Cutting down a new genoa

ian555 · #1 01-06-2008

I've got the opportunity to buy an unused dacron genoa that is slightly larger than my boat's genoa dimensions. The sail was made for an unfinished project boat (masthead rigged) with a luff length of 34ft whereas my boat is a 7/8 fractional rig with a 32ft luff length. The price is attractive, and I'm thinking of getting a sailmaker to cut 2ft off the foot and remake the tack and clew etc. I want the end result to perform as much as possible like a genoa that was custom-built for my boat, and I'm not sure if this is realistic or not. Will this work, and/or does anyone have experience of doing this?

Faster · #2 01-06-2008

We just did exactly that last week... had a newish sail slightly larger than our rig cut down to fit. It has worked out fine, but I'd let the sailmaker decide just how to recut the sail.

It may cost less to have the head patch redone with new leach cut than to cut off the bottom of the sail and redo that... also you'll save some LP that way.

The other potential complication is just how/where the clew is going to end up in relation to your genoa track and sheeting position, so you may not be able to just take it in and say "lop off two feet here". They will know how best to go about it.

However:
The recut may run to $200-400 so be sure that that plus the initial cost of the sail makes this cost effective... could be you're as well off to get the right sail in the first place.

Omatako · #3 01-06-2008

I had a used genoa on my boat bought by the PO and it was too long on the luff. I gave it to a sailmaker in San Diego and they decided it was best to cut the luff back, perhaps because the luff tape was a bit knackered, I'm not sure.

Anyway it cost me about $320 to recut the sail and I reckon if I had to add the cost of buying the sail paid by the PO, it would have been better to buy a more suitable sail. There are a number of used sail merchants in the US with a vast array of sails. Best check with them first before considering recutting. There is one in Florida, I can't remember the name but found it easily on Google.

Oh, and the other mess-up is that the sail had a number on it. It now has a half a number on it and looks a bit silly even though the sail sets well. All in all, not a satisfactory outcome.

Andre