Winter Sail Care

[ianrmaciver]

I'm looking to give my sails a winter treat with a bit of TLC.
Stitching on the batten pockets, a UV strip on the genoa and a general clean/tidy up.
Any recommendations for sailmakers in East Anglia . I'm based in Cambridge , so Thames Estuary
to Norfolk Coast.
If pennies allow , I may also consider a Yankee . Any thoughts on "do's and don'ts " for a furling
Yankee.
Ian

[Robert Alston]

Ian

I'm based in East Anglia as well and keep Vedette on a swinging mooring at Aldeburgh and when out of the water on her trailer at home near Bury St. Edmunds. I have had good experience of Sail & Cover Ltd who are based at Woolverstone Marina IP9 1AS. Tel 01473 780075.

I am also going to get them to valet my sails this winter. Ask to speak to Sarah.

Robert Alston

[Robert Alston]

Ian

I have a furling Yankee for my CC. I also have a Genoa so have experience of both sails. I would say it is almost a must have item and find it works very well and the boat is well balanced. I now rarely use the genoa. I find seeing "traffic" is easier and tacking too is less of a struggle to get the Yankee past the inner forestay, though to be honest tacking with the genoa is not difficult even if it means partially furling the sail to go about.

All the best

Robert Alston

[Dennis]

Mary Ann was supplied from new with both Yankee and Genoa.
I last used my genoa during the "race" at the 2014 Capecutter rally at Mylor. I have done 1060 Nm since then.

Nuff said.

I will be giving my sails some TLC this winter too. They will each get submerged in diluted bleach for a few days and will emerge in pristine condition, the mildew, bird crap, and footprints will have magically vanished.

I have tried propriety sail cleaners before, but I find that cheap and cheerful bleach works better. I use Tesco own brand "Everyday" variety, costs something like 30p for 3 litres. I dissolve 3L of beach in 90L of water in a plastic dustbin and carefully flake the sails in to avoid air pockets. Leave as long as it takes to remove the mildew etc, usually 3 to 7 days.

[ColinMcD]

Foxglove.pdf

Ian -

If you are considering a new yankee I can report that I took delivery of a new yankee (and a new staysail) from Jeckells of Wroxham in the spring of 2015 and am well pleased with them.
I think I have managed to reduce a photo down to the necessary size showing the sails working on our boat (Foxglove, no. 56): the sheeting at the time that the pic was taken hadn't been fully sorted out, but I am very pleased with the way they turned out, and not least with the way they handle and work.

Jeckells already had the "Standard" ? CC19 sail measurements (I wonder if Bob used them in the past?).
I told them I wanted a flatter-than-normal cut, with furling, possibly reefing in mind, and the genoa to be a 'yankee' cut, and they produced a proposal for dimensions, one or two of which I think I then tweaked. Also some cloth type/colour/weight options.

If and when I want new foresails, I'm sure I would use these unchanged as patterns.

As regards furling - I intend to stick with the Ronstan furler as supplied on the boat. The removal of the stabiliser from the top swivel before I owned the boat (presumably on the grounds that there's no stay on which to run the stabiliser!) has somewhat compromised the smooth furling of the sail when it's under heavy load, but I have a cunning plan which I hope may overcome this. The Staysail is also on a Ronstan furler and works a dream. Stabilised top swivel of course.

I am contemplating adapting the sail to a reefing spar - retaining the use of the Ronstan drum and top swivel - by using a Luff Spar from Aero Luff Spars. This is so that I can effectively shorten sail to windward in really heavy conditions to balance a double-reefed main when the full staysail is simply too much.

If you're interested in speaking to Jeckells, I can give you the details of my order/spec. and so on. (The off-white sails are my choice, not theirs! I'm going to an off white main too when the budget allows.)

Colin
FOXGLOVE 56

[ianrmaciver]

Thanks for the replies guys , I have used the sail and cover team at Wolverstone for a temporary/quick sail repair , and yes they were very helpful.
I'm bit nervous of dipping the sails in bleach Dennis....my sails are tan ...I'm assuming yours started life white , you didn't just bleach them white ...joke.
Colin , your experience with Jeckells sounds very interesting. They contacted me a month ago offering "valet service" which always sounds like an invitation to spend money .However I am interested in a Yankee.
I seem to remember there being lots of posts on Yankee dimensions....together with a discussion on mast heights etc.. Is Foxglove an HM boat and is the mast "standard" , whatever that means.
Minnie 86....is HM...the furling gear is Ronstan . The idea of converting from furling to reefing is very attractive.
I'll have a go at sending a PM and perhaps you could fill me in on Jeckells.
Ian
Minnie 86