The Best Value in Custom Sails.
Article "Most boat owners know to winterize their engines, send messenger lines up the rig to keep their halyards out of the elements, and generally batten things down for the off season. But fewer are aware of the important steps required for properly storing sails. Too often, mainsails are left on the boom, and roller-furling headsails left wrapped around the headstay for the duration of the winter. This kind of exposure to mother nature will ultimately lessen the lifespan of those sails." "Most sailors know the damage that continuous exposure to ultra-violet radiation can do to sails. But keep in mind that the heat from the sun can also be damaging, and it’s difficult to gauge. The ambient temperature might be 95 degrees in the boatyard, but it’s not uncommon for the surface temperature on an object—say a mainsail under its cover on a boom—to be 115 degrees. The cumulative effect of days spent in that kind of heat will be structural damage." Article "Racing sailors in particular are keenly aware that once the breeze pipes up, you need to make certain adjustments to keep your sail shape optimized. With a mainsail, that begins with tweaking the halyard to achieve a luff tension that’s in the ballpark for the given conditions. Then—if your boat has a standard Marconi rig—you’ll begin making adjustments to the backstay, outhaul, and cunningham to fine-tune the sail’s overall shape. Of course, the most frequent adjustments are made using the traveler and the mainsheet, and on board the most aggressively raced sailboats, the latter is rarely cleated." "Of all these controls, perhaps the one most overlooked by non-racing sailors is the outhaul. Most boat owners follow the ‘set it and forget it’ approach with this control line. But a properly attended outhaul can afford you surprising control over the lower portion of most mainsails. I say most mainsails because there are different design approaches to the foot section of these sails. On the vast majority of mainsails, you either have a foot that’s attached to the boom via slides or a bolt rope, or you have what is known as a loose-footed arrangement wherein just the tack and some portion of the clew are attached." View the Complete Article |
SAIL COVERS
Our sail covers are manufactured by Harken Canvas with triple-layered seams and double stitching. View Sail Covers WE SHIP INTERNATIONALLY! We've negotiated great rates for international shipments. Please call or use our Contact Us form for quotes. Recent Testimonials
Just thought I'd drop you a note to let you know how satisfied I am with the sails you made for me. The shape and quality of the sails are second to none! These are the perfect day sailing and cruising sails. The sails fit beautifully out of the box, and the sailing performance is superb. We have had severals days with winds in the 25 to 30 knot range and the sails trim beautifully without having to reef. The boat just powers through the SF Bay chop and the helm is balanced perfectly. I couldn't be happier with my decision to order sails through FX Sails. Thanks again for everything, Thanks for working through all of the important details with me! The sails are very good. We raced non-spinnaker in the Round St. John race with a 60 handicap, and were first to finish- beating all of the spinnaker class boats over the line, and winning our class. More recently we sailed to St. Barth, and had many inquiries about our beautiful sails from folks that had not heard of FX, and wanted to know more. The stiff battens were key to extending the performance of these sails to heavy air. Thanks again for a job well done. Sincerely, Just wanted to report on the main you guys did for my boat. It fit perfectly and is absolutely beautiful. Our first time out we took 3 second places in about 15 knots of breeze. I am very well pleased. Thank you for your fine work. I will spread the FX word in my club and beyond. Thank you very much. Jim Parins Tried the new main out yesterday with strong track. Love it. One hand raising of sail. Nice control when reefing insofar as lowering and then retensioning sail goes, and shaking out the reef was easier than ever. Thanks again, very happy. Ron Acierno View All Testimonials
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The FX SAIL STORE  Save on quality sails in standard sizes—built to the same standards as our custom sails. Take a look at our Sail Store offerings below: Spinnakers: Asymmetrical cruising spinnakers with 13 sizes for boats 24- to 54-feet in 12 colors. Catalina Sails: Precision sails for Catalinas from 22- to 36-feet. Macgregor Sails: Quality sails for Macgregor sailboats from 21' to 26' built from Challenge sailcloth. Storm Sails: Heavy duty storm trysails and jibs for boats up to 44-feet, and ATN Gale Sails. Sunfish Sails: Quality sunfish sails in six color combinations and with or without visibility windows. Hobie Cat Sails: Standard size sails for popular Hobie cat models. Small Boat Sails: Hundreds of sails for small boats, including Hobie, O'Day, Compac and many more. |