July 12, 2013

F A REA S TS A I L S
N e w s l e t t e r

MEASURING YOUR BOAT FOR SAILS

Sailmakers can make sails for your boat in two ways. We can take the vessel's measurements or we can take the measurements of the old sails.

VESSEL MEASUREMENTS
If we take the vessel's measurements, they are based on sailmaker standard measurements known as I,J,P and E. If the vessel has two masts, then we need PY and EY for the mizzen sail. ere seems to be a lot of confusion on these measurements, and there is really no reason for this, the measurements are very simple, easy to take and do not need to be perfectly accurate, a few inches or so are just ne for "vessel" measurements.

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July 12, 2013

S A ILIN G
HEADSAILS
In regards to headsails, we use two basic measurements I and J. We assume that the mast and deck form a right triangle. We take I x J / 2 to nd the area of the vessels foretriangle. Once we have that, we then know what area is required for all of the dierent headsails and spinnakers. For instance, the area needed for a 135 Genoa would be I x J / 2 x 1.35 - easy. Important, I is measured from where the head-stay connects to the mast straight down to the deck (not Cabin top). J is measured from the bow fore-stay deck tting to the mast. is gives us the two sides of a right triangle. We can then calculate the max length of the fore-stay and use that as a double check for a sails lu measurement that you may send to us. J is NOT the sails foot length.

MAINSAIL & MIZZEN

We need two measurements for mainsails and mizzens. ese are referred to as P and E by sailmakers, or PY and EY for mizzen sails. P is the sails lu length. It is measured from the boom top to 8" below the bottom of the halyard sheave. We also need E. E is measured from the aft face of the mast to the furthest edge of where you want the sail along the boom. Normally, that is about 8 from the boom end. Some vessels will have black bands on the boom and the mast. ese black bands are there to help with these measurements. e boom measurement would then be aft face of mast to the inside edge of black band on the boom. e lu measurement would be from inside edges of black band along the mast. It is important to note that the sail should never exceed the black bands when mounted on the mast and boom, measurements are to the inside edge of the black band.

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July 12, 2013

S A ILIN G
MEASURING TOOLS
e most common method of measuring is to get a roll up steel tape measure. You want a good one as you will be hauling up the tape measure on the halyard and using the pull of the tape measure to bring the halyard back down. If you have any doubts about the strength of the tape measure, also attach a light down haul line to aid in pulling the halyard back to deck. Normally sailmakers use 100' tape measures designed for home building foundation layouts. Sailmakers can work in English or Metric numbers. A good way to check the top of an upper measurement is with your binoculars. Simply haul up the tape to the top and then stand back and look up with the binoculars to get a good look.

Taking Sail Measurements

Sail Measurements are dierent than vessel measurements. e terms used for sail measurements are Lu, Leech and Foot. Lu being the edge of the sail that attaches to the vessel, either at the mast or the fore-stay. e leech is the side of the sail that ies free and of course the foot is the bottom side. To measure sails, the spec we use is sail edge to sail edge pulled to normal sailing tensions. Most sailors will tie one end of the sail to a stationary object, pull the sail tight and then measure sail edge to sail edge, repeating the process with each edge of the sail. We strongly suggest that if you measure sails as described above, that you use the terms lu, leech and foot. A good number of sails get over quoted and/or made wrong because the vessel terms I,J,P and E get inter mixed with the sail terms lu, leech and foot. For instance, I is not the sails lu and J is not the sails foot.

IN CONCLUSION
Taking vessel or sail measurements are not complex. In most cases, you can measure a boat for a quote in about 10 to 15 minutes. The basic vessel measurements will allow a very accurate quote. These numbers have easy tolerances, as an inch or two has little or no effect on a sail quote. The important thing is to get the terms correct when communicating with the sailmaker. This will aid in getting the sails correct and at the right price.

Sailmaker Databases
Most sailmakers have a universal sailmakers database of the basic vessel measurements, such as I,J,P and E. ese are good for quoting sails. However, vessels often slightly vary from the designer specs, as the masts are often stepped locally by a boatyard and the booms are often mounted higher or lower, based on a dodger or bimini need. You can get accurate quotes from the database, but always check the measurements at the vessel.

Edges of Sails
Lu - Side attaches to the vessel. Leech - Fly's free Foot - Bottom of sail

I = Height of Mast Forestay connection above Deck J = Mast to Deck Forestay Connection P = Boom Top to 8" Below Halyard Sheave E = Aft Face of Mast to 8" from Furthest outhaul Position

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