May 15 2009
Project “P.A.Y.” Part 2
The second step in project “Perfection Attained Yachting” a.k.a Project PAY cost me a bit more than phase one as it involved ordering a beautiful set of new Doyle sails from Mark Weinheimer of NC. Truth be told the $1200+ I spent on new sails from Mark was not far from the $1700 I spent to buy Limpet in the first place. But pulling the crisp new Dacron out of the box and seeing Limpet’s sail numbers almost made me cry… how far I have come from the days of black duct tape numbers on Clark sails from 1974.
Still all things considered the $1200 I spent is a pittance compared to the $8K that Melgese 24 sailors are shelling out for new main & jib. Plus my sails will last for 3-5 years of racing if I take care of them while the ultra high tech sails used by the Melgese will need to be replaced after one regatta to be really competitive. The fact is that the class rules of the SJ21 my keep our boats from performing at the very, very highest level possible, but it keeps the cost of being competitive in the fleet within reach of your average Joe who didn’t hit it big in the internet bubble.
Was that $1200 for both main and jib? The Doyle loft I’ve been talking with in Florida quoted $1200 for just the main, another $700-900 for the Genoa depending on the material. I’m wondering what the differences are?