Looking at buying new equipment for your sailboat? Don’t discount the importance of upgrading your sail rather than installing the most up to date electronics. Sails aren’t a “one size fits all” piece of equipment, sailboats need a sail or sails that fit the mast as well as the type of sailing and waters they’ll be used in.

Measuring

Measurements of your boat, not your current sail, is of utmost importance.

The luff length is the measurement of mast from the top of the boom to the point that is the highest the main sail can be hoisted. Measure along the aft face of the mast. For the yawl or ketch, measure the luff length of the mizzen.

Measure the width of the main sail along the boom. Begin your measurement after the mast face, end your measurement at the outermost point of the boom, where the main sail will be taut. Repeat for the boom of the yawl or ketch.

The fore-triangle is measured in much the same way. Measure the distance between the highest halyard to the main deck, where the deck would be if no deckhouse was there.

The width of the fore-triangle is measured from the mast to the headstay.

Materials

Sails made of woven materials are a good choice if cruising is your style. They offer wonderful chafe resistance and their per-yard cost is quite affordable. Woven sails are usually heavier and can be more difficult than laminate sails. Woven sails in a cross-cut pattern, typically the least expensive of the woven sails, are less than optimal if your boat requires a big roached mainsail or has a low aspect furling and reefing headsails.

Laminates are layers of varying materials glued together to create a film. The resulting film is lighter than woven sails and is much more resistant to stretching. They are often easier to manage than woven sails as well. This is not without cost, however. Laminates are not as resistant to chafing and they are much more expensive than woven sails.

A somewhat newer sail material is a polyester or woven laminate. This fabric combines the benefits of longer life and chafe resistance of a woven material with the light-weight and resistance to stretching of a laminate. Fabric is woven more loosely than a regular woven sail and then laminated between Mylar film sheets.

To receive quotes on a new sail from multiple sail makers, make sure to visit sailquotes.com