what is the best type of sail for the money?

i am looking to buy new sails. however i don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money and have to buy new sails every month. so what would you recomend to a racer who is willing to spend the money as long as it is worth it and will last(i am talking about the main, jib and spinaker).thanks.

-dylan

 

Dylan,
What kind of boat?

Yokebutt.

 

a merit 25

 

are you looking for serious racing sails, or something that will last at a marginal sacrifice in performance?

 

It depends on what part of the fleet you want to be in at the finish. If you want to be in the front of the fleet, you'll likely have to opt for sails that stretch and break down from UV quicker then the sails the middle of the pack will use. If you sip wine and eat cheese as you round the marks, then a good set of cruising sails may will suit you, but expect to be at the back of the bunch.

 

i want to be inbetween the middle to the front

-dylan

 

they will be racing sails the problem is which type

-dylan

 

Quantum, North, and Doyle make good sails if you want a brand name sail. There are many small (local) lofts in the US that are using Cuben fiber to produce very efficient, light sails. I am not sure about pricing for anything except that North Sails will probably charge more comparitively than Quantum or Doyle. Doyle and North have the best customer service-generally.

 

are you looking for paneled sails or one-piece "loadpath" sails.

 

what is the difference?

-dylan

 

paneled sails are made up of panels of sail cloth sewed together, while the one-piece "loadpath" sails are sewed and laminated together to form a almost perfectly smooth airfoil. Most racers use loadpath sails. Doyle D4 is a very good type of sail, North's 3DL and Quantum's Fusion Membrane are also very good.

 

load path = high price... very good sexy looking sails ut expensive. your best bet is too look at a sailmaker who has made stuuf you the merit before and performed well. If you cant find one, maybee look at someone who has made sails for similar boats.
go for a good quality panneled sail and it will be fine. are you racing phrf or onedesign????

 

Dylan,
Cross-cut dacron main and a 3/4oz nylon spinnaker should work fine on that size boat, if you want to use more advanced materials, reserve those for the headsails. This all depends on the conditions you normally sail in, if it's typically light air, you can put more money into the genoa #1 and get a cheaper #3. Of course, you can also buy less expensive headsails and get a 1/2oz spinnaker for when the 3/4 is too heavy to fly.......

Yokebutt.

 

How about a Pentax main sail? I'm not sure what the stay arrangement is on your boat, but I'm assuming a square-top is out of the question? Fully-battened is a given, in which case you'll need to have the shop sell you battens that work best with that sail (likely to be foam). How bendy is your mast?

 

Ive sailed on a boat with Spectra sails, they seemed to work well. Yokebutt is right about reserving the more exotic materials to headsails, as you want your main to last a long time.