Like many industries, sailmakers are experiencing delays in delivery in the last few months due to sailcloth delays, transport delays and many other issues. However, Mark Mansfield from Quantum Sails Ireland says the loft has some decent stocks available and spinnakers, in particular, can be supplied quite quickly.
New A2 Superkote Spinnaker for J 109 Something Else
So if you are thinking of upping your performance for the second part of the season, and your present spinnaker is soft and retains a lot of water, maybe now is the time to raid the bank account and come out with a shiny new kite that will set quicker, be faster when full, and not run the same risk of tearing.
Older spinnakers are not as quick or efficient for various reasons:
- When soft and limp, they are slow to set when hoisted.
- An old spinnaker eventually becomes porous, and the wind works its way through the cloth, so less pulling power.
- A shiny spinnaker will gybe easier, particularly with asymmetric spinnakers, where the spinnaker slides along itself.
- If an old spinnaker goes even partly in the water, it will act like a sponge and drag the rest in, whereas a new shiny spinnaker often just 'dances' on top of the water.
- An older spinnaker is much more likely to tear or blow out, as the threads joining the sail and the cloth itself start to fail due to age.
- Finally replacing a spinnaker offers the opportunity of changing the size required, so maybe going larger if a little underpowered downwind, or perhaps going smaller to make it more manageable and lower the rating. Perhaps even a change of shape can be accommodated so an old full running spinnaker could be replaced with a more all-round radial spinnaker.
A fisheye lens view of a new Carbon M6 Mainsail and S2 spinnaker on Emmet Sheridan's Dufour 45 Blaoga on Dublin Bay
For a quote for a new spinnaker, or indeed any sail, Mark Mansfield can be contacted at [email protected] Tel 087 2506838
Some further information on what spinnaker cloth to select is contained in a previous article here
New J122e into Ireland headed for Arklow. Her sails this year will include a new Quantum A2, A3, both Superkote and a Quantum M7 Carbon J2(see above).
