I don’t think you want any openings in the sail cover. My sail cover covers the whole sail, all the way around. Holes would let water into the sail. See attached pics. Lining up the reinforcing with the cradle lines is important. Can’t see it in these pics, but there is a small strap with a snap at each cradle line on the sail cover to keep the line from slipping off the reinforcing. That was added later.
The only thing that takes time in using a non-stack pack is the time it takes to flake the sail. That should be done anyways, but I bet most people that use a stack pack do not flake their sail, I’m guessing.
Bob Gehrman
NS30U #396 “Quickbeam”
Baltimore, Maryland
Just looked at Bob’s Quickbeam pics. About 6 years ago I commissioned a new cover that resembles his. With a few tweaks. My cover extends around the mast and has a zipper on the forward side. There is a collar that wraps around the mast and is tied off on the forward side. The rest of the cover is modified as follows: 1) There is are four zippers on top. Makes it easy to get at one area of the sail without unzipping the whole thing. If the zipper needs repair, which it hasn’t, only one part needs attention. 2) Each cradle line is fitted with a free hanging stainless boat snap. 3) A heavy web strap is sewn beneath each cradle line, extends a few inches above the zipper, and is fitted with a “D” ring. 4) Each ring is snapped to it’s “D” ring, suspending the sail cover. At the end of season the cover is dropped, unzipped, and roughly rolled to be carried ashore for final folding. Whoops, forgot to mention there is a strip of webbing that runs beneath the cover to allow drainage.
Phil Harmeson
Catharsis. 30U #295
Traverse City, MI
When I first decided to guard the sail (or the sail cover) from being chafed by bare cord, I ran 2’ pieces of plastic tubing on the cords and everything rested on the tubing. But, in time, the tubing went all curly and beige and cruddy from the sun. So, I cut the lines and had a sailmaker do up 4 pieces of 1" webbing between 2’ and 3’ long with a grommet at each end and tied them in. Each cradle line is infinitely adjustable and the webbing has been fine for years.
Robin - As is natural, there are always several schools of thought with regard to each topic that we discuss. Some of us favour flaking the sail and covering it with a conventional cover that is only open at the bottom. This will keep the sail dry and really do the job but you must lift the flaked sail to push and shove the cover “under it” but OVER each cradle line. Sincerely, I think that you will tire of this activity after the novelty wears off. It genuinely takes time (and sweat) but the boat looks great sailing around with no cover attached. A compromise would be to have those velcroed slits that your canvas person suggests - the cradle line (or webbing) ends up at the “top” of the slit, the rest seals up nicely and you don’t have to fight the cover under each cradle line. Practically the entire sail is covered up. Or, you go with a good traditional “somebody’s Pack zipper top”. They are well-thought-out and they do keep the sail covered. They do cost more money, obviously. Usually, they have some sort of system that shields the top zippers from the rain and, hopefully, the sail hardly gets wet.
My sail cover, as I said, is a true homemade bitch-up job done from an old cover. My sail does get wet after a good rain so I make sure that I go out sailing and get it dried off.
Good “somebody’s Pack zipper top” covers, professionally made, don’t look that bad and certainly add to the pleasure of a day out on the water. Great on a hot day, too !!
I think that the design for Bob and Phil’s sail cover came from the “Butch Garren Gang of Four”, around Solomon’s, MD. A lot was written here about how really good the design was and how successful these covers turned out to be. I do like the design, going by Bob’s photos.
Robin & Ernie,
Great discussion, we finally had a 2nd nonesuch at FYC this summer in Grosse I’ve michigan and I was immediately jealous of the top zip arrangement. But my motor has more horsepower so it balances out. However, the tie up “schlepping”(I think that fine word is Yiddish not Italian ..) ritual is always done happily by my wife as we drive up the Marina canal.
When replaced ours over covid, we asked for an extra 2 ft length and about 1 ft depth over the original and a bigger gap for the reefing line tie offs.
