If you want to see sailmaker squirm ask them who points higher. Actually it probably isn't a fair question. All the respondees are very talented and experienced sailors who sell products that they believe perform the best. We have all won plenty of races, but I find it interesting how close we all are. For example, last year at the midwinters all top five boats had different sail designs. This year at Key West five of the top six had different designs. There was no discernible pattern to the order. I am sure there are plenty more examples, but the point is that the J/24 One Design rule works! In every regatta there are times when we are fast and then times when we struggle. There are just too many variables to explain exactly why this happens.

In my opinion the best way to realize better results is to choose a notable sailmaker or successful sailor and use them as a resource. Just like anything else... if you want to be a better skier than ski with people who are better than you. The same goes for Tennis, Golf, or any other sport. One of the great things about the J/24 class is that there are pros and they are accessible.
www.shoresails.com

Jeff,

You have stumbled on one of the major philisophical questions about rig tuning in the J24 class.

I raced with some success with the San Diego shapes up until a year and a half ago. So I feel comfortable enough to give you some straight talk on the differences in these sails. Both shapes are attacking the leehelm problem but in very different ways. San Diego makes a very full main with the idea that increasing the force exerted on the main will help balance the helm, while Newport has a very flat main that projects the roach more in an effort to move the center of effort farther aft. But, both shapes have evolved out of rig tuning philosophies.

As Brad described very well, the San Diego Main is quite a bit fuller than the Newport main. The San Diego sails are designed by Vince Brun, who is a very good sailor in classes such as the Star, Soling and Etchells, as well as the J24. All of these boats are "tweeker" boats, though. They have control lines that can do everything possible to the rig, and they have very bendy mast sections. So, it should come as no surprise that the San Diego Main is set up for a lot of mast adjustment and mast bend. Not only do you have to adjust the shrouds but you also must move the mast butt for optimal performance in each wind condition. The problem is that you must purchase a $250 mast butt adjuster to do this with some proficiency on the water, and even then it is still a bitch.

When the San Diego main is up, it's a pretty good sail. It definitely performs better in the lighter conditions compared to the Newport sail. However the sail does require extra sheet tension in some conditions. This is the sail that has given the J24 a reputation for having a hooked leech on the main. In order to give the sail a little bit more punch to windward, you must hook the leech in some medium breeze conditions.

The Newport Main was designed by Kenny and while Brad is pretty modest, I'm sure he put the finishing touches on the sail. Both Brad and Kenny were excellent college sailors who come from a no BS style of sailing. Therefore it makes sense that instead of messing with mast butt positioning, they opted for a more stright-forward rig set-up. This makes the main pretty easy to trim since there's not much shape involved in it. However, they have had to add shape to the genoa since the flatter main has reduced the over power of the sail plan.

In short, the Newport shapes are much easier to trim and tune in all conditions, but they seem to lag a little in the light-air. The San Diego shapes are very fast in the light air, but they get complicated to tune across the full wind range.

Good luck in your sailing.

Information regarding the North J/24 San Diego and Newport designs can be found on our web site at www.northsailsod.com

In addition, North One Design representatives are available to answer any specific questions you might have.

Chris Larson chrisl@od.northsails.com
Vince Brun vince@od.northsails.com
Chris Snow chris@od.northsails.com
Tim Healy tim@od.northsails.com
Bill Fortenberry billf@sales.northsails.com

Dear Jeff,
To answer your question....The Newport and San Diego designed J/24 Sails are design evolutions that have come from Vince Brun and Ken Read's sail
lofts over the last 15 years. The sails are designed using the experiences that the J/24 sailors have had over these years.

Basically, the designs reflect rig tuning philosophies more than any difference in sailing conditions where the 2 lofts are located.

San Diego North Mainsails are fuller and have more curvature in the bottom 1/3rd of the luff (luff curve) of the sail because the NS SD tuning philosophy historically has relied on more Pre-Bend in the mast. This flexibility is a plus for inducing headstay sag in light air, among other reasons. The San Diego Main required a genoa to match and the San Diego GP Genoa reflects shape features to match up with a
fuller mainsail.

The Newport Mainsail was also developed with a specific tuning theory in mind. The Newport Mainsails are constructed with less luff curve (for a straighter mast ).
The area taken away from the luff curve gets put onto the lower roach to increase power in the back of the sailplan. (reducing the ever-present leeward helm problem in light air.)

The straight mast allows for greater headstay tension in heavier air. The backstay load is translated into more headstay tension in breezes
where de-powering is needed.

The Newport 2000 pentex Genoa is designed fuller with more shape in the lower/aft sections than other sails so as match up with the flatter lower portions of the mainsail.

Now, which to choose. In my opinion, whichever sail any of the North Sails customer chooses, if you stick to the tuning guide, you will have
a sail that is fast in all conditions. Just make sure that you match your mainsail to the genoa. Also, the mast needs always to be tuned to
the appropriate shroud numbers to reflect what mainsail you have.
Brad Read

I assume that you are asking about the difference between the two different North lofts. I am an owner of the Newport Shore Sails loft, but I find your question very familiar. I am certain that you will get two very different answers to your question depending on which loft you are asking. On the surface there appears to be some form of competition between the two locations, but I am not familiar with their corporate structure.

The reason I am responding is that I am constantly asked if I design my sails for specific regions, or a specific wind ranges. The answer is no. It is relatively easy to design sails for a specific condition. It is much more challenging to design sail shapes and a tuning strategy that covers a wide range of conditions. Different sail, and tuning set ups may have sweet spots at different wind velocities or surface conditions, but it would be very risky to expose your self to a condition that you are not competitive in. Winning regattas is much more difficult than winning races.

The most recent example that I have seen was at the Newport NA's. The Marblehead Doyle loft re-introduced Dacron genoas about a year and a half ago. A mysterious unsigned article appeared in the class magazine pontificating woven Dacron. A few boats showed up at the Newport North Americans with relatively fine entry Dacron genoas and short leeched mainsail (a shorter leech raises the girth measurement points and allows for a wider girth higher up in the sail, although the total sail area is slightly reduced). They did exceedingly well during the flat water, light air contests, but the moment the breeze built to 9 or 10 knots and the surface became a little bumpy, they were no where to bee seen. Even southern California has enough diversity that in the long run you can not leave yourself exposed.

Does anyone have a good idea what the differences
are between the Newport and San Diego mains?
Do you tune the rig differently? Does one point higher than the other? Any info would be great.
Thanks, Jeff