Wrongly cut new genoa

[Aac]

I picked up a new #2 furling genoa and a new main from the sail maker; hoisted the genoa and was surprised that the shape is so different to the old one. I haven’t gone for a sail yet but I’m looking for hints as to what to look for in regards to genoa shape. The sail maker came to measure the boat and silly me I relied on their expertise. I gave the sail specifications from the boat manufacture as well.

In hoisting the new genoa the bolt rope came out of the foil twice. On inspection I found that the bolt rope on the new sail is a lot smaller in diameter than the old sail. To my untrained eye this seems dangerous as I imagine the sail being ripped out of the foil in 30 knot winds. Should I be worried about this.

The worst part of the genoa is that it’s impossible to sheet it in close to the top spreader (2 spreader rig). The old sail could have touched the top spreader if sheeted in too tight; the closest the new sail comes is about 0.5m. My feeling is that the shape is wrong and I am losing a lot of sail area high up where it counts. This is not to mention that the clew is higher than before when I specifically asked for it to be lowered by about 10cm. The sail maker has fixed the old genoa four times and the mains once. I’m going to overlay the old sails with the new ones to check the differences. I shudder to think what the main will look like but I will reserve judgement until I go for sail.

In short if the sails are cut wrong should I expect the sail maker to rectify the problem by re-cutting and does a recut (enlarged) sail have any draw backs.

[mitiempo]

If the sailmaker came to the boat and measured it is totally their problem if it is not right. Call them and explain the problem. Get them out to see it and make any adjustments required. It sounds like they made at least a mistake on the bolt rope if not the shape as well.

[SJ34]

Invite the sailmaker out to the boat to see the sail in use themselves. There's a chance they can show you how to tune the sail to get the correct shape. If it is truly miss-cut they should stand behind it and make it right, any good sailmaker would.

The pros and cons of a re-cut really depend on the sail construction. If it is a laminated one piece sail then the sailmaker just made a huge, expensive mistake. If it's a dacron sail built in panels then it's a fairly easy repair that should not be detrimental at all to it's performance or durability.

I had problems with my last new headsail feeding properly due to a very slightly smaller bolt rope diameter (possibly newer, lower stretch line). I shortened the tether on the pre-feeder about an inch and the problem went away. I've used the sail in some pretty severe conditions and haven't had any problems with it pulling out of the foil. You should compare the physical size of the bolt to the foil slot, I don't know what margin can be considered safe though.

[blt2ski]

THey may have put in a #5 luff tape instead of a #6 or a 6 instead of a 7 or some such thing. Not sure if this would be there's or your fault if someone did not specify etc. If you specified wrong to a company like FX that is strictly mail order, not sure if they will fix. If you had some one come out, the sales rep speced wrong, most will fix.

Then shape.....depedning again, on who did the measureing, or if you have a semi std rig like a catalina, then the shape could be for many reason. Clew could be lower, as some one speced or did not spec a higher cut clew or some other issue.

marty

[mitiempo]

Marty

The poster stated the sailmaker came to measure the boat. They should make good on it as it is their mistake.

When I get fittings made in stainless it's the same. If it is simple I measure, if complicated I get my welder to measure - if he's wrong it's his mistake and his dollar.

[Faster]

If the sail came out of the foil on a quiet hoist, it's definitely going to come out in a breeze... That will need addressing for sure, and the sailmaker should have known what size luff tape was needed.

As to the shape and fit the sailmaker should be happy to come aboard and show you how to best trim the sail(s)... if there's any issue with the fit he'll see it first hand and should make good on that too.

[SVPrairieRose]

Bummer

[mitiempo]

Nothing that cannot be fixed. Keep us posted.

Some in your area may like to know the name of the sailmaker though.

[puddinlegs]

Originally Posted by mitiempo

Nothing that cannot be fixed. Keep us posted.

Some in your area may like to know the name of the sailmaker though.

Yep. Luff rope is an easy fix, sailmaker pays. Distance from spreaders, you need to look at the jib car lead. Have the sailmaker go out for a quick sail with you. I'm sure they'll get it sorted out.

[JimsCAL]

Defintely the sailmaker should make the sail right. As noted, changing the luff tape is easy. I suspect the trim issue is because of the different clew height assuming you didn't move the genny car. Not sure its going to be worth recutting just to lower the clew. See what the sailmaker says.