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Quality Rigging Since 1988
Lloyds Accredited
First in Service and Installs
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954-764-6001 · 800-328-9782
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MACK SAILS
Nance & Underwood Rigging and Sails proudly represents MACK SAILS in southeast Florida. Mack Sails are well known for their quality sails of all types including MiterCut Dacron Genoas, Full Batten Mainsails, Asymmetrical Cruising Spinnakers, Tri-Radial, Radials as well as tried and true cruising designs. See more below.
The MiterCut Dacron
Genoa
Forty years ago
virtually every genoa made for performance sailing was miter cut, like
the drawing at the left---whether constructed of cotton, nylon or
the then new Dacron. The miter in these sails was not simply a benign seam
to hold the two halves of the sail together, but rather, a very
sophisticatedly crafted avenue into the heart of the sail, that when done
right, could anticipate the natural stretching and locking of the fibers
in the cloth, guaranteeing that the draft would stay forward and the after
area of the sail would stay lat and clean. Sailmaker's reputations were built on the execution of their miters---perhaps none more so than Hood
sails of the 1960's. (Many hard-used Hood genoas can be found today that
look and perform better than their two or three year old counterparts from
"modern lofts"). But, by the 70's mitered genoas were being
pushed into obscurity by the pressure of modern economics (the miter is
labor intensive) and production requirements (it takes trained sailmakers---not
kids hired off the street). Sailmakers were also eager to produce sails
that were "fast out of the bag" . In reality, such sails were a
little less fast each and every time used. The fact remains that material
does stretch, no matter whether it's new modern Kevlar, Spectra, Technora,
Mylar and certainly Dacron-only cloth---and it's the responsibility of
sailmakers to deal with the problem. In exotic materials the solution is
to radiate the panels out from each of the load corners of the sail. This
is simple with CAD-CAM, and competent because laminates are much more
stable than woven- only cloth. But, woven-only Dacron is the odds-on
favorite for cruising sails: lower cost and the incredible durability of
15-20 years in many sails. So, If the material is so durable, why not
execute the design and construction to hold the shape in place as well?
Bravo, the miter cut---especially for roller reefing genoas---which is
practically every genoa built today. Other sailmakers simply make
cross-cut genoas and shrug their shoulders about the consequences. We take
the extra time and skill (and charge a 10% premium) necessary to build a
truly long-lasting, stay-flat when reefed, genoa---for serious cruising
performance. Some sailmakers offer radial cut genoas from woven-only
cloth; but we do not, because the breakdown is rapid and the resulting
washboard looking sail is something we would not want our name on.
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Mainsails
Full Batten Mainsails
account for 80% of the mainsails we build today. Full battens permit maximized area (roach) and the
battens do for mainsails what the miter does for genoas--maintain the shape.
Many racer prefer just the top two batten full, the lower two nearer to
normal---for slightly more control over the shape of the bottom of the sail. For most
sailors and cruisers, all full battens make a faster, longer lasting and easier
to set sail (our own boats, and America's Cup boats, too, are rigged with all
full battens). All our full batten mainsails include Battslide,
Rutgerson, or other devices to tension and transition the load (batten to mast)
as standard equipment. We also make available the inclusion of Strong or Harken
mast track systems at a package price. All mainsails come standard with shelf foot,
tell tails, etc.
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Spinnakers/Cruising/Asymmetrical
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Asymmetrical Cruising Spinnakers have been discovered by--and refined for--the racing fraternity and have come a long way since the early versions we started producing in the 1970's. We developed and marketed the first cruising chute and sock combination for truly short handed use. We still use the same concept for short handed sailing, but now coupled with our new TRUE Asymmetrical spinnaker. This sail can only be produced using sophisticated computer programs--as each of the more than 30 panels is distinctly different in shape and length. This sail is a far cry from the cruising chutes sold by most
sailmakers-- usually a spherical head with a fairly flat lower section--which is really symmetrical except for one corner (the clew) lifted higher.
