[frers-list]RE: Racing Headsail Choices

Tue, 8 Sep 2015 06:48:35 -0400

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I too had to return a heavy #1 twice for spreader patches before going to a
local sailmaker to fix it.

Rich
Moose

On Tue, Sep 8, 2015 at 6:24 AM, Arthur Kelley <akelley@optonline.net> wrote:

> Edgar,
>
> Interesting point about the clews. With my new light/medium #1 we found
> that the tack is too low. The spreader patch was below the spreader and too
> much of the foot was on the deck. Instead of connecting it to the tack
> fitting we clip the tack shackle into another snap shackle that had been
> fitted for a jib that did not have it's own shackle. That extra 3-4" made a
> difference.
>
> Art
>
> On Sep 7, 2015, at 11:54 PM, Edgar Smith <Edgar@geomatrixproductions.com>
> wrote:
>
> I've been pretty disgusted with the life of the we get from North 3DL
> sails and recently we've tried a few alternitives. In your list of choices
> you mention molded sails like Doyle Stratus and North 3DI. You may already
> know this, but North actually offers two different molded sails, the 3DL
> and 3DI. The 3DI is a newer technology than the 3DL. It is made of molded
> fibers only, and there is no mylar layer. The first generation 3DIs were
> gray, and the new ones are black. They are about 25% more expensive than
> 3DLs. The Paneled mylar sails are usually slightly less than the 3DLs but
> in some cases even slightly more expensive. People seem happy with the
> 3DIs, but I have not tried them. Art Kelly's is fast.
>
> Saying which sail lasts the longest depends somewhat on your definition of
> when the sail is no longer good enough.  In my experience, a paneled mylar
> sail will hold together a long time but it's shape will move more making it
> a slower sail, while the 3DL holds it's shape petty well until the mylar
> gets brittle and then the sail begins to come apart pretty quickly. On the
> Frers, we have been able to race our 3DLs for a maximum of 4 years. Neither
> of our last two mains were very good after 3 years. Late this summer we
> bought a new main by a successful sail designer in our area; Fries Sail
> Design. Some very good boats use his sails, and I got good feedback from
> the owners about how well they've held up. The main cost a few dollars more
> than the quote we had for a North 3DL. John Fries says we should expect
> better longevity from it than we saw with the 3DLs because he uses a
> superior mylar and a higher thread count. I'll know in about 3 years if
> that is true. We'll race Wolverine in two weeks, and should get a good
> speed comparison with Dave's new 3DL North main. So far we think it looks
> really good.
>
> The Fries sail is made a a facility in Capetown. I assume it is made by
> the Ulman loft located there, but don't know for sure. One difference I
> noticed was that the sail has a similar load path thread layout as the 3DL
> but it is made with seams, so the treads are not actually continious the
> entire lenght of the sail. The seams look solid, but this could become a
> potential point of failure as the sail gets older.
>
> One thing we've tried to do to get longer sail life is carry both a North
> light/medium #1 jib as well as a medium heavy #1. My thought is that the
> light jib will last longer if we don't carry it up to the top of it's range
> and the medium heavy #1 will hold it's shape better in the teens. But as
> Dave pointed out, it gives us one more sail choice decision to sweat over.
> And unfortunately, we have not really seen a speed advantage against
> Wolverine when we've had the medium heavy #1 up against their Light medium
> #1.
>
> We also bought a paneled North kevlar/mylar 145% #2. We don't use it much
> and I thought it would last longer than our previous 3DL #2. We'll see.
>
> I should also caution you that the last two sails we bought from North -
> the heavy #1 and the paneled #2 were both cut with the clews so low that
> they to-blocked before we could trim them in all the way. Both sails had to
> go back to North to have the clews re-done. They are now O.K., but no
> longer perfect. The North sailmaker said this is not the case, but I think
> the loft must have an incorrect measurement on file for the Frers 33 track
> height and have not updated it. I am not the only boat that has had this
> problem with low clews on North jibs and it seems to go back many years. If
> you order a North jib I would ask them to measure and make it clear that
> you will not accept the recut sail if you have this problem.
>
>
>
>
>

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<div dir=3D"ltr">I too had to return a heavy #1 twice for spreader patches =
before going to a local sailmaker to fix it.<div><br></div><div>Rich</div><=
div>Moose</div></div><div class=3D"gmail_extra"><br><div class=3D"gmail_quo=
te">On Tue, Sep 8, 2015 at 6:24 AM, Arthur Kelley <span dir=3D"ltr">&lt;<a =
href=3D"mailto:akelley@optonline.net" target=3D"_blank">akelley@optonline.n=
et</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"marg=
in:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir=3D"auto=
"><div>Edgar,</div><div><br></div><div>Interesting point about the clews. W=
ith my new light/medium #1 we found that the tack is too low. The spreader =
patch was below the spreader and too much of the foot was on the deck. Inst=
ead of connecting it to the tack fitting we clip the tack shackle into anot=
her snap shackle that had been fitted for a jib that did not have it&#39;s =
own shackle. That extra 3-4&quot; made a difference.=C2=A0<br><br>Art</div>=
<div><div class=3D"h5"><div><br>On Sep 7, 2015, at 11:54 PM, Edgar Smith &l=
t;<a href=3D"mailto:Edgar@geomatrixproductions.com" target=3D"_blank">Edgar=
@geomatrixproductions.com</a>&gt; wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote type=3D"c=
ite"><div>

</div></blockquote></div></div></div>
</blockquote></div><br></div>

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