Index

Replace Your Sails - Blade, Cloth, Loft Contacts, Tight Piston Hanks, Black Sails.

All the vendors were within about $50 of each other.  One of them has an office about 120 miles from the lake I sail at.  Their salesman/sail maker came to my boat to measure the rigging and spent a good bit of his Sunday morning teaching me about various sail designs.  We talked a lot about jib lead placement.  He also concluded, as did Mick Roberts, that the genoa track (abeam the cockpit) is too far aft for a small jib.  We kicked several possibilities around.  His favourite was to mount tracks on the edge of the cabin roof and run the sheets inside the inner shrouds.  He believes this will give the best possible performance.  Almost as good and easier to install, would be tracks mounted on the deck parallel to the cabin, roughly as far out as the chain plates.   (See Tech Tip F06).  I will install the tracks, a standard West Marine item, after the jib arrives.  In the meantime, I noticed that my 115% jib sheet blocks are removable from the cars, so I'll clip them to the toe rail till the permanent deck tracks are installed.

I want to make several general points:

• Most sailors aren't sail makers and many don't know how to measure them or the rigging properly. 
• The sail representatives who do this for a living are happy to come to your boat to do their job.
• The "big name" vendors are not as expensive as I figured they would be.
• There have been many advances in sail design since the SJ23 was designed and a competent sail maker can help you benefit from those advances.

MY NEW JIB - And now the specifics.  The working jib that North Sails made for me looks nothing like the original.  It is full hoist to the masthead and is quite narrow.  Instead of a short stubby sail, I now have a long thin sail, sort of like the wing of a sailplane.  I've noticed that the boat heals less, feels less laboured and is more comfortable in the wind conditions when I need a working jib.  The boat goes faster too.  It really dances across the water instead of wallowing through the waves.  See Note 1.  For those of us who are PHRF racers, there might be a penalty since the sail suit no longer complies with the "class rules."  On the other hand, there is no class association in any formal sense.  My SJ23 has never been measured nor raced in PHRF, so I don't know the answer to this.  North Sails got my business and I was quite pleased with the results."  Hal Mueller.

NOTE:  The style of jib that Hal is referring to is called a blade sail (North Sails).  A friend of mine has a blade for his SJ28 and he swears by it.  He has both control and performance in the medium heavy air that Hal talks about.  Unfortunately I have to take his word for it since we never had the weather to hoist this sail on his SJ28 and he has since sold it.

In 2003 a bunch of us who sail Wabamun Lake invited Dave Miller from the North Sails Richmond, BC loft to speak at our club meeting in Edmonton.  Dave offered the following tips;

• A racing mainsail is generally loose footed so it is easier to induce a baggy shape for calm upwind performance or to catch and push for downwind speed.  Not so a mainsail with a bolt rope contained in a boom groove.
• The shape of the back third of a mainsail is the most important.  The tell tales should always fly free.  This eliminates vortices that equate to drag for sailing to windward.
• A mainsail should have at least two reef points to prevent stretching the cloth in really strong winds.  Don't exceed 20⁰ of heel.
• Full battens extend the life of a mainsail as they prevent flogging.  The top two battens do the most to support the roach and minimize flogging.  A mainsail without battens is simply no good!
• A spinnaker is generally made of nylon or Mylar.  Store it dry to prevent colour bleeding.

Dave Miller.

___________________________ NORTH BLADE _____________________________

In Fall of 2020 Bill Sweeney decided to replace his aging jib with a North Sails blade instead of a factory dimension jib. 
It is quite likely this is the same design Hal Mueller bought from North Sails, Portland in 1998.  Not only will this jib work better with the main, it can roll up correctly on the foil since it is a full hoist jib.  See Tech Tip F10 & Tech Tip F10b.

The left drawing shows a Clark 110% jib modified for a furler. 
Luff 20' 6", foot 9' 1", Leech 18' 2".  ~80 ft².