Jonathan.
West Lake Erie
Jolee NS26’ classic
So the things to look for in a traditional sail cover IMHO are
Clips vs toggles underneath. We have black plastic clips like you see on a back pack. They work. I have a seen the toggle like steel clips often used on dodges and I think they are easier to attach than our black clips
If you have an older sail make sure it is a good bit bigger. To fit a new sail in ours required a number of extensions to the clips under the cover ranging from 8 inches to 3 inches. As the sail ages and softens this becomes less of an issue. So make the cover 8 inches wide at the mast tapering to 3 at the end if you sail is 5 years and older. Also measure the length needed and add 4 inches.
The mast should be a zipper or velcro .
My expert tells me that making one out of “Sumbrella” is well with the ability of some one who can run a sewing machine and would use the Bernia vs the walking foot machine. Ours is two pieces joined at the top.
Make sure whoever makes it uses GORE® TENARA® Sewing Thread which is totally UV resistant.
We put the cover on by tossing out along the sail pack. Points are awarded for style and distance by the Admiral. I then push the boom off to the leeward side so I can get it all in from the deck vs the cabin top.
We then have a drink in the cockpit to celebrate the event and wait for Mark to arrive. Now sometimes he’s there already but only if he let’s Nesta drive.
The original sail cover on La Reina had the black buckles that Thor describes. The new cover has two zippers.
The buckles are easier to use but over time they became brittle and started breaking. I hand sewed on new ones and added some extras to keep the sail inside the cover. As Thor says new sails do not stack as small. I ended up adding about 4 inches of material to each side of the cover to make sure the sail did not see the sun. Both of the covers would have worked better with an extra 4" of length.
The zippers do a nice jog of keeping the sail out of the sun. If rain works its way into the cover the zippers also prevent it from draining out of the bottom. They are harder to use. I find I have to lay on the deck at the mast to start the main zipper and then I have to fiddle around for a while to line up the zipper at the reef lines near the back of the sail to get that one started. Thor is usually on the second G&T by the time I have the cover on.
The next cover will have the buckles. I think the buckles will be easier for a DIY to replace than the metal toggles.
I know I’m swimming against the tide here, but after 6 or 7 years with 2 different top zip sail covers, I’ll be returning to a traditional cover this season.
Although my first top zip sail cover was professionally made, I was never really happy with how it was attached to the mast when the sail was raised. Also, it was about 4” too short. The second cover, made by Butch Miller, was a superior design but it’s too tight. It takes 2 people to close the zipper—one person to muscle the two sides close to each other and one to work the zipper.
Now, I could have the second top zip cover enlarged, but it wouldn’t fix my other complaint with stack pack like covers—that is, reduced visibility forward. Also these covers can potentially interfere with the blocks on the mast.
So I’ll dig out my old traditional cover and give it another try this season. We will see how it goes. I do love the look of a Nonsuch with just a sail flying. But if it’s too much work I reserve the right to change my mind again in 2024.
Robin,
Definitely get cradle lines openings if you go with a regular sail cover. When I got my new cover around 3 years ago I was quoted 70 to 90 bucks for each opening so I left them off. Mistake. I’m 65, and in the summer the sun beats down on my slip as I do the schlepp thing. I ended up modifying my cradle lines with sections of webbing and clips, which makes it a bit easier and increases the surface contact around the bottom. On my 22 I remove the leach reef lines, back to the wishbone after each outing, which is a lot easier than having them in the sail cover game, and it would eliminate two openings.
So how did your sail cover work out this season for you? I am currently weighing the pros and cons of the stack pack vs the traditional cover. I love the convenience of the stack pack, but worry about the visibility aspect. Is it not possible to shorten the lines to keep the pack higher off the deck?
Robin,
Yes, Definitely get the cradle lines openings!
I was quoted about 70.00 each when I had my cover made so I cheaped out and did not get them. What a mistake.
