The time came to replace the mainsail, and all that comes with the research process.
Heaps of emails , stress of did I measure right , not being a sailmaker the niggle of will it fit and set in the back of my mind .
I wanted an offshore sail built tough with three reefs etc.
One very well known sail maker telling me we don't do three reefs any more just do two deeper ones, fantastic if you don't mind losing some of your gears , plus who was he looking after certainly not me , and he still was way more expensive than elsewhere.
Then I remembered an article about sail setting online and the sailmaker who wrote it, So I made a call and talked to Ian Short , you would be flat out finding a more down to earth Ozzie block .
first thing he said was I would need 8.5oz cloth , we agreed on the reefs a bit more roach for power and to my amazement he wanted to come down and measure up for the sail.
i met Ian in person he gave me heaps of advice he even got into my tiny dinghy putting his life at risk .
i waited just over a week when I received a call to say the sail is ready , I asked how would we post it ? Post it he said I will be down and fit it , I was blown away .
Once again two blokes and a huge sail threatened to sink the dinghy picture a very long sail with full battens strung across the dinghy skimming the water as I tried to row.
Ian bent the sail on and showed me different settings to get the best out sail so how is that for service ? What price do you put on having a sailmaker come out to your boat ?
this sail is for my Tophat yacht TLC , see for yourself how nice his work is.
thank you Ian I will have many years of sailing from this fantasticly made sail,
Select to expand quoteBROWNSMTRACE said..
The time came to replace the mainsail, and all that comes with the research process.
Heaps of emails , stress of did I measure right , not being a sailmaker the niggle of will it fit and set in the back of my mind .
I wanted an offshore sail built tough with three reefs etc.
One very well known sail maker telling me we don't do three reefs any more just do two deeper ones, fantastic if you don't mind losing some of your gears , plus who was he looking after certainly not me , and he still was way more expensive than elsewhere.
Then I remembered an article about sail setting online and the sailmaker who wrote it, So I made a call and talked to Ian Short , you would be flat out finding a more down to earth Ozzie block .
first thing he said was I would need 8.5oz cloth , we agreed on the reefs a bit more roach for power and to my amazement he wanted to come down and measure up for the sail.
i met Ian in person he gave me heaps of advice he even got into my tiny dinghy putting his life at risk .
i waited just over a week when I received a call to say the sail is ready , I asked how would we post it ? Post it he said I will be down and fit it , I was blown away .
Once again two blokes and a huge sail threatened to sink the dinghy picture a very long sail with full battens strung across the dinghy skimming the water as I tried to row.
Ian bent the sail on and showed me different settings to get the best out sail so how is that for service ? What price do you put on having a sailmaker come out to your boat ?
this sail is for my Tophat yacht TLC , see for yourself how nice his work is.
thank you Ian I will have many years of sailing from this fantasticly made sail,
Good to hear. Ian is in Taren Point isn't he, where abouts are you?
Another great sailmaker is Neil from Barracouta Sails, also at taren point.
Select to expand quoteBROWNSMTRACE said..
The time came to replace the mainsail, and all that comes with the research process.
Heaps of emails , stress of did I measure right , not being a sailmaker the niggle of will it fit and set in the back of my mind .
I wanted an offshore sail built tough with three reefs etc.
One very well known sail maker telling me we don't do three reefs any more just do two deeper ones, fantastic if you don't mind losing some of your gears , plus who was he looking after certainly not me , and he still was way more expensive than elsewhere.
Then I remembered an article about sail setting online and the sailmaker who wrote it, So I made a call and talked to Ian Short , you would be flat out finding a more down to earth Ozzie block .
first thing he said was I would need 8.5oz cloth , we agreed on the reefs a bit more roach for power and to my amazement he wanted to come down and measure up for the sail.
i met Ian in person he gave me heaps of advice he even got into my tiny dinghy putting his life at risk .
i waited just over a week when I received a call to say the sail is ready , I asked how would we post it ? Post it he said I will be down and fit it , I was blown away .
Once again two blokes and a huge sail threatened to sink the dinghy picture a very long sail with full battens strung across the dinghy skimming the water as I tried to row.
