I am about to have my first experience removing a Nonsuch 26 sail.
The sail is zipped into a Doyle Stackpack. Both sail and stackpack have battens which I can remove but beyond that I’m not clear. I assume I need another person, as I am 81.
I would really appreciate advice!
Dave DeWolfe
NS26C #150 Ascension
Marriotts Cove NS
Dave
I just removed the sail on my 30U and bagged it the other day by myself while the boat was at the mooring. Though I am a bit younger than you it went ok. I have a big sail bag where I can just stuff the sail into it until I get it home and properly fold it on the lawn. It’s always useful to have help but, I’ve done it myself since 1995 with no problem.
Mike
BIANKA
1986 30U
Long Island
Dave -
Yup, first, pull the battens.
I am MUCH, much younger than you (at 76.5), right ?? And, until very recently, sailed a much smaller boat, an NS 22. And … I always struggled with my damn sail until I, very wisely, asked a buddy for help.
I, like Mike, would do my best to “bag the thing up, somehow” at my slip (not at a mooring - that’s a little more complicated - at least, I was able to use a dock cart), Then, I’d get it to clean spot on the club lawn and fold it properly, etc. Even folding the sail nice and smartly is WAY easier with help.
What also happened to me (when I did this task solo) is that I ended up tearing my sail cover as I tried to simply drop the sail into the cover, stuff it (with great difficulty and mucho bad language and buckets of sweat) into a large-ish dock cart and roll it up onto the lawn.
Bottom line - it was a bitch of a task to do by my 5’6" self. It was SO much easier with a buddy even if the buddy knew NOTHING about what was going on. You just need some beef, not brains (though brains do help, it must be said).
That sail is big and heavy-ish - get help. Save your body (and your sail). We all know that Mike is a veritable Superman. This is one of the many reasons that we admire him (not just because he went electric eons ago and has never regretted it).
This task is a drudge - Did I mention that I feel it’s a good idea to get help ???
PS - Very seriously, make dead certain that the sail is BONE DRY before you bag it up. Even if that entails motoring around on a dry windless day to dry it out. Otherwise … mildew and mould. Not nice.
Ernie A. in Toronto
Ernie. It is NOT essential to first remove battens especially with a stack pack
Safe Saling
Cedric Single Malt
26C # 207
Chester Nova Scotia
Cedric -
In order to make the removal of a honkin’ big sail a little easier, I would remove the battens (a quick job) while the sail is lying there, still attached to the mast. This is as opposed to removing the sail from the mast, etc., with the battens still installed (and they may be full battens, to boot) and, somehow, dealing with all of this until you can lay the sail out on the lawn to properly flake it.
Like, what am I missing here ??
Ernie A. in Toronto
Please inform a new owner of a N30U ( 
) further concerning sail removal.
How often do Nonsuchers remove the sail on the hard and is that a bad idea?
Brian Cayer
SV N30U
Sprit~Wind ( was Cimarron )
Deep River CT
The sail comes off MagnifiCat every fall, just completed last week. Yes, it’s a bit of a struggle but usually the Admiral is available to help. Battens out first, sail bundled up as best we can into a handcart on the slip and then into the back of the car. Once home and weather co-operative, spread out on the asphalt driveway, folded and stored for winter or, if necessary, off to the sai loft for any repairs.
Alan Steward
30C #144 MagnifiCat
Loyalist Cove Marina,
Bath, Ontario
Thanks Alan, sounds perfect.
What about on the hard before the weather comes in
Brian Cayer
SV Sprit~Wind N30U (was Cimarron )
Deep River CT
If you’re up on the hard, boat in the cradle, then the same method will work, it’s just farther to fall and a lot harder than hitting the water
Alan
Yes but a lot easier to load into a vehicle parked next to the stern do you think?
Brian
I see your point, but you’re still one slip away from a broken neck. If you’re already on the hard, you don’t have much choice, in the water, I have the risk of a 2 - 3 ft fall onto the slip or a 4 - 5 ft fall into the water. On the hard, have the risk of a 8 - 10 ft fall onto concrete. I’m 85 years old, a scallop like that could seriously interrupt my sailing fun.
Seriously, Brian, I would never, ever drop the sail (or the boom, for that matter) when the boat is on the hard because it is patently unsafe. The fall will kill you or change your life in the worst way. It is one thing to carefully navigate your decks when the boat is on the hard. It is a whole other ball game to suddenly have to lunge a bit or place any part of your body in an awkward position in order to “accomplish something” when you are way up there, possibly getting snared on lifelines, being flipped and using your head as a fender. Just check out some pumpkins a few days afer Halloween.
Not worth the risk.
Ernie A. in toronto
Hey Brian,
How do you think us old guys got to be old guys ??
Alan/Ernie
Probably buy coloring within the lines yes?
Brian
Nah. Coloring between the lines would be buying a power boat at age 65.
Well at age 75.9 with a bad back I bought a …
Brian Cayer
SV Spirt~Wind
N30U formally Cimarron
Deep River, CT
Then The good life is just beginning !
I hope so, if only we can get this ‘big honkin sail’ home for the winter. Would it not be easier to climb a ladder to unhook the boom and lower it to the deck on solid ground?
Being very careful of course .
Perhaps I missed something here, but what does lowering the boom have to do with removing the sail?
Brian,
You seem rather determined to do the sail and boom while on the hard.
I concur with the fall risk concerns others have raised. If you do go ahead in that approach anyway, one thing to keep in mind in your planning is that the sail is heavy in addition to being bulky, wiggly, and unwieldy.
I recall we had a discussion thread some time ago about how much the sails weighed. You might want to search the conversations and see if you can find it to double-check me, but my recollection was that N26 sails seemed to run between 70-90 lbs, and N30 owners estimated theirs as weighing in the 105-120 lb range.
Rather than like lifting weights or carrying suitcases, this is probably like trying to move a dead body. (I’m guessing here, I don’t actually have first hand experience with disposing of evidence, and certainly wouldn’t admit to it even if I had.)
But, having carried a bagged N26 sail up a flight of stairs to deliver it to a sailmaker with an upstairs loft, I know I wouldn’t sign up to try an N30 sail up or down a ladder. Nor would I feel safe trying to reduce the load by teaming with someone else on another ladder; that feels like a good way for one falling person to topple the other.
So, you’d want to be very careful about packing it and lowering it off the boat, especially if trying to get it down a ladder. It might be better to plan on bagging or rolling it, tying lines around the package and using lines and/or a block and tackle arrangement to lower it to the ground.
FWIW, IMHO.
– Bob
Me Gusta
Nonsuch e26U #233