For the fourth or fifth time now over 20 odd years sailing.
Not impressed by these sailmakers!
Had to swim 500m today in freezing cold water all because they can't cant design properly the most important part of the sail.
The webbing on my Maui 6.6m where its stitched to the luff came undone.
The webbing is still ok it's where it's stitched to the luff.
The design should have the webbing much wider than the less than one inch in size - two inches wide and it should be stitched around 7-8cm down the luff - so there is next to no chance of it tearing.
The NP race sails with their plug fitting and webbing stitched to the luff - broke 2-3 of those too.
Not just the cost or the inconvenience but its downright dangerous.
I think a lot of the time it's due to the mast wearing the stitches, as you say there should be a better way of doing it.
I can only afford second hand sails that are well used plus I do sail a fair bit too.
Likely karma for rigging up too big a sail for the 30 knot conditions.
The width of the webbing is not the issue, otherwise the cup wouldn't work, but stitching the webbing farther down into the luff sleeve would help a bunch, more like 10 cm of stitching all the way.
Never really liked NP sails, the ones that I've had (it's been a long time ago) seemed to wear out fairly fast.
I'm Ezzy all the way, but there seems to be a problem with the older Taka sails that wear out the mast at the same spot where the top cup rubs the mast at the bottom of the cup. It makes the tip of the mast look like it's been circumcised, threatening to snap off at that point. So pay attention if you are using those.
Hopefully the newer Takas (with longer half-battens) will lessen that wear spot.
Good to know about the Taka, and also not a fan of Neilpryde sails. I wonder if Goya sails are on par with Ezzy sails. Just bought a Goya and love it. Very durable, great shape, lots of power. Very impressed with it!
I know that Goya recommends a flex top mast, but I talked to Jason, their sail designer and he told me Ezzy hookipa masts are the next closest to Goya's flex tops and would work fine, and he is right. Works perfect with the Ezzy Hookipa masts.
Gotta be careful rigging and derigging, when you're dragging it around stuffing the mast and removing the mast, to keep the head from rubbing on the ground.
Used sails, you can't go back and yell at the previous owner.
New sails, be careful rigging and de, don't make noise, and your sail will appreciate the extra concern.
Look for sails with protectors at the top of the head.
well,
it happened to me once before
wrote to sail maker and that year - was a known problem
local repair people gave me costs between $80 and $200
found an alternative - put a metal cap like in the image on end of mast
sometimes gets stuck, but is only used for one sail in my quiver
has worked last three(3) years and had sail maker's blessing
Select to expand quotepetermac33 said..
For the fourth or fifth time now over 20 odd years sailing.
Not impressed by these sailmakers!
Had to swim 500m today in freezing cold water all because they can't cant design properly the most important part of the sail.
The webbing on my Maui 6.6m where its stitched to the luff came undone.
The webbing is still ok it's where it's stitched to the luff.
The design should have the webbing much wider than the less than one inch in size - two inches wide and it should be stitched around 7-8cm down the luff - so there is next to no chance of it tearing.
The NP race sails with their plug fitting and webbing stitched to the luff - broke 2-3 of those too.
Not just the cost or the inconvenience but its downright dangerous.
They should sew a piece of sticky bac/dacron over the webbing to protect the stitching
Select to expand quotejaytee said..
They should sew a piece of sticky bac/dacron over the webbing to protect the stitching
When I first read this, I was wondering why streaky bacon would help 
Hahahaha... you think this is a manufacturing fault PM33? Fourth or fifth time?
Wake up dude. They know you know.
I mean it's physically impossible for a sail to break like that. Do your own research.
There's one more thing that I should really make you aware of befo
Firstly as a sail maker and one who has worked for the major brands there are several ways of making a sail that wont wear in the way you mentioned.
Some sails these days do have a protective hard plastic band on the top of the mast area so when it rolls on that area it will last slightly longer.
Best thing would be make and attach the head webbing then cover both sides, in and out with a sewn and glued pvc patch but most wont as this is more time consuming in the process. Most sails with a few exceptions are not designed to last more than a few seasons as they would never sell new ones and the ones that did last any longer are usually heavier. Dave Ezzy has probably the best match of durability and weight.
When fixing that area it is hard for the sail maker to get in there.....Firstly you have to take the luff section on the mast sleeve away then fix the problem, then re-sew it back together, also the thickest part and highly likely to break a needle or two.
My advice is never to rig on concrete, dont push too much sand up with the mast when rigging and get to know a good sail maker in your area that windsurfs....
Select to expand quoteevlPanda said..
Hahahaha... you think this is a manufacturing fault PM33? Fourth or fifth time?
Wake up dude. They know you know.
I mean it's physically impossible for a sail to break like that. Do your own research.
There's one more thing that I should really make you aware of befo
Good way to follow somebody
Sabotage his sail, then look for who posts here about it and watch for credit card transactions at sail repairers.
Cross reference records and bingo!
I've had a couple do that ...my mast top had very sharp edges .I restitched it and put a plastic cup up it .
lasted another 5 years .
my new ish 2015 cheetahs have plastic caps In them ... Must be a reason for Graham to do so .
Select to expand quoteMastbender said...
The width of the webbing is not the issue, otherwise the cup wouldn't work, but stitching the webbing farther down into the luff sleeve would help a bunch, more like 10 cm of stitching all the way.
Never really liked NP sails, the ones that I've had (it's been a long time ago) seemed to wear out fairly fast.
I'm Ezzy all the way, but there seems to be a problem with the older Taka sails that wear out the mast at the same spot where the top cup rubs the mast at the bottom of the cup. It makes the tip of the mast look like it's been circumcised, threatening to snap off at that point. So pay attention if you are using those.
Hopefully the newer Takas (with longer half-battens) will lessen that wear spot.
This is just cosmetic wear. I paint on a coat of epoxy on each of my masts at that spot every season. Don't worry about it.
Select to expand quote
Shifu said..
Mastbender said...
The width of the webbing is not the issue, otherwise the cup wouldn't work, but stitching the webbing farther down into the luff sleeve would help a bunch, more like 10 cm of stitching all the way.
Never really liked NP sails, the ones that I've had (it's been a long time ago) seemed to wear out fairly fast.
I'm Ezzy all the way, but there seems to be a problem with the older Taka sails that wear out the mast at the same spot where the top cup rubs the mast at the bottom of the cup. It makes the tip of the mast look like it's been circumcised, threatening to snap off at that point. So pay attention if you are using those.
Hopefully the newer Takas (with longer half-battens) will lessen that wear spot.
This is just cosmetic wear. I paint on a coat of epoxy on each of my masts at that spot every season. Don't worry about it.
Actually it's a bit more than that, it got this bad after two seasons on one of my buddy's mast, he took pics, emailed Ezzy, and they sent him a new mast top and recommended that he sand down the inside edge of the sail cup. They also said that the newer Takas shouldn't have that problem, evidently they knew about it before hand.
Mastbender, I had it with Simmer on EzzyRDM years ago
that groove was actually about 0.5mm (20thou) deep, and the wall thickness up that end of the mast was about 4mm (almost 3/16") thick.
Insignificant....
But yeah, painting on a sacrificial layer of epoxy helped a lot.
