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NEW!
December 21, 2006 submitted
by Wolf Leue |
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I have
just purchased a Hunter 33.5 (1991) and with it came a new gennaker.
I have no experience with this sail. Do you have any info/articles
that would me to get ready for the next season? |
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NEW!
November 29, 2006 submitted by
Don Burleson |
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I’ve
purchased a Balboa 26, made in 1976. The 150 Genoa is 8 years old,
working jib and main are original, 30 years old. I’ll be purchasing
a new main and I’d like to know more about full-batten vs standard
batten and about loose-foot for my boat, conditions and use. |
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November 3, 2006 submitted by
James T. Witherspoon |
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How
does Aeroluff differ from Ropeluff for a furling genoa? What are the
pros and cons of each? |
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October 16, 2006 submitted by
Simon Calderbank |
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While
sailing in 35-40 knots of wind in the Solent this weekend on a 43ft
Bowman, we had great fun (and were challenged) changing to our Storm
Jib from our #3. The question is how would we go about fitting a smaller
sail to replace the mainsail? |
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September 27, 2006 submitted by
Jim Godfrey |
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I
am confused as to what weight sail cloth I should use for a new 135%
Roller Furling Genoa for my Hutchins Compac 27? |
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September 21, 2006 submitted by
Diana Kryston |
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I
have a 38-foot Catalina and would like to make it easier to handle
the Mainsail. Would you recommend a Dutchman or a Lazy Jack or does
North Sails have something like a "mack pack"? |
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September 19, 2006 submitted by
Eric Graebert |
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I
am looking for a solution to reef my main in heavy air. I am in my
late 50’s and when I must go forward to reef on the great lakes,
the short choppy seas scare the bejaebers out of me. |
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September 15, 2006 submitted John
Draeger |
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When
doing outside jibes on a Jeanneau 40, we hold our wind angle, pull
the clew around the headstay and jibe immediately to the new wind
angle. How much should the sheet be eased in advance of the jibe? |
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September 7, 2006 submitted by
Majken Burman Elgaard |
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Our
North Sails main has grommets for reefing ties. I find it a little
difficult to insert a regular sail tie through the rings. Is there
a better tie or strap to use to secure the excess sail material to
the foot of the sail? |
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September 6, 2006 submitted by
Marie Claire Amokrane |
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What
is the luff on a Cal 34 MK 1? |
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September 5, 2006 submitted by
Bob Brechlin |
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We
recently bought a 2005 Pacific Seacraft Dana 24 with a North loose
footed full battened Mainsail. There is a Velcro strip that was somehow
connected from the back of the main to the boom. I cannot seem to
figure out how it is installed and what’s its purpose is? |
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September 2, 2006 submitted by
Howard Sachs |
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I
have an Olson 40 and have converted it to a cruiser. We have a full
main and a 100% jib (Harken roller furler) that is about 6 feet short
on the luff, I think the headsail is called a "Mule." This
combination seems to work well up to about 20kts. I am thinking of
going to a self tacking jib. What do you recommend? |
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August 23, 2006 submitted
by Mark Grosby |
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I
own a OC 40 with a stoway mast. I have read comments from the AC boats
about inflatable battens. Is this technology that could be used to
build a furling main with a powerful roach for cruising? |
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August 23, 2006 submitted
by Dave DiGiacomo |
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I
was reading the notes on the use of a tri-sail or storm jib. I have
a 40' IP. What is a storm jib? Most IPs hove-to with a tri-sail on
the mast not on the roller furling jib. How would a storm jib relieve
the roller furling rig? |
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August 21, 2006 submitted
by Richard Lang |
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We have
a older boat, ('66, 30' Pearson Coaster) that needs new sails. We'd
also like to make it easier to sail, we're old too. We'd like to do
every thing from the cockpit if possible. Where do we start? |
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August 17, 2006 submitted
by Ed Dunbar |
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I have
recently purchased an older 1974 Prout 34 with twin headstays. It
has a jib and about a 130 genny. I have a spinnaker in very good condition
off my old Hunter 27. Can this be re-cut to become a “Gennaker”
for the Prout? I am looking for ease of use. |
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August 7, 2006 submitted
by Fran Yates |
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I have
a 1989 Aft Cockpit Bristol 41 that came with an in-boom reefing system.