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Our Tri-Radial, true asymmetrical is the fastest headsail you can put on your boat for very tight reaching to wind far aft of the beam.
This sail is designed with each of its 30-plus panels individually shaped for its greatest depth
forward, like a very full genoa, with its leading and trailing edges projected
outward, instead of inverted. As a draft-forward sail, it will practically go to
weather, but when on a near run, its projected luff swings out to the clear-air
side of the mainsail for excellent performance without a pole. We usually supply
this sail with ATN Sleeve--the absolute best sock made (and we know, because
we made the first one in the 1970's). Of course, we also make very fine, fast,
symmetrical spinnakers for racing.
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Our Fast Radial Sails
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Most of Our Radial
sails for cruising and club
racing are constructed of "cloth" using one to two mils of
Mylar/Dacron sandwich or woven warp-oriented Dacron/Pentex and
Dacron/Kevlar. With few exceptions, this is the most expensive sail
material to use, but delivers the highest performance potential. It is
also 50 to 100% more expensive than woven Dacron and contributes to the
higher price of these sails. Such sails lack the long-term durability of
woven standard Dacron and are for sailors who don't mind replacing them
more often.
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Special Features and Standards
Built Like A Mack
Sail . . .
- All sails 5.62 oz. and up are triple stitched on the seams with
V92 dark blue thread---over 8.62 oz., V138 dark blue two rows of wide
multi-stitch. Spinnakers and radial sails are multi-stitched.
- Leech tablings on all cruising sails are
two-plied with an extra thickness of wider Dacron tape under the tabling and
leech line---it is then triple stitched. This is valuable insurance against
leech fatigue and will give your sail extra years of service. Out stitch count
per inch, per row, is nearly double that of most other sailmakers.
- Heavy duty leech lines are standard with all sails except storm
sails and spinnakers. Leech lines are always centered in the tabling with stitching on either side to prevent the very aft edge of the sail from "cracking" ---a frequent problem with other sailmakers' sails.
Genuine ClamCleats, are used to hold leech line adjustments at all reef and
clews.
- All batten pockets consist of four
thicknesses, plus the extra "slab" to which it is sewn with double
stitching. There is an internal wrap of heavy elastic or webbing in the pocket
end. Most full batten pockets are made up of 12 oz. Dacron for extra chafe
protection against the shrouds. All full batten sails are fitted with hardware
at the forward end to tension the batten and provide a universal joint with
the mast slide.
- All bolt ropes are New England Spun Dacron which is the finest for the purpose. Since these lines are hidden in the sail, inferior
rope is often used by other sailmakers. When boltropes shrink (an inevitable feature of
poor synthetics) the sail is rendered prematurely shapeless. The higher the quality of material, the longer lasting and performing is the sail---always our goal.
As stated in all our literature, we use only the top of the line fabrics in
ALL our sails. Few other sailmakers can make that claim.
- All corner rings and reef cringles are hydraulically pressed
in stainless steel
assemblies. All cruising mainsail headboards are heavy aluminum anodized
installed with 3/16" aircraft rivets. The shackle hole is lined with
stainless steel and the adjacent boltrope is leather bound. We seldom back up
our corner and reefing rings with external webbing, preferring to us extra
thicknesses of re-enforcing patch material in the corners, so that
after-thought measures are unnecessary. Makes a nicer looking sail, too, which
is one of our hallmarks.
- Mainsail slides are all hand sewn on with
heavy webbing for long life and kindness to the sail. Sails are all provided
with tell tails and a Dacron bag. The dark stitching on our seams makes draft
stripes not a necessity, but we will install them as an extra. Class insignia
and numbers are also extras. Mainsail shelf foot is standard with our
mainsails, and no extra charge for Cunningham or jackline, if requested.
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Nance & Underwood Rigging and Sails is your source for all of your rigging, sails, sail handling equipment and services world wide. We can ship rigging, sails, and sail handling equipment anywhere. No matter where you are, Nance & Underwood will always be here to assist you. We can arrange the repair of your rigging hardware and/or sails here in our facility. Contact Us today for more information.
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