Many sailors feel the confusion whether to buy a ready-made sail or to ask a good sailmaker to provide custom built sails for their vessels. We know that many a time people don’t have choice but to buy stock sails if they are in a hurry.
But we shall always vote for custom sails if you are going for a long trip off-shore or going to participate in a competition. For these two occasions you need to make sure that you’ve got what is best for you.
Custom sails are always built keeping in mind the specific requirements of the boat and the sailing itinerary. Not all the time you can get a stock sail fitting in perfectly. If you have enough time in hand before you set out, do go for custom sails.
Any kind of off-shore sailing makes the sails exposed to differential wind conditions. So, first you need a proper inventory so that you can switch sails as and when required.
Secondly, while going off-shore you are bound to pass through the areas where winds blow at more than 20knots on an average and anytime you can find yourself in a stormy weather.
To withstand the extra pressure, sails need triple stitched seams, UV stabilized threads, reef reinforcements, and premium Dacron crosscut high aspect sailcloth, heavy duty batten pockets and so on.
If you are going for a weekend sail trip in a nearby lake, a performance Dacron crosscut sailcloth in one-row three step seam will do. But for coastal cruising, high modulus Dacron crosscut sailcloth is what you’ll need.
If you are going to take part in a competition, you will need sails that will provide extra push to your boat speed.
Sails may look simple from a distance but each one is constructed with lots of engineering and even if you are seasoned sailor, you should always consult with a sailmaker for the custom sail that will serve you the best.
Here comes another celebration time and we all are very excited. Everyone around is planning to do something special on this Easter weekend and we say how about an Easter party on board with the spinnakers on?
This occasion is a nice chance to catch up with the cousins, in-laws, parents and grandparents or with a league of friends whom you haven’t met in 10 years, after leaving school.
If you are a passionate sailor, then simply make arrangements and give them a surprise party on board. And if you are thinking of a tête-à-tête, your partner will definitely love the idea.
They will be high. We bet.
Just go by the checklist below before setting out for a short day-trip --
- You should keep type III life jackets with whistles, x+2 in number. Extra jackets are good to keep.
- Each crew-member should have one rigging knife
- Keep heaving line, radar reflector, handheld spotlight.
- You will need sailing gloves, hats and glasses straps.
- Make provision for boat shoes, rain gear, towels, blankets.
- Your first aid box should contain tampons, gelusils, Ibuprofen, Acetaminophen, chapstick, hand cream and Kleenax
- Motion sickness pills are must-haves. Also keep acupressure wrist bands and artificial tears.
- Sunscreen or tanning cream is optional of course.
- Do not forget to get loads of band-aids in different sizes, adhesive tapes, Q-tips, cotton balls and sterile pads.
- Your navigation kit should include the log-book, compass, knotstick, tide tables and all the geometric equipment that come in handy.
- Keep in your tool box flashlight, wire cutters, assorted bungee chords, duct tape, spare winch handle, leatherman, vise-grips, dacron lines and nylon lines.
- 7x50 binoculars are must in at least 3:1 ratio-- one per three people. No one should feel left out when all be watching a sunset or a flock of birds flying towards the horizon.
- Bring pre-cooked food, foiled, packed and ready-to-eat confectioneries, patisseries. We think there’s no need to remind you about the beverages. That’s the first thing you will pick up, we are sure.
Whether you are going to have a weekend sailing trip or planning to spend weeks on your boat, a good sailing plan can keep you away of worries and make the trip as enjoyable as possible. It starts with placing an order for custom built sails well ahead since these sails take time to get delivered.
It is not that buying a custom sail is necessary but it has got its own advantages. You can customize the design, the color scheme or put an emblem of your choice to make it special for you and your co-travelers. You can buy stock sails as well. Only make sure that those are of good quality.
Below are certain tips on planning a sailing trip.
- Decide your itinerary even if you are going for a simple lake sailing and then buy a cruising guide for that area. You need to know how much fuel you will require considering the estimated average vessel speed, common for that zone at that time of the year.
- Read voraciously the sailing blogs and articles of experienced sailors. Increase your knowledge, learn about tricky situations that may appear and how to solve them.
- Make a proper float plan that has got all the details of your boat and a complete itinerary. Send the copies to people you can rely on, those who will not be on board with you.
- You should always keep an extra ignition key. Get it made before anything else.
- It is needless to mention that you need to triple check the mechanical and electronic system. You should have enough PFDs, more than in number than the total number of heads to be on board.
- Buy more than enough food stock, check the fresh water supply, keep enough medicines and first-aid items.
- You need to watch the weather conditions. Take out a printed forecast for next ten days minimum and keep provisions to get internet-connected throughout the journey.
