Stunning new sails from Judy B! YAY!!!!

[Ixneigh]

After the sail weathers a bit you can paint it with a mixture of oil based paint penetrol and thinner. It will never come off. Use dark colors only. Be very careful. Don't over apply so the paint forms a film if you are just doing a logo.

I've painted whole sails before. Still running an experiment on how long a fully painted sail will last with no covers. I paint them black. It looks very very cool. Any other color would work. For full sail painting I do recommende having a paint film on it. You must also be sure the sail is free of oil. Wash it with a scrub brush first.

To see the full paint job see my videos on YouTube. Lastlionmonday user name.

[robbarnes1965]

I really like the little tell-tail windows. They are on my wish list for my next set of sails along with a window on the foot for seeing other boats particularly when attempting to race.

[windypatrick]

Sail Paint.

With this discussion, it occurs to me that for dacron, a vinyl-ester paint may work fine. In aviation, modern fabric covered aircraft commonly use a product called simply 'Stits' (named after its inventor) They have a Poly Fiber Product that is essentialy a softer (lighter weave?) dacron fabric which you coat with successive layers of different media to achieve a taut (drum tight) finish. It has been in use for many decades and is a well known process.

My point is, they have exterior vinyl paints that are part of this vinyl stack-up. They are not glossy - more an eggshell finish. They are AMAZINGLY flexible. I attended a three day workshop at their Riverside, CA headquarters years ago (Wow, a bunch of years ago now that I recall ). The demonstration that amazed me was a finished yellow colored panel stretched on an 18" square frame (perhaps simulating the side of a Piper Cub). You could push your finger into the taut surface from the back until you created a conical peak 4 inches high. I did so. I let go and within 20 minutes it had relaxed back to its original composure. There was NO cracking or damage to the paint surface. None at all.

Perhaps their paint would be a viable approach for sail dacron...worth an experiment I would guess. Maybe when I am ready to discard my sail I will experiment with it. It is an un-catalyzed paint you simply thin it appropriately and apply.

Best Regards to all

[vkmaynard]

Awesome! Picture in motion.

Great looking sail shape.

Victor

[c130king]

And just because I love posting videos of my Mac...here is another video from a very happy customer of Judy...

König sailing with new spinnaker from JudyB -- M.U.C.K. About 2012 (as shot by Victor Maynard)

(* Or did Kendal shoot this video??? *)

[ymikhlin]

Got new sails from Judy this year.
What a difference these sails make!
Good quality, look great!

Thank you Judy.

Yakov

[dbryceking]

So, It is time to replace my aging 2004 Factory sails on my 26M. I am strongly considering the Judy B sails, yours look beautiful. How have they held up over the years. How do they sail compared to the factory ones? Which weight and fabric did you go with. I am looking at the 6.03 Dacron for the 150% Genoa and the 5.5 Dacron for the Main sail. These sails are comparable to the Coastal Cruising set from BWY, and also similarly priced. My only concern with the heavier sailcloth is the loss of performance in light wind, compared to the 3.9 Dacron stock sails. Looking forward to hearing about your sail performance and durability.

[mastreb]

So, It is time to replace my aging 2004 Factory sails on my 26M. I am strongly considering the Judy B sails, yours look beautiful. How have they held up over the years. How do they sail compared to the factory ones? Which weight and fabric did you go with. I am looking at the 6.03 Dacron for the 150% Genoa and the 5.5 Dacron for the Main sail. These sails are comparable to the Coastal Cruising set from BWY, and also similarly priced. My only concern with the heavier sailcloth is the loss of performance in light wind, compared to the 3.9 Dacron stock sails. Looking forward to hearing about your sail performance and durability.

I have an all 7oz. rig from JudyB, and they perform substantially better in light wind than the stock sails. The Genoa keeps its shape far longer, which turns out to be the most important thing. The drawback is just the overall weight--considerably heavier when rigging.

[Russ]

So, It is time to replace my aging 2004 Factory sails on my 26M. I am strongly considering the Judy B sails, yours look beautiful. How have they held up over the years. How do they sail compared to the factory ones? Which weight and fabric did you go with. I am looking at the 6.03 Dacron for the 150% Genoa and the 5.5 Dacron for the Main sail. These sails are comparable to the Coastal Cruising set from BWY, and also similarly priced. My only concern with the heavier sailcloth is the loss of performance in light wind, compared to the 3.9 Dacron stock sails. Looking forward to hearing about your sail performance and durability.

Another resurrected thread.

I have the 6.03 150 genoa. Love it. Great shape and quality. Get the reefing luff pads and you'll be glad you got the 6.03 Dacron. Reefing works well in high winds. I also got the roller furling and as Matt says, it's heavy to load on the extrusion. Initially it was very stiff, but it worked its way softer. Still have original main, but would recommend Judy B sails.

