What is the latest idea for a sail cover. We have a 26 and I have found that the original 1986 sail cover is a PITA.
I sure like the idea of a zip top cover, but I am not fond of the look under sail.
Tim in STL
White O'morn NS26U
I agree that the look under sail is not as clean. Nonetheless, I have come to love the top zipper arrangement when cocktail hour approaches. Tradeoffs, always tradeoffs!
Bill Baxter
Persistence NS30 #507
Cruising the North Channel
Woe is me … I do wish that I had a Mack Pack top-zip sail cover … $$$$$$. Woe is me … Poor me …
(As they say on TV “What would Joe Valinoti do ??”)
Ernie A. in Toronto
On Tuesday, August 8, 2017 at 4:32:26 AM UTC-4, Bill Baxter, Persistence, NS30 #507, Kingston ON wrote:
I forgot to ask for his email address. Does he live down by Sailcraft??
Joe
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ (_ ~ (_ ~ (_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ (_ ~ (_ ~ (_~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Having the sail cover hanging under the sail while underway is a bit on the ugly side, and does detract from the look of the boat under sail. May even detract from performance if you care about such things. But as far as I am concerned it is a trade-off I am more than willing to live with for the convenience it provides. Unzip the cover, attach the halyard, and you are ready to go! At the end of the day it takes a bit longer if you want to straighten the kinks out of the sail and get it laying neatly in the hangers; but that is something you would still have to do with a conventional cover anyway. Then you just do up the zippers and you are done.
My cover isn’t attached forward of the first set of hanger lines once the zippers are undone. That is a particularly ugly section of the cover when under sail. I have got to figure some way to keep it from just “flapping in the wind”. If you do decided to go the permanently attached cover route make sure you talk to your sail maker about how you are going to manage the cover while under way. Some permanent fixing method to attach the front of the cover to the mast and keep it under control while sailing should be a must have in the design.
Good Luck.
Ralph Bush
1983 N26C #104
“Hyggelig”
EYC, Toronto, ON
On Persistence the top-zipper sail cover stays around the mast and under the sail at all times.
The design is illustrated in these four linked photos.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8ztu2FMtaeYLTVWNFJ6QTM0RjA
Pic 50 shows the cover aft of the mast in the zipped position.
Pic 51 shows the unzipped cover looking something like Elvis Presley’s collars.
Pic 52 shows the front of the mast where there is another vertical zipper that remains zipped once the sail cover is put on in spring.
Pic 53 shows the industrial strength hook and loop that keeps the sail cover up the front if the mast whether the sail is in use or covered.
I can’t take a picture today of the appearance under sail since I am soloing. But imho is not so shabby as all that.
One disadvantage of a permanently mounted cover is that you can’t easily monitor what’s going on under there…
Bill Baxter
Persistence NS 30 #507
Cruising the North Channel
I was on a J 37 last weekend with a new this year Doyle Stack-pac - I was a bit surprised that the design had a panel in the front that had to be removed. I have been planning on making a zip-top sail cover for some time and had planned on zipping off the front of the cover (almost back to the first hanger lines) as a solution of how to handle the front of the cover. Yes a bit more to deal with, but minimally and I worry about the cover wearing where the halyard and other lines would rub on the cover and potentially getting pulled into the blocks at the base of the mast while raising the sail or reefing. For those with a cover where the front stays in place, has excess wear or jamming in the blocks been a problem?
lloyd herman
Rendezvous, 30U
Port Washington, NY
Excess wear, no. Jamming, yes, until the industrial strength hook and loop was installed. That seemed to keep the cover up reliably.
Bill Baxter
Persistence NS30 #507
Cruising the North Channel
Lloyd
I am in my 3rd season with a Doyle stack pack.
It is a sophisticated design, and I have had no problems.
The front can be zipped off, if you wish, but I leave it on while sailing.
Time to get ready to sail is less than 3 minutes, and 6 minutes to tuck it away.
I recommend this product
Mark fagelman
Lloyd:
We’re on our 15th year with a Stackpack. We keep its forward cover around the mast always on. We’ve never had an issue with the lines or blocks in any wind condition or sea state. The Stackpack has been consistently well behaved and a most convenient time-savings enhancement to our rig. For us, it has been an unalloyed plus.
