Rolled vs folded sails

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Sail it once in a breeze. There will be no difference at all after that. I guar-un-tee.

The real difference? Somebody's making an extra fifty bucks on an already over-priced sail.
 
Yeah, it's probably important to break in a new sail properly (don't sail in any hurricanes with vang/downhaul set at "11", initially). But for what I see anyhow, after that the creases basically disappear.

But, I definitely think that it is very worth not folding the sail routinely -- the creases build on each other, and that does get quite noticeable. I usually roll the sail around upper mast section when i put it to bed.

Caveat: I will not be applying for Olympic status any time soon! ;-)

-- Peter
 
It must be a joke. That, or someone truly has been rolling their own if you know what I mean.
 
I have a never-folded sail, but it just came with my boat. I wouldn't pay extra for one, that's for sure.

It is really nice, no debating that, but the only difference between rolled and folded are the aesthetics.

How could they even effectively test this to come up with a half knot difference?
 
a sail thats never been folded is gonna perform better the first time its used compared to a folded sail, but once its had a run in on a lightish day I doubt there is any difference. Maybe for pro's and olympic sailors but not the joe soap!!

Last time I got a new sail I unwrapped it and rolled it, it was left like that for about 5 days because I got it on a monday and wasn't sailing again until the weekend, sailed for an hour or less with it in 8-10knots of wind and the folds were all but gone for sundays racing. Just dont fold it again after you first unfold, thats about it really
 
I doubt there's any difference, even on the first sail.

And I've known and bought sails from guys who competed at the highest level and the standard folded and in a bag was alright for them.
 
I think the rolled sails should be banned by class rules. You may roll the sail after purchase, but sail are sold folded. Period.
 
I think the rolled sails should be banned by class rules. You may roll the sail after purchase, but sail are sold folded. Period.


Fold
-to bend (cloth, paper, etc.) over upon itself.

when i roll my sails i bend the sail over itself. how do other people do it?
 
Since sails are sold both folded and rolled there will always be the element of doubt which makes you choose the safest option i.e. the rolled sail, at least for an important championship. Since this is SMOD, it should be quite straightforward to only allow sale of folded sails. What you do after purchase is another matter. Now you see people travelling with absurdly long rolled sails in cars and airports, paying extra for freight and handling, all to achieve a marginal performance benefit. Exactly what we want to avoid with SMOD.
 
Since sails are sold both folded and rolled there will always be the element of doubt which makes you choose the safest option i.e. the rolled sail, at least for an important championship. Since this is SMOD, it should be quite straightforward to only allow sale of folded sails. What you do after purchase is another matter. Now you see people travelling with absurdly long rolled sails in cars and airports, paying extra for freight and handling, all to achieve a marginal performance benefit. Exactly what we want to avoid with SMOD.

SMOD? something something One Design?

Your thesis seems over the top, especially with the old and new rigging being allowed.
 
The only benefit of a rolled sail is that they should in theory last a little bit longer because the resin used on the cloth hasn't been damaged by the hard creasing of the sail. However, general usage of the sail particularly as a result of the sail flapping in the breeae is the principle killer of sails. IMO, when the sail is still relatively new, there won't be any performance difference.

My sails are purchased folded and are then rolled onto tubes for the rest of their life, except occassionally folded for some of the more distant regattas.
 
Since sails are sold both folded and rolled there will always be the element of doubt which makes you choose the safest option i.e. the rolled sail, at least for an important championship. Since this is SMOD, it should be quite straightforward to only allow sale of folded sails. What you do after purchase is another matter. Now you see people travelling with absurdly long rolled sails in cars and airports, paying extra for freight and handling, all to achieve a marginal performance benefit. Exactly what we want to avoid with SMOD.

You're really over thinking and putting too much emphasis on this.

Why do you care how other people choose to travel with their sails? That's their choice.

I really don't care if my sail comes rolled in a tube or folded in a bag. After the first use, they are all stored the same way.
 
So at the next world championship, will class measurers be stationed at the airport baggage claim making sure nobody traveled to the regatta with a rolled sail?
 
I was just wondering. Are the North Sails made in Sri Lanka shipped half way around the world rolled, or are they folded and the rolled?
 
So at the next world championship, will class measurers be stationed at the airport baggage claim making sure nobody traveled to the regatta with a rolled sail?

The sails for the Open Standard and Women's Radial Worlds are provided by the organisers. The same situation occurs at the Olympics.
 
My point is that all sails should be supplied folded by the sailmaker. Folded sails are also less expensive. After purchase you are free to roll or fold, but the initial hard folding by the sailmaker is mandatory. I think it is too simplistic to say that there is no performance benefit from a rolled sail. Laser races are so tight that even a tiny fraction of a knot may mean many places. I agree, one mistake and you'll loose many more places - but you'll make that mistake anyway.
 
My point is that all sails should be supplied folded by the sailmaker. Folded sails are also less expensive. After purchase you are free to roll or fold, but the initial hard folding by the sailmaker is mandatory. I think it is too simplistic to say that there is no performance benefit from a rolled sail. Laser races are so tight that even a tiny fraction of a knot may mean many places. I agree, one mistake and you'll loose many more places - but you'll make that mistake anyway.

Point by point:

Folded sails are also less expensive.

-Who cares? Should we ban carbon tillers and extensions, as well? You have a choice. No one holds a gun to your head, telling you to buy the rolled sail. Stop whining about the price difference as if it is actually a factor in the discussion. Should we just ban Hyde sails, as well, because they're more expensive than the North sails?

I think it is too simplistic to say that there is no performance benefit from a rolled sail.

-I don't. At all. The first time you break in a new, folded sail, the creases are all but gone, end of story. Unless you're going to try and tell me I'm lying. Unless you are sailing the boat perfectly, where nothing else can be improved (Hey! That's impossible!), this is irrelevant.

Laser races are so tight that even a tiny fraction of a knot may mean many places

-Yeah, if absolutely everything else you could ever name, list or think of was 100% equal and you maintained this mysterious half knot of extra boat speed (which doesn't exist, by the way) for the entire duration of the race. Also, see previous point.

one mistake and you'll loose many more places - but you'll make that mistake anyway.

-You're actually right here, so stop worrying about a sail lacking a couple small creases.
 
your defo looking WAY too much into this. I like the example used about about carbon ext's

Sails are supplied rolled and folded. From my understanding, windsurfing sails are never folded. You order, it comes rolled, no choice! And their under so much tension it wouldn matter if they were folded, once its on the mast and the boom is on its so tight folds would soon disappear
 
I googled "fold sail performance" and only came up with the fact that rolling is preferred over folding because folding can reduce the life of the sail by weakening the fibers at the fold. Nowhere did anyone say that rolling makes for a faster sail. If it did, I can't believe it wouldn't be well-known. But maybe it's one of those deep secrets passed from parent to child with a blood oath to keep silent. Ha ha.
 

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