I need to replace the sails of my 1978 Swan 411. Dacron is a must but I
still have few doubts:
1) main: full batten or not?
2) which size of furling genoa, 145% or 150% or other?
3) which brand?

Advices are appreciated.

Daniel

Dacron is the unquestioned choice for longevity; but, take a good hard
look at the new cruising laminates which are dacron sandwiched over
film.

Full or not ..... my present choice is: 2 full at top and two long
battens at bottom. Stable and quiet in higher wind ranges plus less
hassle when reefing.

Furling genoa ....usually ony a 30% reduction in area is possible and
still have good shape. Most racing folks are tending towards less
overlap. If you are a 'precise' sailor, consider a radial cut genoa
that has heavier cloth at the leech and lighter weight cloth at the
luff: when reefed only the heavier cloth is exposed, when not reefed
the lighter wight will help with 'weight aloft' - meaning you can carry
more sail into higher winds.

Brand .... the one that give you the best sail. They all essentially
use the same computer programs to cut/loft the sails. The local
sailmaker will come to your boat, ask how you sail (precisely or dont
give a sh_t), ask the purpose - drive into heavy chop, downwind %,
triple stitched and reinforced for blue water or simple construction
for marina to marina daytime only passages on the coast/bay, etc. etc.
.... in other words will build a sail EXACTLY to match YOUR sailing
preferences and abilities,etc.; and match to the exact tuning of your
rig - normal forestay sag, etc. etc. ... and, then make corrections
when it doesnt work out well. You usuallly get what you pay for.

If you can define better the *purpose* of the sails then I can expand
on what to consider Blue Water passagemaking, marina hopping,
cocktailhour at the dock, etc. etc. How precisely you can presentlly
shape/set a sail, the 'normal' conditions of wave height, etc. etc.
etc. etc.
If you just want a triangular piece of cloth for your Winnebago with
sails, a 'stock' off the shelf sail made an unemplolyable sheep farmer
in Lower Elbonia will be the cheapest.


In article , Daniel
wrote:

I need to replace the sails of my 1978 Swan 411. Dacron is a must but I
still have few doubts:
1) main: full batten or not?
2) which size of furling genoa, 145% or 150% or other?
3) which brand?

Advices are appreciated.

Daniel

Daniel wrote:
I need to replace the sails of my 1978 Swan 411. Dacron is a must but I
still have few doubts:
1) main: full batten or not?

I really love my full batten main. It is over 350 sqft with five full
battens.. very nice shape in light air (haven't seen any heavy air yet).

Be sure you sail maker takes all your measurements from your boat (I
don't recommend mail/internet ordering) since allowances must be made
for roach (clearance of backstay), etc.

Be prepared to layout a considerable amount more for battens, cars,
special intermediate slides and maybe even a different track. All this
could cost close to $1000. Your sail maker may offer you a package deal
and this would be preferred since he can't blame anyone but his sail or
hardware.

One problem, once you have your full batten sail installed, it's
difficult to remove it. The battens are difficult to remove and if you
leave them in the sail, you can't stow it below and can only take it
home on a lumber rack, etc. Take several helper to help you carry it off
the dock (depending on how limber your battens are).

I don't recommend routine removal of the battens and will require
adjusting when reinstalled.

Bottom line, I recommend full batten but with reservations.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

My full and long battens are removable. I keep/store the battens
inside the boom when not in use (also keep two spares there).

Full battens (and short battens too for that matter) should be
adjustable to effect proper sail shape. This is easily accomplished by
using velcro on the inside of the batten pocket and a velcro on dacron
'tab' that you push inside the batten pocket alongside the batten, the
only thing that sticks out is a 'retrieval tape' that is used to
extract/remove the velcro 'tab'. You use a 'batten' pusher (short
length of batten) to adjust the batten tension by how hard you push the
velcro 'tab' into the batten pocket.
For expected very high and very low wind ranges a flat enty sail (for
'speed' sailing and the avoidance of flow separation) can be easily
accomplished by using minimal tension on the batten. For 'powered-up'
(rounded luff entry) for drining into chop or oncoming waves, etc. I
use lots of batten compression. ..... all easily accomplished by how
you 'load-up' the battens!!!! Until now the usage of velcro to
affect batten tension was externally applied to the batten pocket and
the velcro quickly degraded in sunlight and weather exposure. Putting
the velcro on the inside of the pocket results in much longer service
life.
If you cant adjust the batten tension you cant help to change the sail
shape, especialy in the 'middle' of the sail where the effect of
halyard and outhaul, etc;. control is minimal.