The right drawing shows a North Sails 110% blade (not to scale) that Kerry Poe of North Sails, Portland designed in 1998 for an SJ23 E/W a furler.
Luff 27' 3", foot 8' 6", Leech 22' 4".  ~100 ft²
 

UPDATE 2024 - I'm taking inspiration from the Kerry Poe's jib design above, to seriously consider the full hoist jib shown below.  It looks to be ~120% jib and would replace Panache's partial hoist 110% jib.  Having a full hoist means the sail will roll up evenly.  However, I will have to extend the side deck T-track to full length.  Really not a big deal.  See Tech Tip F06.

When considering a replacement jib such as one of these blades, pay particular attention to the lead angle of the sheet.  The sheet generally bisects the angle between the leech and the foot.  But it could also go from the clew to mid point of the luff.  If the deck track on your boat is not full length, now would be a good time to consider extending it aft to the cockpit coaming.
 

Inter Sail Supply - Who knew there would be such a difference in measuring cloth weight by 3 measuring systems. 
 
 

San Juan sail specifications are available from Tech Tip H02, Hull & Rigging Specifications.

• Ullman Sails, Newport Beach, CA 1(714) 675-6970.
  Main with 1 reef, $701.  If the top 2 battens are full length, $749.  Can use either 5 or 6 oz Dacron.  He recommended 6 oz Dacron, $881.  5-6 week delivery.   I also have an Ullman 150% genoa that I'm very pleased with. 
• North Sails, Portland, Oregon 1(503) 282-4282.
  6 oz Dacron Main $690, with 1 reef $747.  I didn't note whether this was full batten. 
  6 oz Dacron Jib $759.  Sails are made at the San Diego loft.
• North Sails, Vancouver, BC 1(604) 271-2111.  
  Online quote is available. 
• Sobstad Sails, San Diego, 1(619) 226-2422.
  "Club Racing" Dacron" main - 1 reef, 1 top batten full, other battens 50% deep, 5.6 oz Dacron, $811. 
  Jib, 6.6 oz Dacron, $776.  (7 weeks delivery). 
• Minney's Yacht Surplus, Newport Beach, CA 1(714) 548-4192. 
  I bought a used spinnaker and heavy weather jib.  Both sails were as described but they found a 1/2" tear in the chute and deducted $25 from the price.  Nice.

_________________  OTHER LOFTS WELL WORTH CONSIDERING, (2021). ____________________________

• Precision Sails, Sydney, BC, Canada. 
  Precision has an incredibly accurate measuring system to order your new sail.  It guarantees 100% fit & performance which is why they are trusted by so many popular YouTube sailing channels.
  - In 2022 Buddy Wright ordered new sails from Precision; Main $700, 150% Genoa $900, 115% jib $700. 
  "I ordered their most budget friendly cloth with no add-ons.  The thinking is that the sails will rot from age long before they wear out, given the few number of hours per year and the very light winds that I intend to use them in". 
• Rolly Tasker Sails - International sail maker.
• Lee Sails - Located in USA and Canada.
• Peak Sails - Order.  Florida, USA.
   

An Etchells 22 jib is a wonderful replacement for the stock short-luff jib of a SJ23.  Other classes are potential donors as well, so any discoveries are good for everyone. 

The folks in the J24 or any other fleet that has strong, active competition, tend to buy new sails when they think they are past their peak performance.  Buying a used sail from them is cost effective even if it involves a bit of re-cutting.  You can spend hundreds of dollars less. 

HINT:  If you buy a genoa that needs some re-cutting, have them position the clew about 2' off the deck for a (140-150)% jib.  What you get is a sail that twists less on a reach or when slightly eased.  It also tacks more easily.  Your sail maker can explain this.  Glen Moore. 

