Thread: New sail for GIS?

Dabbler Sails, have it made per MIK's plans.

Howdy Watermaat,

If you have a performance sailing background I think you will prefer the loose footed sail on the inverted L boom (stolen from the RAID41). It allows many more adjustment possibilities. For those who just want a nice fast fun boat and are not interested so much in tweaking the standard laced foot is the easiest and simplest method.

Joost has talked about reducing the first step of the reefing for a competition boat. I think this makes sense, but he is probably the best person to refer to for advice. Again a crusing boat should have the standard setup in the plans.

Sail battens ... I have noticed with both BETH and the GIS that when i pull hte battens out the boat feels turbocharged. I would probably recommend that the pockets be put in for the two standard battens, but then experiment with batten stiffness and removing battens to see what happens. I don't think you need any battens higher up the sail at all - they just help the sailmaker feel more comfortable. Just remind the sailmaker that most jibs don't have or need battens - so why should a mainsail with a similarly straight leach?

Most good sailmakers have few problems with a lug. The only real difference is that there can be a lot of tension in the luff so some taping or other reinforcement makes sense.

But the list of sailmakers so far is from Duck Flat, Duckworks, Dabbler, Ken O' Brien and probably some I have forgotten.

Best wishes
Michael

Originally Posted by Boatmik

Howdy Watermaat,

.........But the list of sailmakers so far is from Duck Flat, Duckworks, Dabbler, Ken O' Brien and probably some I have forgotten.

Best wishes
Michael

Hi Watermaat!
Storm Bay sails in Tasmania has a lot of experience with these types of sails (Oughtred etc), so maybe get a quote and an idea of postage costs to NED? They also have a sail plan for the Goat

Originally Posted by Boatmik

Howdy Watermaat,

If you have a performance sailing background I think you will prefer the loose footed sail on the inverted L boom (stolen from the RAID41). It allows many more adjustment possibilities. For those who just want a nice fast fun boat and are not interested so much in tweaking the standard laced foot is the easiest and simplest method.
Michael

Just on the inverted L boom, have you worked out a dimension plan for the Goat's yet MIK?

Yes,

Joost has it built but not finished. Says it is about 25% stiffer laterally than the original boom but massively stiffer vertically.

He will be trying it in the next few weeks.

MIK

Keyhavenpotter speaks highly of Sanders Sails in the UK.

A nice thread detailing some pics (and a link to Keyhavenpotter's flickr site) is the following:

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f169/lug-rig-heaven-77738

In the above thread on page 1 there is a very nice picture of the balanced lug sail's profile. Also a lot of rigging ideas are discussed (sepate downhaul and kicker and the positions on these on the boom etc.)

Brian races his Keyhaven scow and usually finishes very well.

If using the boat for racing or when sailing solo a lot, it would make sense to be able to reef the sail in smaller steps (perhaps one intermediate step between the boom and the current first reef?).

The battens I have are very supple. I am not sure whether they do much for the sail but they do seem to distort the sailarea a bit before the mast. Next time out, I intend to leave the battens out. Let's hope that MIK's promise re turbocharging comes through!

Originally Posted by Joost

The battens I have are very supple. I am not sure whether they do much for the sail but they do seem to distort the sailarea a bit before the mast. Next time out, I intend to leave the battens out. Let's hope that MIK's promise re turbocharging comes through!

I agree that full length battens would be a definite disadvantage "on the wrong tack" where the sail has to bend around the mast. A sail maker I spoke to recommended leech battens only and from what I see here, they work beautifully.

Howdy, And here is my counter example

No battens at all.





No problems with the leach at all without battens.

I admit completely that the Keyhaven Scow in the pic has a much nicer sail in the top half .. but I don't think the battens are contributing to it - they are just to extend any roach. The GIS sail has a no roach (slightly concave leach) so there is nothing there for the battens to extend.

MIK

Hello Watermaat,

nice to have another GIS im the Netherlands!

My sail was bought at Ken O'Brien (Aus) which was, with the transport and VAT cheaper than to have it made in Holland. Have not yet sailed in it, but some dry runs show a nice sail. But the usual boom, so no loose footed one.

greetings SOLing

Hi Guy's

Thanks for advice, it's very helpfull.

I have been in contact with McNamara sails in UK, he appeared to have made a GIS sail for Richard Harvey's "Blanche"
I have attached pictures, for me this looks pretty good ! Lower reefs and it looks like a pretty good shape. But I do have some doubts about stowing away this sail around gaff and boom with that top-batten ? And probably still want to have it loose-footed.

Talking with him he told me that he converted this sail by adding a window to have better vision when heeling. What's your experience? would that be helpfull? Any comments on this sail ?

Regards
Ralph

That is indeed an awesome looking sail! If you're young enough to crouch down low and you optimise your sail to be relatively low to the deck like this one is, a window would be a handy accessory if you sail on busy waters or you plan to race.

I consider to make sails for my Beth -YuanFen- from polytarp (Polish professional sailmakers don't want to make small and very complicated lug sails!!! They can't to answer for my e-mails and customer's questions often! ... )

... If I will have money for it I will to order my sails from Duckworks - they can make those directly from Michael's plans and they are experienced in lug sails with vertical cut:

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/sails/storer/index.htm

Sails from USA costs a bit more than in Poland and I need to pay shipping too...

Any comments on this sail ?

I think this is really great! ...But UK is to expensive for me...

Hi Robhosailor,

I agree that sails are pretty expensive in Europe and most Sailmakers don't care much about smaller boats......but that will change if our "crisis" will hit more and more yachting companies ;-)

I also asked a quote from "Sailselect" internet sailmakers, these are Asian manufactured sails but locally designed. They have made me a nice set of gaff-rigged sails for a small but heavy 22ft yacht at a very reasanoble price ( 40% less than local Dutch sailmakers ) .
Pretty no-nonsense sails with good quality cloth and well-made. I got to them when local sailmakers did not seem to care much ( and did not know much ) about gaff rigging a boat. I will let you know their price for a GIS-sail as soon as I know.

Best Regards
Ralph

Hi Woodeneye,

Do you think this sail is set lower( or is bigger ) than standard GIS design? I have just send a mail to McNamara to ask if they used standard size or did some changes.

And No, I am not intending to race.......I have just stopped racing a Finn dinghy and compared to that even this GIS will keep my 50-plus back in much better shape ;-)