My Multihull Rigging Thread

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Like you, my (2005) Hydranet sails are still in good condition so it won’t be anytime soon



I’ll start with looking at all the offerings on 3D molded sails and the differences

Wow, that’s really good. On our cat the 2011 HydraNet sails (fully battened big roach mainsail and 95% furling jib) were severely stretched, particularly the lower half of the mainsail. The jib was still in pretty good condition but the stitching of the main was starting to go as well as the webbing on the corners and that protecting the batten pockets. The sails had about 45,000 miles under the original owners from throughout the Mediterranean, Atlantic crossing, US east coast to Maine, all around the Caribbean, then through the S Pacific to New Zealand, plus a couple round trips to Fiji and Tonga with our ownership.

We opted for molded sails from Zoom Sails - about 1/3 of the cost as North 3Di and using a technology that doesn’t rely on thermal glues. That makes a huge difference to longevity in hot and humid climates like SE Asia, where we expect to spend the next few years.

[Chrisatlantic]

Just replaced three North 3Di (molded aramid fibers with the cruising outer skins) sails built in 2014 but stored in the loft for the three years before I bought the boat. They did a good job of keeping their shape right up until the end but the adhesives started failing. A couple of band-aid repairs made it obvious that fixing them was just an exercise in whack-a-mole. With new sails in the works the main failed catastrophically — on the way to the Bahamas and left me without a usable sail for seven weeks of sailing. No thank you.

New sails from Quantum: triradial Hydranet main and Solent jib (self tacking and reefable on inner forestay furler) and M6 laminated carbon string genoa with outer taffeta skins on outer forestay furler that will be rolled but not reefed. WAY more cost-effective than North and much more likely to remain in one piece (well, the white sails anyway) in my opinion. WRT the genoa, my boat loves that sail and I wanted a sail strong enough to hold its shape until the boat got overpowered without being crazy heavy and since I have the Solent for windier conditions I figured the higher performance construction would hold up.

My understanding is that the warp oriented Hydranet used in the triradial construction is vastly superior to the earlier fill oriented version — so no comparison to the earlier crosscut Hydranet sails in terms of stretch.

So the interesting things about the 3Di in my opinion is that they are very strong until the adhesive breaks down and they are breathtakingly expensive. For Gunboat owners who can change out sails when necessary, have backup sails in the container that follows them around and a wallet that would sink Chotu’s boat they’re the obvious choice.

[Chrisatlantic]

Oh, one other thing, I wanted to avoid light colored laminates due to likelihood of mildewing — shouldn’t be a concern for the woven main and jib and the laminated genoa has gray taffeta skins.

[Chotu]

I’ve seen those shipping containers the Gunboat crowd uses. Very nice. They follow the boat all around the world and allow it to be configured in many different ways. Quite a workshop in them as well.

[Chrisatlantic]

Oh, for a nine figure nest egg…

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Chrisatlantic

Oh, for a nine figure nest egg…

As a non-retired guy still finishing a boat, I have to ask, “what’s a nest egg?” Ha ha ha

That’s what the second gunboat style shipping container is for. You can use it to store your nest egg and have it follow you around the world.