I ordered a new mainsail from Eric Heim at Quantum Sails in San Diego who also has a Cal 34. So many years of working on this boat and finally it feels like it’s all coming together.
In other news: I tried going cheap on a mainsail cover at WestMarine. It said it would fit an 11 foot boom. My boom is 11 feet. Something missing here.
Having a new cover made now.
100% glad I decided to keep my Cal.
Happy Sailing!
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Mary https://svmuleka.com Muleka 1978 Cal 34-III #111 Marina Village, Alameda, California Nepenthe 1976 Kelly Peterson 44 #116 Redondo Beach, California
Hey Mary
I am sure that I speak for many, we are also 100% glad that you are keeping Muleka. I find it interesting that you went for full battens on the main. Do the full battens make it easier to drop the main on the boom?
Don't skimp on the mainsail boom cover .A proper custom made cover will include an additional layer to protect from the sun . Mine is15 years old and still looks great .worth every penny . Ken B Rumblefish cal 29
When I bought my Cal 20 , 27 years ago now (how time flies), it had a very nice but very old mainsail cover. By year 2, the cover was failing. But it fit so well, and it had such nice fittings--bronze hooks and eyes for the shock cord and ties that secured it. My solution was to buy some Sunbrella and stitch it over the old cover, especially at the edges that held the fittings. Then I cut out the body of rotten cloth, leaving the edges that held the fittings. The first time I did it, I did not use UV-protected thread, and soon learned the folly of that. It always needs minor repairs from year to year, either on the sewing machine or by hand stitching. It's awkward to handle the long cover on my old home sewing machines, but with care things turn out. Basically I'm using a 1967 sail cover, updated.
Great looking sail! When we replaced our main, the sail cover that had been adequate proved to be too small because of the increased stiffness and volume of the mainsail material. The old sail cover is now just covering the main and no longer wraps around the boom. Looks like I'll have to take West Marine off the list of possible solutions. Congratulations on the new main Mary.
1977 Cal 2 29 Emerald Flash #964 , Isthmus, Catalina Island , California
Congrats on that beauty. I got a new one last season, and had the same (C34) insignia put on there. Love it! This season I had a new 110 Genoa made, to replace the worn out 155. Got to use it for the first time last weekend, what a joy.
Nice looking sail Mary. Quantum is my go-to loft. Got a new jib from them about a year ago. My main is about 10 years old and if I was still racing I would replace it. Historically, new sails = new boat. By that I mean, it makes my old boat feel like new.
My main is from Pineapple. I followed my Quantum salesman to Pineapple. Like so many things in my life, Pineapple is gone. So it was back to Quantum for the jib and no regrets.
Unfortunately, the experience went downhill in a hurry when I saw that the sail was the wrong size. They had come out to measure for it, but somehow got it wrong. At first he told me that is normal (it was like 18 inches too short) and a bunch of other excuses. They didn't offer to fix it and didn't reply to me for awhile, so I called customer service. The co-founder of the company answered the phone and told me the sailmaker was BSing me! I did get a new sail made, but it took months. So, no more Quantum for me.
Mary https://svmuleka.com Muleka 1978 Cal 34-III #111 Marina Village, Alameda, California Nepenthe 1976 Kelly Peterson 44 #116 Redondo Beach, California
I have bought 4 mainsails and 7 jibs over the years. All but one jib and one main had to go back for rework and two sails, one jib and one main, ended up with me keeping the sail and getting my money back. All were eventually made right except the North main. It was recut twice, never fit properly, and I just gave up and kept it. I had issues with North, Quantum, Pineapple, Far East Sails, and EP Sails. The spinnakers were fine (two). I have had my boat for 37 years so I guess I buy a sail about every 3 years.
The most interesting story was that the Quantum order with one main and two jibs, all having to be recut, were so bad they fired the designer. They sent the sails back east in a box to be reworked. They had a sewing machine that would sew through the existing holes so as to not weaken the sail. The box ended up arriving short one of the sails so that one was remade. It left at one weight and arrived at a different weight.