Because he constantly had a jamming problem, the original owner removed
the in-boom reefing and restored the main to a stack pack. Can you
give me your recommendation as to the best choice for a reefing system
for this boat and what mast or boom manufacturers I should consider?
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July 17, 2006 submitted
by Bas Hoijtink |
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I currently
have a Sun Odyssee 45-2 with a mainsail furling mainsail. Now I want
to also hoist another mainsail (bigger and more modern, fully batten)
next to it. Do you know whether this is possible? |
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July 14, 2006 submitted
by Jonathan Threlfall |
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I
sail a Jeanneau Sunfast 36 out of Sydney, built 1998. It came with
a trysail measuring 9 ½ ft foot, by 16 ½ ft luff, about
80 square feet I make it. To this date, I have never flown my trysail
but am wondering whether it would be suitable for an offshore voyage
this Spring?
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June 29, 2006 submitted
by Dean Ross |
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I have
recently installed a CDI Roller Furler with a New North Sail Genoa.
What is the best way to tie it off to prevent the wind from Unfurling
it? |
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June 27, 2006 submitted
by Richard Wood |
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I
have been quoted for a 150% genoa on my Contest 48ft sloop using NorDac
NSP Premium 220. A further quote is for 135% genoa using NSP 390.
I am concerned that the larger genoa in NSP 220 may not be strong
enough for ocean passage making albeit on a cruising boat. |
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June 25, 2006 submitted
by Geoff Prower |
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We
sail a 1989 Beneteau Oceanis 430 with roller furled genoa and in boom
Profurl main. We recently shredded our old spinnaker and are looking
for your advice on the most suitable replacement. |
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June 19, 2006 submitted
by Rebekah Loveless |
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My husband
and I just bought a 1981 Hunter 27. We have raced for years and so
spinnakers are very important to us. Right now there is no rigging
to be able to add a spinnaker to the boat. I wondered if you could
give me a list of what I would need to add a spinnaker and also how
to do it. |
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June 1, 2006 submitted
by Daniel Wolff |
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I am about to
buy a 2001 Hylas 46 that has a North Marathon 3DL main sail. The sail
is also from 2001. I have a few questions... |
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May 23, 2006 submitted
by Tim Stringer |
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I sail
a Sonata trailer sailer, what I would like to know is if it would
be an effective option to rig up a mizzen sail. If so, how large should
it be. |
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May 16, 2006 submitted
by Tim Hooper |
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I
am wondering if you can help me with a problem in balancing my boat
better. The boat is a Northshore 27 and is fractionally rigged, with
a main of about 195 sq. ft. and a #1 of about 190. My problem is excessive
weather helm... |
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May 7, 2006 submitted
by Shaun McMillan |
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I'm considering
buying my second boat & I live in an area with very light spring/summer
airs. I don't like to use the "iron genny" any more than
I have to. With all the concern about the tension of a Code Zero,
why not use a more traditional drifter with hanks on a head stay -
would this work as well? |
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April 14, 2006 submitted
by Clay Youmans |
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How
significant is triple vs. double seam stitching on my 275 sq. ft mainsail
(34' boat)? Used for coastal cruising. Is triple stitching important
for offshore use? There seems to be a lot of argument about this issue. |
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April 14, 2006 |
|
Have
been looking at various sail boats and would like to know what sails
are included in calculating the Sq. Footage. ie - main along, main
and jib, main and 150 genoa, etc. |
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April 3, 2006 submitted
by Stephen Dyke |
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What sail
thread (type, weight) would you recommend for repair on "Oceanus"
sail cloth, and do you sell it? |
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March 18, 2006 submitted
by John Madden |
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I sail
a 29’ full-keeler single-handed out of Sydney, Australia. I
tend to choose either a 100% high clew jib or a 150% deck sweeping
Genoa depending on the days conditions. Generally, throughout the
day this leaves me either underpowered or overpowered... |
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March 13, 2006 submitted
by Vicki Byers |
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We
