taking own P, E, I, J measurements

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by crankysailor

I congratulate you on your superior googling skills.

Anyhow I reiterate my thanks to @AdamLoory for hitting the crux of what was bothering me. The numbers are conventions describing some theoretical maximum and sailmakers will account for things like stretch and fittings etc. Check. However this makes me wonder.. how is it that there are so many stories about sails ordered which do not fit or fit poorly?.. assuming one can use a measuring tape and the sailmaker deducts the allowances etc.. what can go wrong? [emoji848]

Thanks.

I do remember seeing the just of his post during my research also.

it's all there if you care to look, but I understand if you just need someone to tell you if you don't trust you own research

When in doubt, go a little shorter on the luff of the mainsail. This way at least you can still get it tight

[psk125]

The simplest thing to do would be to get quotes for the Malö 40 sails you want from a number of sailmakers. They can all determine what the dimensions are supposed to be for a Malö 40. The minimal differences that might be present in your boat will not impact their prices. Then have the sailmaker you select come and measure the boat himself to ensure everything fits perfectly. If there are 10cm or so differences in final dimensions, they are not going to change the overall price quotes. Doing it this way will save you the time of online discourse, AND the time of measuring AND the time of explaining to each sailmaker exactly how you did the measurement. It will also save each of the sailmakers having to listen to your explanations, which, for the purposes of giving you a quote, they will probably ignore anyway.

[Dsanduril]

As noted above, P and E within 6"/150mm are close enough to get an estimate. But you can't build a sail to P and E. What is the mast rake? What is the boom angle? On our boat the mast is not vertical and the boom is not horizontal. Sailmakers have different preferences and measurement methods. Use your approximate P&E to get estimates and select your sailmaker, then work with them to get the measurements in the manner they prefer.