Association Forum - Tall Rig - Baggy Mainsail/Bimini

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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Tall Rig - Baggy Mainsail/Bimini

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waterbaby
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USA
168 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/10/2012 : 07:28:28

I finally decided to bite the bullet and order a new mainsail for Sunshine. Our existing sail is so baggy that not only is it frustrating to sail with, its darn right embarrassing and worrysome watching it flap around. On top of that we've had such a hard time trying to sail with the bimini up that sometimes we just have opted to bake. So even though the cloth looked to be in great shape I started looking for a new sail. So of course the first place to look was here on this forum for you're excellent advice.

Well you guys just saved me about $800!

While researching sail brands and what to do about the bimini issue I came across a post the mentioned that sometimes the issue with a baggy sail is the bolt rope shrinking. As soon as I saw that note I knew it was part of our problem since the gathering along that edge is quite apparent. I called Sail Care and talked to Jerry about the issue and he confirmed that it was very likely the cause of the bagginess but that also the original sails from Catalina were designed to have a 'bag' in the foot. This was done to assist in off wind sailing performance or some such. I sent the sail to him and he just called with the happy news. He can fix it!

He just called a little while agoa and told me the bolt rope had shrunk 12"! No wonder we've had such a hard time! He's going to lengthen that and he's going to move the foot of the sail up to the first seam where the 'bag' was installed in the center but leave the clew in it's same place. This will cause the boom to raise at an angle towards the back and raise the back edge about 9". I think that will give us plenty of room to raise the bimini while avoiding the whole concern about where the sail slot is located. His estimate is around $200 for this work which is a lot better than the $1100 I was considering. I've asked him to go ahead and clean it also but that will be an extra charge.

I wanted to post this separately since I know there may be some other tall rig owners out there struggling with the same issue. I'll post an update once I get the sail back.

1986 TR/SK #5250 Sunshine

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Arlington
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USA
196 Posts

Response Posted - 08/19/2012 : 21:33:49

Karen, thanks very much for sharing your info & experience.
Doug

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redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3477 Posts

Response Posted - 08/20/2012 : 05:42:26

For about the first 2 years I was convinced my boat had horrible weather helm and it turned out to be me setting up sails poorly.

Try to get someone with experience to go out with you... and of course it always pays to take your sails in to a sailmaker every 10 years.

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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.