At time of launch our rig comprised: Mainsail (726 sq ft 67m2.. Jib (self tacking - 280 sq ft 26m2. .) and Screecher (702 sq ft 65m2.) all suppiled by Calvert Sails of Florida, USA., plus a Storm Jib (150 sq ft 14m2). The three primary sails were purchased from Dave Calvert and were sold to us as cruising sails on the understanding that they would be ‘good for a circumnavigation’. The Calvert Sails were constructed using his ‘Load Path’ method with taffeta backing cloth overlaid with mylar tapes. The mylar tapes are about 10cm wide, reinforced with carbon and kevlar threads, are sticky backed and are stuck to one side of the taffeta, so reinforcing the the sail along the main load bearing lines. We always intended to add a spinnaker and picked up a second hand one in the Canaries (fortunately we didn’t go for the specification Calvert recommended as it would have been totally unsuitable for cruising), because of the various problems with the original suite of sails we also bought a second hand Genoa to supplement the Jib, and a Reacher to replace the failed Screecher. Since the beginning we had have had a series of problems with the Calvert sails which were clearly unsuited to a cruising boat.
Screecher.
To allow us to fly the Screecher we had to make significant reinforcements to our beam structure and fit a bowsprit with bobstays so each hull and a dolphin striker.
The first time the sail had moderate load on it the bolt rope pulled out of the top of the sail (Calvert Sails had used the wrong thimble), the cloth was too heavy for any sailmaker in N. Ireland so we had to wait till arriving in Cork to get it repaired.
At this stage I was having grave concerns about the sail, it was so heavy it took three of us to mount or dismount it and the loads on the fittings were huge.
It wouldn’t set upwind, my impression is that it was cut too full and I wasn’t willing to apply the massive loads required to fully tension the luff.
After 3 months of sailing it ripped the bowsprit apart - we had used it for less than 3 days of sailing.
At this stage we abandoned using the screecher, it was more of a liability than an asset and we have since fitted a lightweight reecher that we have had good value from.
It is disappointing that Calvert would supply a such a large heavy sail for an ocean cruising boat like ours, but he also recommended a huge spinnaker that would have been totally impractical when we asked him to quote for one.
Jib.
The jib has never set too well when close hauled, limiting how close to the wind we can sail.
Although self-tacking (we have a jib track on the foredeck), when close hauled the sail gets caught on the mast spreaders so it has to be released and re-sheeted. This actually makes for more sail handling when beating upwind than with a normal jib or genoa. Two years out the clew ripped out of the sail in a 30 knot squall.
I now realise that a small jib is a poor choice for a cruising multihull (you need a large foresail that can be easily reefed and set as conditions vary).
Main.
In Spain we had a problem with the intermediate cars pulling the eyelets out of the sail - Calvert Sails had used webbing instead of bungee. We made repairs and changed the ties. We had problems with specified battens breaking even in light conditions that took a long time to resolve. Eventually we replaced the specified polyester batten with stronger ones.
The main was cut with significant curve in the luff (our mast has 15 cm of bend in it to accomodate the sail shape). I am not convinced that the performance improvement we get from this is justified for a cruising boat given the extra stress on the mast and the additional load on the halyard to raise our already heavy sail.
The main is heavy and cut with a lot of roach. This makes for difficult handling for a cruising sail:
- Heavy to raise. - Difficult to reef when sailing downwind. - Often we have had to drop the sail in light winds when there has been waves or swell because it is inclined to flog.
Two and a half years into the trip the clew ripped out in 10kts of wind.
Delamination.
After 15 months of sailing the mylar tapes started to delaminate (actually separate is more accurate word as the tapes are stuck on rather than laminated) and break.
By our next major landfall separation was spreading rapidly to about 10% of the sail area of both the jib and the main. At this stage we had only sailed with the jib for about 30% of the trip (some 5000nm), the rest of the time we had been using the genoa or spinnaker (so roughly about 1/6 of a full circumnavigation). At Calverts request we took the sails to a local sailmaker. His view was that the tapes were losing their adhesion because of the UV and his advice was just to continue using the sail (on the taffeta layer) until it wore out. Calvert asked us to take it to another sailmaker which we did, he also thought the problem was from UV but was willing to repair the damage to the tapes under advice from Calvert.
Calvert agreed to supply new tapes and pay for the repair however once the job was done he reneged on his word and refused to pay up. He eventually agreed to pay for about 45% of the cost 6 months later.
All the professionals I have spoke to thought that the separation was because the tapes were exposed to UV and that this type of construction was unsuited to cruising sails. Calvert’s view was that it could have been caused by the sails lying folded for some time before use, however the pattern of damage to the sails -worst around the high load areas (clew, luff and leech) - doesn’t support this argument. Aside from these specific problems it is now clear that the load path sails are difficult to repair even if returned to Calvert Sails, and that many sail makers around the world are not going to be able to work on them at all.
Another 6 months down the line and we have large areas of the tapes coming off and it is clear that Calverts solution to our separation problems was deficient.
Summary.
Poor sail design for a cruising boat
Several constructional flaws
Inappropriate sail material for a cruising boat
Prevarication, bad advice and deceit from Calvert when we have asked for support