BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

Bianka has only one sail but it is 540 square feet. it's rather large and unwieldy.  When I took
it off the boat last fall I just bundled it together and put it in the garage thinking that I would fold
it when I got the time on the lawn.   Well, the days came and went and I never did fold it last fall.
So when the COVID-19 pandemic struck and people including me were pretty much
quarantined at home.  It seemed like a good time to lay the sail out on the lawn and get it done.

I thought it was going to be more difficult doing it alone but, it was pretty easy.

Now I just have to wait until the boat is launched to get it where it belongs. On the mast.

SOLAR SAILS

When I converted my boat to electric propulsion back in 2008 the idea of having sails that were also solar panels was kind of a pipe dream. Always seemed like a good idea to me with the boats 540 square foot sail and especially since BIANKA used batteries and an electric motor for it's auxiliary propulsion. Well, it looks like this idea is about to come to fruition:

"UK Sailmakers France, innovator of MatriX Titanium sails, has started a new company called SolarClothSystem® that will make mainsails with a film containing high efficiency photovoltaic cells. The cells are flexible enough to be used on sails that get rolled or folded. SolarClothSystem cells are printed on a 65-micron thick film." -UK Sailmakers

"The fine PV film (65 microns, DSSC type) is made ​​in the USA. The integration is carried out in France in Mandelieu-La Napoule (patent pending). Cclls are either embedded in the layers of a new sail membrane type or added on sails, new or not, gluing and sewing on woven materials, Dacron or Spectra kind. The flexible film allows the mainsail to be rolled on the boom. The harvested energy is transported by an integrated via the luff of the sail flexible circuit and then to the foot of the mast. A small electronic controller installed inside the boat controls the battery charging."

Of course the devil will be in the details. but, at least the idea of incorporating solar panels into a boats sails is starting to make it's way onto the waters. This electric sailor will sure be keeping an eye on where it goes from here.

Hat tip: Elecktra Yachts

BOOKS ON BIANKA'S BOOK SHELF: THE SAILMAKERS APPRENTICE

Space on a 30 foot sailboat has it's limitations. Because of this a sailor needs to really limit items that are carried on board. That also goes for things like books. So from time to time I'll post about what books I find valuable enough to keep taking up space on board BIANKA. My first selection is THE SAILMAKERS APPRENTICE by Emiliano Marino. While I do not plan on fabricating new sails for BIANKA I find the book to be a most useful and interesting reference book full of all kinds of very useful information. From repairing sails to the tools and procedures needed to make ones own sail. It's in this book. It also comes in handy for use as a quick reference source to answer ones curiosity about the identity of various sailboat rigs. For example say you are enjoying a cold beer one afternoon at anchor on the eastern end of the Isle of Long and you spot a sailboat that looks like this in the distance:

You say to yourself: Now what kind of rig is that? A quick perusal of the SAILMAKER'S APPRENTICE and you will find a number of pages and descriptions of various types of sailboat rigs:

Pretty soon you have the answer: Why that's a Leg-o'-Mutton Ketch!

So if you are looking for a book that covers just about anything regarding the sails on your boat from repairing them to making your own I recommend THE SAILMAKER'S APPRENTICE by Emiliano Marino as one book to have on your boat.