The Zipper Reef

 A couple of years ago I sewed in a plastic zipper on to one of my Ulua sails.  Due to the sail's geometry, conventional reefing systems don't work very well.  The zipper removed at least 25% of the area and even better, it was the upper section.  The problem I had was with my amateur sailmaking skills which resulted in a prominent ridge across the sail when the removable section was in place.  It didn't seem to hurt performance noticeably but it was ugly.  A pro sailmaker would get the tension between the fabric and zipper right and it would look much better.
But as is, the smaller sail works really well, can handle a lot of wind, and looks great too.

Related Posts by Categories