New main sail purchase

[beechkingd]

BWY is selling Rolly Tasker sails as their house brand, at least they were two years ago.

[Sheppie62]

So I ordered the offshore 6oz sail with full batten’s, 2 reef points, and loose foot from The Sail Warehouse

[NiceAft]

Looks like you got a deal

[Sheppie62]

I hope it shows up? No email back confirming order. Company is “The Sail Warehouse” Monterey California. When I call the Phone number it says “User Busy” Maybe I’ll get confirmation Monday I hope.

[NiceAft]

I take it that the "discontinued" notice was the reason for the reduction in price, and that the sail was still available at the time of purchase? If so, why the concern?

[Sheppie62]

Not answering phone, no recording, and says “User Busy”. No confirmation email. All seems a little weird, but I suppose some companies operate that way. I get the feeling BWY is now “exclusive dealer for this company” might be reason for clearing inventory.

[NiceAft]

The company which is not answering the phone, is it The Sail Warehouse, or BWY? Sorry, but I'm confused?

[Sheppie62]

“The Sail Warehouse “ when I call it says “User Busy” on my phone.

[PSNA]

I am pretty sure they are closed for Christmas.

They have done so for decades.

Usually, they have an announcement on their home page that advises of such and that orders will be shipped once they return.

They are a well-established Rolly Tasker dealer and have been around forever. The owner can be a grumpy cuss but that's about it.

Not a big fan of "pre-built" or off-the-shelf sails but they can be handy in a pinch.

I am retired but spent almost 20 years in the sail industry. Started on the floor as a kid in college and moved up the ladder from there.

There are a couple dubious players out there but Sail Warehouse is not one of them.

[Sheppie62]

Well that’s good to hear, what is the benefit of a custom made sail?

[PSNA]

There are actually quite a few.

Off-the-shelf sails tend to be smaller than a custom-built sail. They do this to ensure the sail will fit in most situations plus it costs less to build, hence more profit.

You cannot select your own sailcloth. My "guess" is that the sail being discussed here is made with a mid-grade cloth such as Challenge Newport or High-Modulus. It's a great cloth for a lot of applications but definitely not all.

You cannot select your hardware. For example, there are better alternatives than the plastic slugs most sails are shipped with. Also, you cannot choose your foot configuration. You have to accept what is there.

The sail has full battens. My "guess: is they are the standard fiberglass. Personally, I prefer a tapered batten. Also, full battens on boats under 30' tend to experience trouble raising and lowering the sail as the slugs will often get wonky in the mast channel.

Others include insignia, sail numbers, number of reef points, and their location. And the list goes on and on. And that's just the mainsail.

These sails are fine for daysailing, weekending, and coastal cruising. It is 100X better than what the boat came with and it will last for years.

However, if you are racing, doing extended cruising, then custom sails are the only way to go. You also will get and pay for the sail and features you want.

Sail Warehouse has sold a ton of sails over the years. I have sailed once with a boat that had them. They were cut well, had decent shape and stitching was appropriate for its use.

[NiceAft]

I remember now that when I purchased my new Genoa from UK Sails at the Annapolis Boat Show (it was three years ago) that I did have a choice of sail material. They also came to Philly and measured for my sail. I was impressed.

[Sheppie62]

“The Sail Warehouse has confirmed the purchase and is shipping today! Yay . A storm knocked out there telephones.

[NiceAft]

“The Sail Warehouse has confirmed the purchase and is shipping today! Yay . A storm knocked out there telephones.

Poseidon was watching over you

[Stickinthemud57]

I have bought three Rolly Tasker sails, one through BWY - a 100% hank-on jib, and two through Sailwarehouse - a single-reef 5-oz mainsail and a 150% hank-on Genoa. I have ultimately been happy with all three, and consider both BWY and Sailwarehouse to be excellent resources for MacGregor sails.

The BWY jib was a slightly fraught experience. Although advertised with bronze hanks, it came equipped with twist-on hanks sized for a 3/16" forestay. These did not work well with my 1/8" forestay (fell off when lowering the sail), so I replaced them with nylon piston hanks, and BWY credited me for my expenses. At the end of the day, all was good.

This jib was also a bit different than the Doyle sail that came with the boat. A little shorter in the luff, but slightly longer in the foot. Perhaps about 4 square feet less in overall size than the Doyle. It sails cleaner than the old Doyle did, but I can't say I saw really significant increase in performance.

The main was a significant improvement, as the luff and foot lines on my old sail had shrunk significantly, creating a big belly in the sail that not only looked like an oversized pair of tidy-whities, but performed about as well. One reefing point works fine for me. I just don't go sailing when the wind gets much above 25 MPH.

I got the Genoa figuring it would be my light wind choice, but it has become my go-to foresail for anything less than 16 MPH winds or so. It helps me squeeze maybe another 2 to 3 tenths of a knot out of my Mac 26s. In light winds (less than 6 or 7 MPH), it's the difference between sailing and not. With a good, steady breeze, I can maintain about 6.8 knots on a beam reach, and have topped out at 7.2.

All-in-all though, the stock main and the 100% jib is still the rig the boat is most "happy" with. Goes to windward better than with the Genoa, with amazingly neutral helm. I find the key to managing a water ballast boat like the 26s is to not overload the sails.

One day I may try to add a spinnaker, but I would need a crew for that, so maybe not...