If time is money and you have more time, Do you need more money?

Friday, January 18, 2013

A Sailboat Is Not A Sailboat Without A Sail.

On that list of things to do in Marathon like spend money was some sail work.  We have had an almost new Hood Genoa on board for over a year.  It's only problem was it was too long for our fore stay.  It also needed to be converted from hanks to our #5 tape size.

We had lost two sails in our adventure last year. The first was the Genny that came with s/v Gemini Dreams.  I repaired a really big rip in it on the first season.  Last year as we rounded North Rock above Bimini we had a moment of sheets in the wind.  As I tried to do something... Hmmm I don't even remember what.  Probably motor or GPS related.  This was just enough for the old tired sail to gain a couple of new rips.  Down she came and up went the spare.  The spare was an old racing sail, a laminate.  Through out the Bahamas she shed her skin daily.  leaving only strands of open weave in large spaces by the time we arrived in PC.

We made it from PC to Marathon with an "I don't even know why this crappy sail is on board" sail.  Too small and running it free flying.  (we had hoped to sew the Hood in White City)  We had purchased a Zigzag sewing machine to do this with.  Turns out the old metal framed heavy duty machine would not sew the Hood sail fabric.   At least not 7 layers of it.  We chose to press on instead of returning to PC or buying another sail and having it delivered to Apalachicola.

What did it cost to have our oversize Hood sewn to fit and our #5 tape replaced?  Keys Sail Repair did it for... Ca-ching $322.00 out of the cruising budget.  We have $522 total in an almost new Hood cloth fore sail now.  With estimates for fore sails $1200-$2700 we are okay with this but it was still a financial hit.   John lives aboard in Boot Key and has been cruising quite a bit on his boat.  If you need something done to your canvas or sails take off your shoes and give him a chance.


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2244 Overseas Highway
Marathon, FL 33050
(774) 563-9535

Maybe it was the recut on this sail that got us to Bahia Honda in record time?
W

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