O34 Sail measurements -> mast bend and other details?

B

boatgeek

Member I
Hi folks,

I'm wondering if any of you O34 owners have any detailed sail measurements that you would be wiling to share?
I'm working to refit my (neglected) boat and am getting new sails, but am doing so without the benefit of a local sailmaker for measurements. So I'm working to figure it out myself, and it would be nice to have something to cross check with.
A specific question I have is whether there should be some mast bend factored in to the main shape? I have whatever the stock mast is (Kenyon?) and it is definitely a tapered shape in the very top section.
Thanks very much in advance.
Matt B
 
Alan Gomes

Alan Gomes

Sustaining Partner
Hi, Matt. I don't have an answer to your question myself, but I see that you are in San Pedro. (Are you at Holiday Harbor? If so, I think your boat is on C-row, right across from mine on D-row.)

Anyway, I highly recommend Harry at H2O sails. He may have the answers you need. I highly recommend him. His cell is (949) 200-2028.

Alan
 
Loren Beach

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Over the years, I am aware of two O-34 factory mast lengths (tall and standard), and at least one that O-34 was lengthened after initial purchase. So, be sure to take measurements off of Your rig. A sailmaker will also need the clew attachment information and also the tack information, and photos are the best way to have surety of communication -- along with the standard measurements, in detail, that the sailmaker needs to have documented.
Since I do not worry about the last nano-knot and do not race, we do not try to bend the Kenyon spar often. I recall that the gauge on our hydraulic adjuster has to get above 2K before the spar bends much at all. We mainly use the adjuster to straiten the headstay for driving to weather.
Trivia: the factory had someone write, with a vibrating marker, O-34 tall rig, on one of our spreaders.

Probably not applicable to any other area, but since we have mostly lighter airs here, and only sometimes winds over 20 or 25, I opted for one deeper reef on our most recent new main. Our old dacron main had two reefs, and we found that we never needed the second one.
If sailing to HA and planning for three weeks at sea, I would of course add two more reefs! :)

Also, ya probably otter buy Alan G a microbrew - or several....! :egrin:
 
Alan Gomes

Alan Gomes

Sustaining Partner
Alan Gomes said:
Hi, Matt. I don't have an answer to your question myself, but I see that you are in San Pedro. (Are you at Holiday Harbor? If so, I think your boat is on C-row, right across from mine on D-row.)

Anyway, I highly recommend Harry at H2O sails. He may have the answers you need. I highly recommend him. His cell is (949) 200-2028.

Alan
Click to expand...
Why did I type that twice?? I guess I must highly recommend him! :p
 
B

boatgeek

Member I
Thanks Alan and Loren !! Yes, that is me in C 46 (for now, trying to get an upwind slip)! Great to learn of you -- I'll try to find you down there. (on vacation up north for a couple weeks at the moment).
Harry O -- yes, I have spoken to Harry and he seems like a good guy, and Mario on my gangway recommends him.
But he's more than double the price of far east sails. He's still a bit less than Ulman and North, but not much.
I really would love to use a local sailmaker, but that double is kind of hard to turn down, especially when it is the same material as some of the big players.
I have the standard rig, but interestingly, I measure the hoist to be about a foot taller than the old rating rating sheet for the boat. I measured marking a line and measuring with a tape measure. I guess I better check that. :)
Foot measures about 6 inches longer than the rating sheet.

Yeah, there is a lot of details, like the clew track, all the little offset distances, the foil size. But I think it is doable.
 
Loren Beach

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
boatgeek said:
that double is kind of hard to turn down, especially when it is the same material as some of the big players.
Click to expand...
I do understand the importance of price, but I would be wary of that phrase about assumptions regarding cloth. Pretty much without exception, every discount sailmaker sez that, and every big loft with proprietary material sources sez it's not so. Still, money is important!
Best of luck on this decision. And apologies for seeming like we are pushing you to spend too much of your money... (!) :oops:

About rig measurements - decades ago when I was a part time sales rep for Ulmer, I spent oodles of time measuring and re-measuring every detail to fill out a detailed paper form to get the gross dimensions and also the little details at the corners. And, getting the owner's input on planned use of the boat and all expected weather that might have to do with that use. And, all sorts of rig changes that occur with tuning and setup. (I never made much actual money at this, but I did get a discount on a new full suite of sails for our Ranger 20, and really enjoyed visits to their (former) loft location on Lake Union. :) It was across the street from Ivar's Salmon House !!
:egrin:
 
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B

boatgeek

Member I
Thanks guys.
The material is Challenge Newport 7.45 oz.
I'm currently getting a 120 headsail, given the good breezes we tend to get in San Pedro / Long Beach, but could be convinced to go a bit bigger if you guys have opinions on that. Its claimed that some roller reefing should be possible but that never works perfectly, IMO.
By the way Alan (and Loren), do you know who the other O34 in Holiday Harbor is? It's west of us, E or F.
Thanks.
 
Alan Gomes

Alan Gomes

Sustaining Partner
boatgeek said:
By the way Alan (and Loren), do you know who the other O34 in Holiday Harbor is? It's west of us, E or F.
Click to expand...
I know exactly which boat you are talking about, but I don't know who owns it, and in fact I've never seen anyone aboard it. There is also an Olson 911 named Participant just a few slips down (north) of it on the same row, but that owner races it regularly.
 
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