have just bought a 1972 C&C 35. Should we have the standing rigging
inspected prior to ordering new sails? Our main is not loose footed
and would the new loose footed mains work on our older rig? |
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March 10, 2006 submitted
by William Drewes |
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I
am retrofitting an older boat and currently considering the purchase
of a used mast, boom, and mainsail package. The spar has a built-in
mast-furling system and a newer North mainsail. The mainsail has a
type of semi-flexible horizontal-batten that allows it to furl inside
the main. Does North still recommend this type of batten system? |
|
| --> CLEANING
YOUR SAILS & CANVAS |
| • |
March
6, 2006 submitted by Alvina Klass |
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Just
a question about cleaning our North Sails bimini, dodger & connector
- What is recommended to clean and remove mildew from our canvas before
we put it back on again for the spring (cleaning products & method)? |
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March
5, 2006 submitted by Lee &
Jane Taylor |
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We
have a 36' Tashiba with NorLam sails, which has made it to New Zealand
and back, but right now its sails are rather cruddy with some blackish
mildew stains. What/how would you recommend cleaning them? |
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February 27, 2006
submitted by Tom Schulz |
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I
have a Pearson 365 ketch. How may square feet should a storm sail
be for
the best performance in heavy weather? |
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February 26, 2006
submitted by Stuart Shaw |
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I
am wondering if the gennaker sail is optimal for a 40 foot cat? Just
a brief question as I am looking at getting into the sport and seeing
what is best to read up upon for future endeavours. |
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February 26, 2006
submitted by Stan Williams |
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I’ve
been reading articles on storm trisail size, but all the examples
are for sloops. I have a ketch, an Islander-Freeport ‘41. I
sail in the Great Lakes, and have sustained some mighty blows. What
size Trysail and Storm Jib should I be using? |
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February 24, 2006
submitted by Jeremy Fox |
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Hopefully
you can help me with two issues I'm having. I recently purchased a
1974 Irwin 37' CC, sloop rig with incomplete running rigging... |
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February 8, 2006
submitted by Jurij Priatka |
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I
have an Alerion Express 28 with the Hoyt boom system. Currently I
have the standard North Sails jib it comes with. I believe it's either
90% or 100% jib. I do not believe it gives me adequate sail area for
really light air days on the Long Island Sound. |
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February 6, 2006
submitted by Koen Sergeant |
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I
do a lot of short cruising with my Hanse 371. In light winds (<10
knots), the speed drops dramatically. Should I turn to a genoa or
is there a solution in between? ( I love the simplicity of the self
tacking jib ) |
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January 23,
2006 submitted by Russ Irwin |
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We're
well into the design our boat and it should power at 8.5 knots, have
room for an 11' RIB and have a hard dodger with great lumbar support
on the seats for standing watch. That said, I have a couple of follow
up questions... |
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January 16, 2006
submitted by Dave Kusmik |
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I
have a Catalina 30 which I sail in the high winds of San Francisco
Bay. The boat is equipped with Harken MkIII roller furling. I am considering
purchase of a new headsail, and would like to go with something as
durable as possible... |
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January 13, 2006
submitted by Rich Schultz |
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I
have a question on light air headsails. I am somewhat confused by
the variety. There are 'flashers', 'drifters', spinnakers, gennakers,
etc. Even North has three different cruising spinnakers... |
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January 9, 2006
submitted by Monique Anckaert |
|
We
sail a Beneteau First 44.7 and would like to add a High Aspect furling
jib to our inventory. We do not really hard racing but we like to
push the boat, even just cruising; we also would like to keep that
jib, furled 20 or 30 % (or even more if possible) as long as possible
in increasing wind force... |
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January 1, 2006
submitted by James Harris |
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The
sailplan/rig recommendations you gave to the couple with the 50 ft
bluewater cruiser seemed ideal to us. Would your recommendations change
if the sailing area was usually coastal cruising from Biscayne Bay
to Key West? |