Good Jib, Cheap - The fore triangle of a SJ23 and a J24 are the same size.  A 150% Mylar genoa from a J24, shown at right, fits an SJ23 perfectly even to the point of using the existing block and deck track.  Both sails use piston hanks on the forestay.  We picked up this lightly used, 150%, Pentex/Mylar, genoa from a J24 for not much money.  We didn’t even move the spreader-tip wear patch as shown in the photo.  Also notice that the sail is a low-footed “deck scraper” that you might want for a racing.  Mike Raleigh.
 

See Tech Tip F40, Sew Your Own SJ23 Sails.
 

TIGHT PISTON HANKS (2014) - To measure Panache's 150% genoa for conversion to roller furling I stretched the luff between two posts in a church basement and quickly discovered why I couldn't remove the wrinkles.  A wide open basement with a clean floor is almost as good as a sail loft as its much easier to see a problem with the sail stretched on the floor compared to being hoisted on a mast.  Turns out the metal eyes through which the piston hanks go were crimped right behind the bolt rope (limiting movement) and the piston hanks were crimped too tight around the bolt rope (preventing movement).  These two factors prevented the Dacron cloth from spreading evenly along the bolt rope, resulting in the wrinkles you see below.  For all the years I owned this sail I could never smooth out nor flatten its shape with halyard tension.  Even a 4x1 purchase between the posts in the basement was not enough to remove the wrinkles.  Its fullness is the reason I pulled it down as the wind piped up.  The full shape was great in light air though.  After I released the claw on each piston hank the sail cloth spread out smooth and the tension easily flattened the draft.  It may sound incredible but this problem affected this sail for at 30+ years.  So much for the cloth being stretched like all the local sail repair people said!  After this discovery I realized my 110% working jib from a different manufacturer had the same problem, so it received the same fix. 

If you have piston hanks on your jib, make sure they are free to rotate around the bolt rope.  This ensures superior sail shape to match the wind speed with minimum halyard tension.  A smooth wrinkle free Dacron sail will pull much better, similar to a smooth de-iced aircraft wing.  Your jib halyard should never be so tight as to replace the forestay tension.

2014 (Before Furling, Above) - This is my first day sailing Panache after taking a year off to heal my injured shoulder.  Very flaky winds but happy to be on the water again.  The jib halyard is as tight as the winch can pull it.  This sail trim is typical for the previous 30+ years.  Great for light air but was quickly replaced with the 110% jib when the wind piped up. 

2019 - In Spring 2019 Panache's 110% & 150% jibs were modified to roller furling by the North Sails loft in Richmond, BC.  They also repaired the leech of my genoa and added a foot tension line.  I'm pleased with the results since they are now totally glass smooth (wrinkle free) and either one pulls Panache like a team of horses.  OK, like a 426 hemi.  I know, I'm dating myself. 

2022 (After Furling, Below) - After years of trying to get together, my photographer friend returned for our "dance on the water" to capture this post furling photo for a comparison.  It shows the improvement from a wrinkled sail with hanks above to a smooth sail with furling below.  Its difficult to believe this is the same sail.  There is barely 50 pounds pull on the jib halyard and the backstay tensioner is tight.  I'm sailing at just over 6 knots and the wind was absolutely perfect that day with flat water.  By the way, the genoa is just as smooth at 2 knots, but sailing at 6+ knots is way more fun.  (Thanks Dave J).

NOTE - If you ship your jib out to be modified by a sail loft, do yourself and the people there a favour by attaching a name tag to your sail AND sail bag before you stuff it in the shipping box.  This way the loft can identify your sail when each item is separated.  This simple task reduces the risk of loss and with it you stand a good chance of getting your own sail back!  Also, attach a letter of instructions to your sail with supporting photos.  Its a simple way to eliminate guess work and receive the modification you ask for, in a prompt manner.  Just saying!   Bob Schimmel.
 

BLACK SAILS- Just in case you are looking for a completely different look, have you considered black sails?  This suit was made by Letch & McBride in BC, Canada.  Tim Woods

Sorry for the poor quality photos.  Its the best my iPhone could do to zoom in on them so far away.

Return to Tech Tip Index.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Have a Question?