A new sail can give even the most ponderous yacht a new lease of life. Sam Fortescue looks at the options out there
Buyer's Guide – Sail selection
Racers and cruisers buy sails in a very different way. Where the performance people often have a key sailmaker relationship that they will revisit year after year, cruisers tend to shop around more. And many people start by looking around the marina or the yacht club to see what other sailors are buying.
This was the tactic used by Barry Shrier after he recently bought a 2014 edition of the Leopard 44 catamaran in Panama and had it shipped to the UK for a refit. He wound up commissioning Jeckells to produce a new suit of sails. “I went through a fairly straightforward process of talking to friends who were sailors, then shopping around. I ended up speaking to about six sailmakers in the UK and in Southeast Asia as a general comparison exercise. Jeckells had a good reputation, so I took up independent references from people on sailing Facebook groups.”
At the other end of the scale, Shauna O’Neill spent an hour online before ringing Chris Jeckells to discuss a new main for her Moody 31. “There was a really personal service,” she says. “He was obviously supporting us, but still, there’s the quality there.”
Simon Curwen, who brought his Biscay 36 home first in the last Golden Globe Race, says he went with an existing relationship when he ordered a suit of 10 new sails for the race. “I knew I was going to go with OneSails. I have used others in the past, but it’s usually been a personal relationship. It’s about trusting them that they understand the project and that I’m going to get sails that are fit for purpose.”
Sail shapes and types for any given boat are fairly well defined according to the rig measurements.
For racers, they split down into a well-ordered wardrobe with specific names and functions, whereas cruisers will aim to carry perhaps three sails to cover most of their needs, from a gentle zephyr up to a gale. It helps to be aware of where you want to improve sailing performance – perhaps there’s a gap in the armoury in light airs, or you want to optimise reaching performance. A good sailmaker will talk you through the options, including the trickiest question of all: what material to spec for the new sails. There are three basic options for the main and headsail.
Woven
A typical cruising sail is made of a woven polyester, such as Dacron. You can buy different grades of this material with different treatments and stretch characteristics. An entry-level cloth will often contain more resin, w
