Standard sail vs. square top sail

[Thierry Msika]

Hello,

I got my second-hand #1571 with 2 sails, the first one is the standard sail, the other one is a square top sail made by Forward and almost new. Apart from a small problem with hooking the Forward sail I would love to hear your comments about the differences, advantages/drawbacks of those sails from someone who has some experience with both of them. Thanks.

What kind of sun protection do you use on the roller jib? Or do you take it down every time? I am thinking of sewing some sort of heavy fabric tube to slide it up around the jib closed by snaps to avoid having to unrig every time I sail.

Regarding my last post I tied and pulled the trampoline with separate pieces of 5mm spectra and got a remarkable tension on it.

Cheers, Thierry, Loctudy

[Corky the Cat]

Square-topped sails were all the rage a few years ago. The Hurricane 5.9s adopted them as they, hitherto, had pointy tops just like the Sprints. However, the square tops were experimental and the Sprint class never adopted them.

Square tops were a fun thing. Eg like spinnakers which some Sprinters also tried. If you have money to burn, you can try carbon fibre additions. The down side is that none of these are class-legal. You’d be disallowed from class events.

[Liam]

Definitely take the jib down each time if it's any good. It only takes a couple of minutes.

[Thierry Msika]

Thanks for the answer. My question was more related to the differences between the 2 shapes of sails and why would you use one or the other apart from the fact that the square top is not class legal. The sail area is roughly the same. I am not going to race. My plan is to cruise around my patch of water.
I got elements of response in https://www.practical-sailor.com/sails- ... d-mainsail though not specific to the Sprint.
Cheers, Thierry

[Mark Aldridge]

I agree with Liam - take your jib down, relax rig tension & put mast pin in.

The hulls will really only go so fast, so the square top may help you accelerate faster if it has more area and will give you more leverage to hike/trapeze against. If the sail area is the same leave it at home & I see no point in it.

SS Marine do a DX set up that is a square top & more area.

[edchris177]

On the Dart 15, with its hanky sized jib, I agree with others, take it down. The jib is so small, it only takes a minute or two, especially if you use a loop & monkey fist at the tack.
On my larger Cats, (Nacra 5.7, Nacra 5.0, H18), I use a UV strip. It’s simply a 10” strip of material the loft sewed along the foot & leach. As the jib furls, only the very edge of the foot & leach are exposed, so only a narrow strip is required.
Works very well. Furl, cleat, tie off the furling line in case it comes out of the cleat, & for extra security I tie a thin line, (captive on the jib tack), around…just in case. If the jib comes loose in a blow, you have a million feet of dental floss.
Looking closely, you can see the edge of the UV strip on the N5.7
https://www.thebeachcats.com/pictures?g ... ewsIndex=1
The sail loft I use told me outright that he always knew which jibs used socks, or snuffer tubes…the sails suffered. When tension is released, then exposed to wind, the tube “slides” a bit on the jib, & wears them prematurely.
Our Cats are kept in the backyard, on modified Seadoo lifts. It’s a royal pain to stand in 4’ of water & try to reach high enough to undo the fittings. When I had a Mystere 6.0XL,(20’ x 10’), it was impossible, I had to place plank across the bows & walk out, hence the UV strips.
It does speed things up. My record is 7 minutes, which includes coming from the garage with the mainsail, to on the water.
https://www.thebeachcats.com/pictures?g ... ewsIndex=1

[Darren-Sewell]

Does anyone have a link to 15 carbon mast suppliers please?

[Liam]

The Sprint 15 is supposed to be one design and the masts are made of aluminium.