E30+ sail dimensions and advice needed

[light24bulbs]

I'm on the second year of ownership of my 1984 Erickson 30+ and it's time for new sails. I found a local dealer of rolly Tasker and they're helping me through it. Big savings.


I measured my 125% headsail by hand but I was hoping for someone to have the mainsail dimensions that I could really count on, maybe someone who ordered a sail recently.. The document that's been uploaded as a resource here is just way too faded to be legible or trustworthy.

Ericson Document - E30Plus Sail Plan

E30Plus Sail Plan ---------------------------------------- Thank you for your interest in downloading this document from the www.EricsonYachts.org Resource Center. We hope you find it useful in the on-going maintenance and care of your boat. To...

ericsonyachts.org

I was also hoping to get some advice from people who knew the boat well, so here's some general questions:

The 125% Genoa I have now seems awesome. I can't imagine needing any more light wind power, but the jib I have is a bit too small at 95%. Is 125% the sweet spot? Seems like it to me, very balanced.

I'm thinking of asking for a third reef because this is a quite powerful boat and I had one time I _really_ wished I'd had one.

As for reefing, there's a problem that I know other Ericson 30 plus owners have as well where when second reefing. The slugs stack up too much in the track and prevent you from getting the sail reefing eyelet onto the hook without taking some slugs out (always fun in high wind) or using a little Cunningham rope and hook. The second option is fine, I guess, but I mentioned this to the distributor and they said they can order the sail with a little dog bone strap preinstalled in the top two reefs to fix the problem. Basically a fabric strap with a ring sewed into either end to reach the gooseneck hook. Any input?

Another mainsail question: My current main has slugs on the foot (as pictured) which I don't think do any favor to the sale shape and the distributor offered to just make me a loose-footed main. My gut is telling me to go for it but I just wanted to hear from others that it works well on this rig. I have the outhaul led aft so it won't be tricky to tension.


Thank you all very much for any input. If i got absolutely trustworthy numbers for the mainsail dimensions I'd be happy. Id go measure but it's ice cold here now and I'd love to avoid it.

Thank you!

 

[Loren Beach]

The last/current new main (a composite North Sails product at the less expensive end of their pricing) for us has only one reef, but it reduces area more that the usual single reef. We sail in a light wind area, but some evenings it can fill in at 18 to 20. Our former main had two reefs, and I never used the second reef in 20 years.
Sailing area and prevailing winds are the key. The few times we have sailed in the San Juans or Gulf Islands, the winds were light to zilch, so reefing was a non issue....!

 

[Frank Langer]

We sail our 1984 E30+ in the Gulf Islands, Desolation Sound, Discovery Islands and San Juan Islands, year round. Some days are light winds 4 - 8 knots, many are 10 - 20 knots and some are up to 30 knots or more.
We have a 125% headsail on a roller furler which is a great size to balance the mainsail. Once trimmed correctly and with wheel brake applied I can sail for miles upwind without any adjustment in a steady breeze.
We have a double reef, but mostly use the single reef in stronger winds. I wouldn't get a third reef unless going offshore. I like our loose footed mainsail and won't get any other. The loose foot allows the whole sail to have the right shape, rather than being pulled into the boom.
I hope that helps you a bit.
Frank

 

[bigd14]

I just went through this and have a new mainsail on order from Precision. BUT... you really need to measure your boat. Different boats may have come from the factory with slightly different equipment or previous owners may have modified things or added aftermarket hardware. For example, a previous owner raised the boom on mine by about 8 inches.

This was my first time ordering a new sail and the number of measurements asked for by the sailmaker was way more than I initially thought. Aside from the obvious luff and leech and foot measurements, there is the tack setback and setup, reef hook setback, mast to backstay distance along boom, distance from mast to backstay where it attaches at the masthead crane, photos of the mast with backstay on and off, size of boom track and slugs, etc. I also had to adjust the angle of the boom a bit to clear the dodger which when using the current bagged out sail in the second reef actually hits the dodger.

For what it is worth, my current mainsail on my 1984 30+ measures 433 inches luff, 457 inches leech, and 148.5 inches foot, but that is with the boom raised from what the factory sent, so I highly suggest you don't place any stock in that working on your boat.

Also I was assured by the sail designer that a loose foot main was the way to go, even though I have a lazy cradle.

 

[G Kiba]

Loose footed main - Yes!

 

[mjsouleman]

I purchased a new main sail from Quantum this past summer and timed it to also purchase a Tides track system.

Quantum loft is close by and they came and measured everything, it took about 40 minutes and very accurate.

If you are lucky there may be a sail loft close to you that will come to the boat and do all the measuring.

 

[Christian Williams]

Dog bone, yes. Solves all stack issues.

Loose-footed, absolutely.

Third reef. Not necessary, since the boat will sail under jib alone. And rigging a third reef requires unrigging the first reef.

125 sounds right.

You can get comparative sailmaker estimates just by giving them the sail measurements off sailboatdata.com (which they can and will access) . When ordering the sail, specific measurements are necessary, which you can do yourself (mail-order sails), or which the sailmaker rep will do for you, if using a franchise.