Do make an exhaustive check-list and before setting out, tick out all the points at least twice.
Have you ever sailed for love? No? Try it out this year. What more you can ask from life when the day of love falls on a Saturday. We have got the whole weekend this year to celebrate and don’t just let the opportunity pass by. Unpack your headsail , brush up your boat, check the equipment and set out for a romantic journey.
It doesn’t matter how far you go, what matters the most is being on board with the people you love the most. The Valentine’s Day is all about making everything special for those who have made our life beautiful. Throw a surprise boat party, make them go “wow!” with your idea and give them a memory, never to be forgotten.
Does it sound weird? Well, it may but as passionate seafarers, we actually love to connect every aspect of our lives with sailing. This is the reason why we started the journey of National Sail-- a very strong excuse to get busy with the sails, the boats and other equipment round the year.
If you too are that passionate about sailing like we are, do sail for love. Not every time you will get a weekend around this day. The Valentine’s Day 2015 deserves to be something different.
Think of a nice theme. If you are a family person with kids, ‘Pirates’ will do good but if you are seeking a ‘two-of-us’ time, ‘The Love Boat’ can be a nice one or else you just put it simple-- your favorite music on, a bottle of wine of your choice and your partner by your side.
Love steps in places where peace prevails and flows between two souls, unmasked and uncomplicated to each other.
Have you ever thought of designing your own sail? If you are a passionate cruiser you must be the one who enjoys getting busy with anything related to sailing like the equipment, sails or the vessel itself when you are not sailing. Add another activity and design your own spinnaker. It is such a fun. Just log on to our site and visit custom sails section.
Although we have a range of ready-made spinnakers which you can find in our spinnaker section and buy right away but if you are not in a hurry, you should go for this creative option. It is as simple as putting colors to a drawing. We will just need to know the kind of spinnaker you require-- Radial head, Tri-radial or Star-cut.
First choose the category and immediately a drawing will appear on the screen. You will find a panel of color boxes below and a movable coloring tool. Click on a box to choose a color and you shall find the name of the color popped up on the top. The design of the spinnaker will be displayed as a line drawing with a number of horizontal and vertical panels.
After you select the color, click on a panel and you will see the panel has caught the the same. Isn’t it a fun? You will have the liberty to experiment as long as you want. Color-change-reselect-color... just enjoy your moment. If you have a child then for him/her also it can be a very creative activity.
When you are done click on the submit button and you will find an order form. Fill out all the measurement details and then click on the small question mark icon on the top right corner of the box. The rest of the mailing procedure will be mentioned there.
Buying sails for your vessel is one of the most critical tasks and this is what you should do very carefully. Do not get too fascinated by brands. We are not at all against brands but the point we are trying to make is that sometimes custom built sails serve better. May be these sails are not coming from a big factory but from a local loft. That does not mean these customized sails will be of inferior quality.
Most of these lofts employ experienced craftsmen who have worked for big brands. Besides these lofts are owned by seasoned mariners. They can actually guide you if you are a new seafarer. Ready made sails sometimes do not match the exact requirements of the boat. If you are choosing custom, then the sailmaker will have the option to go see your boat and take the measurements so that the sails fit perfectly.
They will also ask where you will be heading. Is it offshore or along the coast? Will you be catching up with the trade winds or traveling through the gusty weather conditions. This information is vital in deciding the type of sailcloth to be used and the type of headsails to choose.
But the greatest perk of choosing a custom sail is that you can put an emblem or write a name, which will be visible from a long distance.
When you are off to shop to buy the Headsails for your vessel, you need to choose according to your sailing plan. Depending on your destination, requirements will change. If you are sailing offshore, the type of sails you need are different from those you will require while sailing along a coastline. The sail configuration changes from vessel to vessel also.
When your mainsail is big enough, you will need a heavy weather jib and a 120% roller-furling Headsail. With this new roller-furling technology, we have reduced the number of sails in use but it is good for coastal sailing. The moment you go offshore, you are exposed to changing wind conditions and single Headsail will not help you.
For an offshore sailing boat, two Genoas can provide an adequate support-- one 135% that can be reefed around 95% and another 105% which reefs to 75%. But roller-furling has a side effect. Changing the sail set midway is difficult and so you need to make a sail setting plan depending on your sailing route. Large Headsails will be required if your sailing through the high pressure conditions. But if you are going to catch up with the trade winds, you need smaller ones.
Rig configurations are not same for all the boats. Some sailors even modify them to accommodate two Headstays. It is in fact necessary to have two Headsails at least, if you are planning to sail offshore.
