converting mainsail

[Todor]

Hi all,
Shortly the story; I am building a motorsailor Kodiak 29 (see Glen L projects).
Meantime I have found a new mainsail with following dimensions; Luff -11.10m,Foot 3.75m.
Sailing plan of the boat shows luff 9.10m;foot 4.42m.
Question;

Is it possible at all to adjust this sail to sail plan dimensions and if so how?

I already have spoken with sail maker "possible ,but you know..."

Regards
Todor

[PAR]

A good sail maker can make these types of alterations, but they don't like to. Even with them, often the shape isn't ideal and the draft isn't where you'd prefer. I'm also fairly sure it's not as economical as having a well setting sail made, in the big picture.

[Munter]

reducing the luff length isn't too hard. extending the foot is more of a pain. It would probably be better to get a sail that is oversize in all dimensions and then cut it down rather than trim from one end and add to the other. Keep in mind that good sails must also be the right weight cloth for the application and that using the wrong weight can result in a sail that is insufficiently strong for the job or too heavy to set in light breezes. Good luck regardless.

[Todor]

Thank you,
I have idea : cutting the sail head,converting it to square top mainsail,converting the two upermost battens to full lenght.
The foot and leech remain the same.of course I will loose 1,5 m2 area,but any way this is a motorsailor ?
Once again thanks ,if you could comment last madness will be O.K.
Todor

[Munter]

There is a lot more to a square top mainsail than just the square outline. The cloth alignment will be wrong if you just cut the head off and put in a new patch at the new location. You will also need to look at batten angles and positions if you want to have any chance at it looking reasonable under sail.
Also be aware that big square tops require a good strong vertical force at the clew to get the head to stand up, otherwise they will just twist off and be ineffective. Do you have a strong vang or a long traveller?
Sorry for sounding negative but I don't know if you're going down a sensible path here...

[Todor]

Thanks,
I realy wish to look resonable under sail,that why I will think very seriously on your comments,once again thanks I will revert
Regards
Todor

[Brent Swain]

Cutting a bit of the foot would be a better idea, if your leech is too long. Sometimes sailmakers refuse to alter a sail, on the assumption they can force you to hire them to build you a new sail, good economics for them, bad economics for you. We are awash in perfectly good, slightly used sails, at a fraction ther cost of the material, let alone the labour.
Brent