Replacement sails - Hood''s Vektran

[tommyt]

Castaways? Don''t think I have seen them mentioned before. Did not find them in my first search attempt on the Web. Information please.

[paulmcquillan]

http://www.cast-aways.com/

[paulmcquillan]

here''s part 2 to the story, in case anyone else finds themselves trying to decide which sail needs to be replaced.

This is the question that started this... “If you had to pick one of the two sails [mainsail or jib] to replace, which would you do first?”
-------
Getting the sailmaker down to the boat cleared things up. After looking at both sails, his opinion was that the main had to be replaced first. three reasons: more patching would be needed, there was no roach to the trailing edge of the existing main, and the existing sail was 1 1/2 feet short.

He made the new sail out of 9.3 oz HA dacron, 2+2 battens, and max PHRF roach. Goes to wx about 10 degrees higher than before. Faster at that new better AWA than the old sail ever was 10 degrees lower

[PhilMraz]

The 1st part of your initial post also inquired about Hood Vektran sails, but I saw no other responses to that question. I bought a Vektran genoa for my previous boat and was very happy with it. One of the advantages is that the specified fabric weight can be lighter than the typical Dacron sail of the same strength. Just as with high tech laminated sails, there is a strenghth to weight advantage. Yet the Vektran was less money than an equivalent laminated sail and I am sure the densely woven Hood fabric would have lasted longer. I just didn''t keep the boat long enough to find out. -Phil