Ian bent the sail on and showed me different settings to get the best out sail so how is that for service ? What price do you put on having a sailmaker come out to your boat ?
this sail is for my Tophat yacht TLC , see for yourself how nice his work is.
thank you Ian I will have many years of sailing from this fantasticly made sail,
Great looking sail, and yes we need to support our local people, otherwise it's all going to be mail order! I have used Barracouta, Neil is very accomodating.
i have to fess up I purchased some OS sails I was not sure Ian Short was still active, thank you for the wake up.
cheers Richard
i had a Genoa repaired by Ian and his staff, and Ian was very professional AND friendly.
i've only dealt with two other sailmakers face-to-face. one was friendly, the other was professional.
" we don't do three reef anymore"... is this serious? That does not make any sense.
I have 2 mainsails, one with 3 reefs, one with 2.
The 3rd reef is as deep as the 2nd reef on my newer 2 reef sail.
The 1st reef on the 3 reef sail works as a flattening reef.
Seeing that I'm not racing, I didn't feel it necessary for a (1st) flattening reef in my new sail.
In some cases the number of reefing lines in the boom is a factor. A lot only have two lines, so it is more expedient and safer to have a very deep 2nd reef in lieu of the traditional 3rd reef.
It is no fun trying to reeve a reefing line in huge winds if you get caught out.
So you end up with 1 standard reef ( maybe a bit deeper than standard) for performance, boat balance etc, and a very deep reef for switching to survival mode.
Sorry what I meant was if you really want a third reef aany sailmaker should be able to make it happen.
I also used a local sailmaker, in fact he is my neighbour, for a new Mainsail after he told me he wasn't going to fix my original mainsail as it was over 45 years old 
. You can see the full story in the March 2017 issue of Cruising Helmsman.
This year he built me a new Genoa for my new furler. Very pleased with Rohan Nosworthy at Midcoast Sails 0419 211 660. Rohan is based near Laurieton so is available for new sails and repairs if you are on the Mid North Coast of NSW.
I would also note that Illingworth, the designer of Top Hats, only specified two reefs as Top Hats are really only driven by the foresail.
My EastCoast came with 2 old mains, both with 3 reef points. The recent replacement came with 2, the 1st reef between 1 & 2 on the old and 2nd same as 3. My boom only has fittings for 2 and as it is mainly headsail driven, makes my life a lot easier know.
I have only had the 2nd reef set once on the new one, so the 2nd reef lines are normally not set unless I am doing a passage/delivery.
Previously I used Norths but the last 3 new head sails have been by Hoods Brookvale. Ben @ Hoods came out to measure, install and test his sails (taking 1 away for a small adjustment) and is a pleasure to do business with.
Select to expand quotenswsailor said..
This year he built me a new Genoa for my new furler. Very pleased with Rohan Nosworthy at Midcoast Sails 0419 211 660. Rohan is based near Laurieton so is available for new sails and repairs if you are on the Mid North Coast of NSW.
Rohan made my sail bag - nice fella & very reasonable :)
Select to expand quoteJolene said..
I have 2 mainsails, one with 3 reefs, one with 2.
The 3rd reef is as deep as the 2nd reef on my newer 2 reef sail.
The 1st reef on the 3 reef sail works as a flattening reef.
Seeing that I'm not racing, I didn't feel it necessary for a (1st) flattening reef in my new sail.
Same.
What does it cost for a Aus sailmaker to do a Top Hat main and also sail bag (w/ lazy jacks)?
Think mine due after a reefing point tear
Select to expand quotedism said..
What does it cost for a Aus sailmaker to do a Top Hat main and also sail bag (w/ lazy jacks)?
Think mine due after a reefing point tear
Why don't you ring Rohan Nosworthy at Midcoast Sails 0419 211 660 and get a quote. I paid in cash and cannot remember the exact amount now, I always forget the cost of yacht gear 
We find the 1st reef pretty useless. We can depower the full main pretty well, which usually just about gives us time to set up the 2nd reef.
Cheers
Bristol
Interesting discussion. For cruising, we find 1st reef pretty good for taking the edge off a bit when it gets close to 20 to low 20s. Mid 20s+, it's reef 2 which is a big reduction (even though it doesn't look it) and comfortable into the low 30s. Haven't had the new sails into the mid 30s plus, but I'd probably give it away then anyway and just get the main all down safely without leaving the cockpit and continue with a little bit of headsail.