Richard Fried
Melita NS36 #02
Marblehead, MA
I had Mack Pack people make a top zip sail cover. Total disaster. I have since had local loft to make one for me. Still not perfect but 1000 times better than the two tries with Mack Pack and despite the fact that they said they were doing one for a NS 30 near their loft in Stewart Fl.
Henry Poole
NS 30U #305
s/v Mary Speed
Sea Harbour Yacht Club
Oriental, NC
Hi Lloyd,
I have not had the forward section of my Stackpack cause any interference and it does not show any wear from halyard or reefing lines. This is my 4th or 5th season with it.
The stackpack is probably one the 3 best additions I put on my boat!
You might be able to see it from your office as I moved to Liberty Landing Marina this season... 
Peter Grabow
S/V CAKEWALK III
1987 30 Ultra 430
Jersey City, NJ
My Genco sail cover zips up the front of the mast and stays up by itself while i am sailing.
I did have a problem with the sail cover jamming in the halyard block when I was raising the sail . This was solved by slipping a six inch length of electrical conduit tubing onto the halyard above the halyard block. It rests loosely on top of the block and keeps the cover from being pulled into the block.
John Barbour
Nature 26U
John, Do you have any photo of your cover, closed and at sail?
I keep reading how ugly these zipper top sail covers are. I see no ugliness in them at all. I’ve attached a couple pictures of my NS 22 prior to selling it. I immediately had one made for my Nonsuch 30. I think it looks pretty damn good. If an onlooker sees a negative in it they should remember that it only took a moment or so to unzip the cover and I did not have to stow a cover till I returned from my sail to drag it out again, in the hot, miserable sun to put it back on. I usually had the old one upside down to start with. Just a moment longer and the zipper top hides the sail. If the zipper top sail cover is a tad sloppy looking there is good chance that it is not pulled in far enough at the end of the wish bone. I use cringles at the end of the sail cover, in about 6” with straps or stretch cord to make adjustments. This provides a lot of adjusting room. By hauling in the choker you should be able to get a nice looking fit. My cover wraps around the mast, is zippered and Velcroed. It does not get removed for sailing and I have no problems with lines getting hung on it. My ingenious canvas guy stiffened that wrap around area with some type of sail material. No one looks at the sail cover anyways as they all seem to be fascinated with the wishbone.
I suffer from “my boat is beautiful” syndrome. Even with a sail cover.
Take care!
Butch
Butch Garren
Nonsuch 30 #196
Whiskers II
Solomons, MD
It looks very ship shape and orderly to me, Butch.
Joe Valinoti
S/V IL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ (_ ~ (_ ~ (_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ (_ ~ (_ ~ (_~ ~ ~ ~ ~
(attachments)
Butch -
I know you love your boat !!
That is one nice, neat sail cover.
Cheers,
Ernie A. in Toronto
I keep reading how ugly these zipper top sail covers are. I see no ugliness in them at all. I’ve attached a couple pictures of my NS 22 prior to selling it. I immediately had one made for my Nonsuch 30. I think it looks pretty damn good. If an onlooker sees a negative in it they should remember that it only took a moment or so to unzip the cover and I did not have to stow a cover till I returned from my sail to drag it out again, in the hot, miserable sun to put it back on. I usually had the old one upside down to start with. Just a moment longer and the zipper top hides the sail. If the zipper top sail cover is a tad sloppy looking there is good chance that it is not pulled in far enough at the end of the wish bone. I use cringles at the end of the sail cover, in about 6” with straps or stretch cord to make adjustments. This provides a lot of adjusting room. By hauling in the choker you should be able to get a nice looking fit. My cover wraps around the mast, is zippered and Velcroed. It does not get removed for sailing and I have no problems with lines getting hung on it. My ingenious canvas guy stiffened that wrap around area with some type of sail material. No one looks at the sail cover anyways as they all seem to be fascinated with the wishbone.
I suffer from “my boat is beautiful” syndrome. Even with a sail cover.
Take care!
Butch
Butch Garren
Nonsuch 30 #196
Whiskers II
Solomons, MD
ina-nonsuch-discussion-group@googlegroups.com [mailto:ina-nonsuch-discussion-group@googlegroups.com] Tim Roberts Wednesday, August 9, 2017 3:34 PM INA Discussion Group INA-Nonsuch-Discussion-Group@googlegroups.com Re: Sail cover
(attachments)