Fat head sail for older 14

Hello,
I've been trying to determine if buying a square head sail would be worth the money. The current sail must be twenty years old, but still in pretty good shape(very full). I was going to replace the sail anyways and came across Whirlwind Sails which have great prices. That is where I saw the fat head sail on a 14.

I realize that any new sail will be an improvement over the old one, but should I spend a couple of dollars more and buy a fat head sail instead of original design?

Thanks.

Looks like Hobie Europe copied Chip's X2 design

New battens would be in order but I'd say go for it!

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I think if I were to spend the money on a non class legal sail I would try and make it with a loose foot like the HCE 14 above. You could probably cut down a Tiger boom and make it work.

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Contact him, he has a couple of Chip's Whirlwind fatty sails and loves them. He'll be able to give you the poop on performance. I personally, have bought 3 sails from whirlwind and can't say enough good things. He made me a 6 batten hobie 14 sail with the old school green stripe at the top. Kickass sail.

Thank you for your response.

I'm going to contact Chip within the next day or so and purchase the square head sail.

Question:
Why should the square head sail be loose footed? Can I use the old 14 boom and see the same performance results?

It seems all modern f14 cats have loose footed mains.

Thanks.

You gotta talk to MR. F14 Dan Berger about that. I just run my 14 about as old school as you can get it: Slow.
That is a pretty awesome looking 14 in that picture up there. Notice the mast, mast rake and mast base. A bit different than what we're used to around here.

Hmm.. that is a nice looking sail.. Fat head with no back stay and loose footed. Ive used the downhaul to adjust sail fullness on my probably 20 year old sail (sort of works) but I would guess a loose footed sail with a 4:1 adjustable outhaul would really set nice..

I dont know enough about what a stock 14 is supposed to look like to tell anything about the mast rake. What generally is the difference and why does it work?

The only thing Im not sure about is the sail material. Probably very stable but I always had to replace my windsurfing sails which had what seems to be similar material (monofilm laminate?) every 2 to 4 years because they would fall apart from UV exposure.

The sail you can see on the pic is to small.
I bought the HOBIE 14 POWER in April and got a sail that was 1 m2 to small.
Hobie Cat Europe changed the sail and made it bigger.
Be sure to buy the bigger one!!!

I took a look at the two power 14 sails and the difference in sail area is significant. Similar design for different cats?

Placed my order with Chip at Whirlwind sails and asked a few of questions. The sail will be too late for Christmas, but can't sail for awhile anyways or until I buy a dry suit.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Wow, I had a funny feeling someone was talking about me!

I think the square head is a great sail! It really is powerful and you can tune it more than the Dacron sails. The only problem is that it isn't great in light wind. In big wind, the top opens up and the sail is VERY fast, but it needs wind moving across it and it just isn't enough in the light stuff. A Dacron sail is the best there.

I had Chip make mine loose footed, but Bob Curry (I think) had a footed sail made for him. I like it my way and he likes it his, and he is a much better sailor than I'll ever be, so that may tell you something.

I took a regular Hobie 14 boom so I could use the gooseneck and because I had like a hundred extra booms. I took the outhaul from a Prindle 16 boom and rigged the 14 boom just like the Prindle. It is very nice to come on to shore and release the boom and not have it swinging around in the wind when not in use.

Check out my pictures on theBeachCats.com:

http://www.thebeachcats.com/index.php?m ... emId=17781

Took these pictures last weekend after my first sail of the year. Definitely need new sheeting system, downhaul, and possibly rotation arm. When the wind is blowing it's one great upper body workout.

Chip at Whirlwind was concerned about too many wrinkles in one of the pictures and so instructed me on how to correct the problem. Thanks Chip!

I think someone else asked this question already but i didn't see any answer.

i'm also looking to replace my original '82 main with a new square head.

My question (and someone elses) is, do i need a new boom or can i use my existing stock/factory boom? What is required to fit the square head main besides the sail and new battens?

Is there any difference between the square head sail at the top of the thread and the whirlwind sails?

tnx.
-ian

Whirlwind made my sail loose footed which can allow for more sail adjustment.

The boom on my boat is a stock 14 boom; however, I've seen others who have used booms from other boats due to personal preference and availability of parts.

The only addition, other than new lower battens, was extending the shackle on the gooseneck assembly. The loose foot allows the sail to sit approx. one inch above the boom which in-turn makes the clew and tack sit higher. Chip includes an outhaul slide attached to the sail, which slides into the track where the foot of the sail once went.

I cut down my old battens and used them in the upper two pockets. There's no head plate like the old sail.

Lots of fun and doesn't take much wind to fly a hull.

Hey Dan where did you get the spinnaker pole from? My getaway is seriously lacking in power and putting a jenaker out front like that may just be the answer.

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06 getaway -- always remember, man with both feet in mouth have no leg to stand on.