Having said that, smashing down the West Coast from Exmouth on the delivery with the old sails into seemingly endless 30+ all day everyday, 2 reefs and the storm jib did a really good job of it.
Select to expand quoteFreeRadical said..
Interesting discussion. For cruising, we find 1st reef pretty good for taking the edge off a bit when it gets close to 20 to low 20s. Mid 20s+, it's reef 2 which is a big reduction (even though it doesn't look it) and comfortable into the low 30s. Haven't had the new sails into the mid 30s plus, but I'd probably give it away then anyway and just get the main all down safely without leaving the cockpit and continue with a little bit of headsail.
Having said that, smashing down the West Coast from Exmouth on the delivery with the old sails into seemingly endless 30+ all day everyday, 2 reefs and the storm jib did a really good job of it.
That is a pretty big sail for a storm sail
Select to expand quotenswsailor said..dism said..
What does it cost for a Aus sailmaker to do a Top Hat main and also sail bag (w/ lazy jacks)?
Think mine due after a reefing point tear
Why don't you ring Rohan Nosworthy at Midcoast Sails 0419 211 660 and get a quote. I paid in cash and cannot remember the exact amount now, I always forget the cost of yacht gear
I raced on a Northshorel 38 in Port Macquarie Rohan made a new mainsail for it ,it was the worst sail we had seen fitted very poorly .
Select to expand quoteGalatea said..
In some cases the number of reefing lines in the boom is a factor. A lot only have two lines, so it is more expedient and safer to have a very deep 2nd reef in lieu of the traditional 3rd reef.
It is no fun trying to reeve a reefing line in huge winds if you get caught out.
So you end up with 1 standard reef ( maybe a bit deeper than standard) for performance, boat balance etc, and a very deep reef for switching to survival mode.
Interesting discussion. So I've recently purchased a new mainsail - Fibrecon Pro-Hybrid 50m2 tri radial 5 batten with cars and 3 reefs. I used to have 2 as per Galatea's points above, however, would always seem to compromise main power in the 20-30 knot range (either overpowered with 1 reef, or under with deep 2 reef).
Similarly, on the old 2nd deep reef I was also conscious that anything 35 knots plus would leave me vulnerable - as per free radical's comment above.
So my new set-up is sweet...but I can't 3rd reef, without removing and resetting lines internal to boom - pain!
While this either must require pre-setup in advance (I.e. move from 1'st to 3rd reefing lines if its gonna blow, can anyone help me understand how I might be able to do this (simply and easily) on the fly...without having to scramble on the deck in 40knots trying to lock in 3rd reef clew and tack point. - Also, I mostly solo sail a 38 footer??
Select to expand quoteConcepcion said..
Interesting discussion. So I've recently purchased a new mainsail - Fibrecon Pro-Hybrid 50m2 tri radial 5 batten with cars and 3 reefs. I used to have 2 as per Galatea's points above, however, would always seem to compromise main power in the 20-30 knot range (either overpowered with 1 reef, or under with deep 2 reef).
Similarly, on the old 2nd deep reef I was also conscious that anything 35 knots plus would leave me vulnerable - as per free radical's comment above.
So my new set-up is sweet...but I can't 3rd reef, without removing and resetting lines internal to boom - pain!
While this either must require pre-setup in advance (I.e. move from 1'st to 3rd reefing lines if its gonna blow, can anyone help me understand how I might be able to do this (simply and easily) on the fly...without having to scramble on the deck in 40knots trying to lock in 3rd reef clew and tack point. - Also, I mostly solo sail a 38 footer??
Simple. Run the 3rd reef line on the side of the boom. I have 3 reef points on my main and all 3 reef lines are roved at all times and all 3 are external on the boom. On the lower edge of my stackpack/sail cover I have sewn webbing loops to keep the lot tidy. Only line in my boom is the outhaul for the main.
Nice one Ramona, webbing loops on the stack pack, simple and effective. I've been contemplating how to keep all the along boom rigging tidy. Thanks
Select to expand quoteRamona said..Concepcion said..
Interesting discussion. So I've recently purchased a new mainsail - Fibrecon Pro-Hybrid 50m2 tri radial 5 batten with cars and 3 reefs. I used to have 2 as per Galatea's points above, however, would always seem to compromise main power in the 20-30 knot range (either overpowered with 1 reef, or under with deep 2 reef).