Keep in mind lead time. Her sails are made in the Philippines so it may take a while to receive them. Ask her. Mine didn't take that long, but Judy warned me it might be longer.
If you can't wait, my guess is BWY sails are comparable quality. Ask them delivery time.

--Russ

[Judy B]

So, It is time to replace my aging 2004 Factory sails on my 26M. I am strongly considering the Judy B sails, yours look beautiful. How have they held up over the years. How do they sail compared to the factory ones? Which weight and fabric did you go with. I am looking at the 6.03 Dacron for the 150% Genoa and the 5.5 Dacron for the Main sail. These sails are comparable to the Coastal Cruising set from BWY, and also similarly priced. My only concern with the heavier sailcloth is the loss of performance in light wind, compared to the 3.9 Dacron stock sails. Looking forward to hearing about your sail performance and durability.

Hi,

Thanks to my wonderful customers (Cat, Yakov, Matt and Russ) for the kind words

I don't recommend 4 oz style standard OEM level dacron for a Mac26, even for a light air genoa. We're talking about a boat that weighs 4000 pounds with water ballast, and 5000 pounds with 4 adults. The 3.8 and 3.9 style dacrons are really too lightly built to resist the loads placed on the sail without stretching permanently.

4 oz cloth is what we use for a laser mailsail. Not a genoa for a 4000 pound boat.

The load bearing threads in the warp direction in this sailcloth are pretty small in diameter (250 dernier), and so the cloth will stretch and deform permanently if you use it in any wind over about 8 knots. The 4 oz has small diameter threads (150 dernier) in the warp direction, it can't handle years of flogging or UV exposure.

I recommend that you get a stronger cloth, and If you're worried about weight, skip the 9 oz acrylic/sunbrella for the cover. Instead of acrylic, go with a 6 oz WeatherMax80 (available from Hyde Sails in white only). It'll last as long as the sunbrella and weigh less. Weathermax80 is more durable than UV dacron too.

[dbryceking]

Thanks for your replies! You all have helped me in my decision. You all seem to enjoy the performance of the heavier sails. However, how have they held up over the years? Do they still hold their shape, are they thinner, how much use have you gotten out them, how much life do you think is left in the sails?

I am pretty sure that I want to go with the Judy B, Cruising Genoa 150% Challenge Hi modulus Dacron (6.03). With the reefing pad, and weathermax white cover.

For the main I am torn between two, both Judy B, both with 2 reef points, and 2 partial, 2 full battens.
One is Cruising Mainsail Challenge Hi Mass Dacron (6.68 oz).
The other is Cruising Mainsail Challenge Hi Modulus Dacron (5.53 oz).

The difference in cost between the two sails is about $3. What are the pro's and con's between the two.

[Judy B]

<<snipped>>
For the main I am torn between two, both Judy B, both with 2 reef points, and 2 partial, 2 full battens.
One is Cruising Mainsail Challenge Hi Mass Dacron (6.68 oz).
The other is Cruising Mainsail Challenge Hi Modulus Dacron (5.53 oz).

The difference in cost between the two sails is about $3. What are the pro's and con's between the two.

My basic advice to you is buy the highest performing sails you can afford on your budget. All my sails will out perform and out last the OEM sails. The sails are arranged on my website in ascending order by performance.

If you're serious about buying sails now, then pick up the phone and call me and Dave (my hubby who works with me) . We'd be happy to help you select the right cloth for your sailing conditions and your sailing style. 925 208 1692 .

Here a quick answer to your question. There's a lot more to it, but it would take years to teach you all about the structural properties of cloth....

Different cloths are engineered for different applications. Most sailors ask about weight, but that's not half as significant as how the cloth is engineered. Half of the sailmaker's art is know which cloth will meet the customer's needs and budget. Think of us as textile structure engineers.

Hi Mass Dacron is as tough as army boots. It's what charter boats in the tropical climates and round the world cruisers want. It is woven from very large diameter threads, which means it can withstand more UV and more flogging than any other cloth. However, It isn't as dimensionally stable as some other other woven dacron sailcloth, so shape stability and therefore performance isn't as good.

Hi Modulus is higher performance cloth, a nice compromise between durability and shape stability (performance).

Different Hi modulus cloth is woven of different size threads, so it has different stability characteristics in different axis. We have to match the size and orientation of the threads to the expected loads in the sail along different axis.

[dbryceking]

Thanks Judy. I have been researching forums and reading "Sail Power" by Wallace Ross and am trying to put it in perspective for my boat. I will be ordering from you in the near future. Thanks for your assistance!

[dlandersson]

Judy, I already have a genoa and a main from you.

Now I need a WWI aviator scarf (think Snoopy), starched, going straight back.

[Judy B]

Judy, I already have a genoa and a main from you.

Now I need a WWI aviator scarf (think Snoopy), starched, going straight back.

David,
I rather doubt you'll need starch in the scarf. with those new sails you should be faster than greased lightning