Edgar wrote:
Well, you may well do some 'light' sailing but I
suspect that the longevity of your sails is more likely to be determined by
the number of hours you expose them to UV rays in sunlight-especially the
black-or near-black- one.

Yep. Flogging is also harder on them than on conventional
Dacron.

Longevity is the last thing people who buy Kevlar sails are interested in


Depends on how you define "longevity." Kevlar and other
hi-tech material sails don't last longer overall, but they
hold their shape longer. Thus they have greater competitive
longevity.

A set of fancy racing sails should be fitted to the rig,
taking into such accounts as pre-bend, inducable bend (ie
how far the mast bends when you haul the backstay on as
tight as you can), for headsails the halyard tension and
deck configuration of sheet leads is paramount. Without some
time spent by a sailmaker on board your vessel (or an
identical sistership), buying hi-tech sails is pretty much a
waste of money.

For one-design boats, obviously this is an easy hoop to get
thru. For high production racer-cruisers, it's usually
pretty easy but you have to know the class standards of how
your rig is set up & whether your boat is still nice & stiff
& if there have been any changes in the standard deck
lay-out. Such things as putting different locks & halyard
winches on can make a difference, especially with a frac rig.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King