Similarly, on the old 2nd deep reef I was also conscious that anything 35 knots plus would leave me vulnerable - as per free radical's comment above.
So my new set-up is sweet...but I can't 3rd reef, without removing and resetting lines internal to boom - pain!
While this either must require pre-setup in advance (I.e. move from 1'st to 3rd reefing lines if its gonna blow, can anyone help me understand how I might be able to do this (simply and easily) on the fly...without having to scramble on the deck in 40knots trying to lock in 3rd reef clew and tack point. - Also, I mostly solo sail a 38 footer??
Simple. Run the 3rd reef line on the side of the boom. I have 3 reef points on my main and all 3 reef lines are roved at all times and all 3 are external on the boom. On the lower edge of my stackpack/sail cover I have sewn webbing loops to keep the lot tidy. Only line in my boom is the outhaul for the main.
Thanks, would love to see a picture of setup if possible?
cheers
r
I took a photo this morning as I left just in case some one asked. Two reefing lines on starboard and one on the port side. It was blowing quite fresh but it looks pleasant in the photo.
Even though cruising is not racing and having only two reefs is Convenient in the short term , using the three reefs might give you a speed difference of up to a knot , which could get you to your destination and in port before dark, with out resorting to the engine , I like having all my sailing gears the sail should last for years I want that third reef ??
Select to expand quoteBROWNSMTRACE said..
Even though cruising is not racing and having only two reefs is Convenient in the short term , using the three reefs might give you a speed difference of up to a knot , which could get you to your destination and in port before dark, with out resorting to the engine , I like having all my sailing gears the sail should last for years I want that third reef ??
I only coastal sail and prefer to sail on nice days because I can. I think I have only used the 3rd reef once but it is so reassuring to stay safely in the cockpit and quickly and easily drop down to that 3rd reef when needed.
Select to expand quoteBROWNSMTRACE said..nswsailor said..dism said..
What does it cost for a Aus sailmaker to do a Top Hat main and also sail bag (w/ lazy jacks)?
Think mine due after a reefing point tear
Why don't you ring Rohan Nosworthy at Midcoast Sails 0419 211 660 and get a quote. I paid in cash and cannot remember the exact amount now, I always forget the cost of yacht gear
I raced on a Northshorel 38 in Port Macquarie Rohan made a new mainsail for it ,it was the worst sail we had seen fitted very poorly .
brownsmtrace said: I raced on a Northshorel 38 in Port Macquarie Rohan made a new mainsail for it ,it was the worst sail we had seen fitted very poorly .
Mmmmm Well I do know that the owner S***** raced the whole summer race series in Port Macquarie and has been to Lord Howe and back with that mainsail. S*****, as the owner, must have been happy with it as Rohan has never had any complaints.
I don't think you know much about sails and if you have a problem with Rohan's work give him a ring, his number has been posted above.
Great discussion, I'm learning lots! So if one was to go for a 3 reef set up, would the 3rd reef be designed to be approximately the same area of sail as a storm tri?
Select to expand quotenswsailor said..BROWNSMTRACE said..nswsailor said..dism said..
What does it cost for a Aus sailmaker to do a Top Hat main and also sail bag (w/ lazy jacks)?
Think mine due after a reefing point tear
Why don't you ring Rohan Nosworthy at Midcoast Sails 0419 211 660 and get a quote. I paid in cash and cannot remember the exact amount now, I always forget the cost of yacht gear
I raced on a Northshorel 38 in Port Macquarie Rohan made a new mainsail for it ,it was the worst sail we had seen fitted very poorly .
brownsmtrace said: I raced on a Northshorel 38 in Port Macquarie Rohan made a new mainsail for it ,it was the worst sail we had seen fitted very poorly .
Mmmmm Well I do know that the owner S***** raced the whole summer race series in Port Macquarie and has been to Lord Howe and back with that mainsail. S*****, as the owner, must have been happy with it as Rohan has never had any complaints.
I don't think you know much about sails and if you have a problem with Rohan's work give him a ring, his number has been posted above.
Not sure what you based that assumption. But I can only pray that I can know half as much as you think you do 
