the boat. With time you will better know what you need for your boat and typical sailing conditions. And you will better understand the how to evaluate the condition of replacement used sail. Or be able to better interact with a sail maker if you instead opt to order a new sail.

Also, if sail lofts exist in the Tampa area, go visit a few. The sail maker can assist with your questions. And also they frequently have sails that were abandoned (when a customer orders a new sail) the loft might be happy to sell to you. Advantages are you can inspect the sail on the spot. And I have found the prices for sails discovered by this method to be much better than offered by firms that are in the business of selling used sails.

rardiH36 · Dec 13, 2014

In case you haven't discovered yet, you might be more successful looking for info about your boat here:

http://www.tanzer-26.com/

Some photos do suggest that a smaller luff jib than the full fore stay length are fitted on some boats.

Also within the site is link to what appears to be Tanzer 26 forum of sorts. You might try to ask questions here:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/tanzer/info

Joe · Dec 13, 2014

Benny17441 said:
You are indicating a 110 sq ft jib do not confuse with a 110 % jib which measure the overlap of 10% beyond the mast. You would be better off measuring the length of the "foot" and the length of the "luff". The luff to cover the length of the forestay less a few inches to allow for necessary room to stretch and tighten. Then the "foot" to get the desired overlap 100%, 110%, 115%. I would say a Genoa starts around 130% and usually goes up to around 155%. Make sure the your cars and their location can accommodate the sheeting for the larger sails.

Sorry... that is not the way sails are measured. The foot length has nothing to do with it. It is the LP or Luff Perpendicular expressed as a percentage of the "J" dimension (fore deck length) that describes a sail's size. Not how much the foot overlaps the mast.

If you do a little geometry you will see that the LP and the J are both the height of their respective triangles.... therefore the number also represents the relationship between a particular sail's area (1/2 LP x L(luff) and that of the fore triangle (1/2 J x I (mast height from deck to head stay).

In the fore triangle the J and I are the base and height. In the sail the Luff and LP are the base and height.

The foot length is typically a foot or two longer than the LP, except on Yankee cut sails. So a 100% working jib will still have some over lap.

http://thesailwarehouse.com/cgi-bin/web_store_TSW.cgi?page=measure.html