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Question on refitting sail to roller furling

4K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  jimq26 
#1 ·
I have a Lancer 25 MkIV that I am installing a CDI roller furler on. I either need to retrofit my existing sale or buy a new one. I have not used my 150 genoa but pulled it out of the bag today. The fabric is stiff and almost like new but it has about 10 or 12 what look like dot repairs on it. This does not appear to be an old sail. I've never seen these dots before on a sail. 2 questions:

1) Can someone comment on using the dots for repairs. Do they hold up.

2) If I have this 150% made into a roller furler and I don't want to take it down less than a 110, should it work?

I really don't have $750 up to buy a new sail

Harris
 
#2 ·
The "dot" repairs are probably self-adhesive Dacron tape repairs. Holds up fine. Used all the time for patches where the spreaders contact the sail.

Cutting your hanks off and sewing on a luff tape will work to fly your existing jib. I did exactly that when I converted to RF. BUT, without the addition of a sacrificial UV strip to the leech and foot, (or a sleeve), the sail will be sunburned after a season or 2 if you store it on the furler in the sun. Essentially, the last foot or so of the leech and foot will turn yellow and become soft, lose strength, and be worthless.

Problem becomes the value of doing possibly hundreds of dollars of modifications to an old sail. Have a sailmaker look it over and give you his opinion. It may well be that the better value is a new sail. Of course, sacrificing your old sail for one season, and then getting a brandy-new one next year is another possible approach.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Having a sailmaker convert that 150% to roller furling will cost you in the area of $400. Sounds like the 150% is not a sail you would commonly use. if that's because you don't sail in a light air region, using one as you primary RF sail will be not satisfactory. You can partially furl the sail, but the result will not be pretty or effective, although it can be done.

You would be better off looking at buying a new RF jib of the right size, say a 130%, have it cut for roller furlling reefing, and sell the 150% for what you can get. The end result may not cost you much more than converting thew 150%.
 
#4 ·
The "dots" may have been nothing more than mounting points for self adhesive tell-tales which are famous for loosing their ribbons. They will be on opposing sides of the sail along the luff and likely a few near the mid-points of the sail.

Removing the hanks and adding a luff-tape is not a costly process, nor is adding a strip of dark Sunbrella along the foot and the leach for sun protection. I don't know if the CDI can be used for reefing but if so, and you intend to use it that way, have your sail maker add some rope sewn into pockets along the luff near the mid-point so that the sail will maintain at least some of its shape while reefed (remembering of course, to adjust your sheet leads as well).

FWIW...
 
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