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Last year I saw a classic Alberg looking boat, she looked quite refurbished, and sporting new burgundy colored sails. Another skipper I know has burgundy sails on this Gaff rigged ketch, he says they are easier on the eyes.

I'm curious what the are about the pros and cons are of this fairly rare choice.

I have heard them called "tan-bark". Most of the dacron sail material is done in white, I think the tan bark is the only other color manufactured by the big mills. It had something to do with UV decay.

I just cripped this from a sailmakers site.

"Every once in a while one of our customers orders a sail in tanbark. Back in the days of cottons sails, some sailcloth was tanned - dipped in tannins, usually derived from tree bark. The process was used to protect the sails from rot, mold and mildew. Nowadays, Dacron is dyed a reddish brown to simulate the 'red sails in the sunset' look. Sail buyers pay a premium for this or any dyed Dacron. There is no analogous protection provided by the dye."


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Do you mean "tanbark", like this?



I don't have any experience with them myself, but I suppose they might be easier on the eyes in bright light than white, though I always wear sunglasses on the boat, so that's not so much of a consideration for me.

I personally don't like the way they look except on certain very classic boats (gaff-rigged schooners, for example) but that's just my preference. As for useful information, I guess I really have none!

I believe the origins of the term "Tanbark" stem from an old rotproofing process that involved soaking the canvas in something produced by boiling a certain tree bark.
Yes, nowadays it's just dyed dacron. It's all about looks, not at all about performance or longevity.

Three detriments: 1) It can be hard to see the shadow of the telltale on the other side. 2) Some tanbark sails I've seen have been made with ordinary white thread, which just bugs me to no end. 3) Dried salt spray looks terrible.

As the advent of the bermudan/marconi rig came after the sun had set on the era of tanbark sail treatment, I think the two never really look right together. In particular, I'm thinking of a Bristol Channel Cutter I've seen with tanbark sails and a marconi rig. Maybe it was the nature of the BCC, maybe it was the tanbark color, but man that boat was just BEGGING for a gaff rig.

Tanbark sails only look truly right on a very specific type of classic boat.

I'll go along with Mike's observation about tanbark and Marconi rigs just not generally looking that right together. Somehow, tanbarks belong only on gaff rigs.

Tanbark sails on most boats of any modernity just look like someone's trying too hard to be "nautical".

Despite all this, there's no reason for or against them otherwise. They are truly about appearance these days.

Yep, "Tanbark" is what I was thinking about. Thanks for all the info, this site IS the best!

I don't think they will be my choice when the time comes.

New sails have been are on the wish list, but the local sail maker (Neil Pryde) that I' have the best feeling about would break my budget at the moment, especially I'd like to get a Furlex, and a Strong Track system at the same time.

I agree with what most above have said about them only looking good on gaffers and such. A Renegade is a traditional boat, but not that old.

S/V Groovy wrote:New sails have been are on the wish list, but the local sail maker (Neil Pryde) that I' have the best feeling about would break my budget at the moment, especially I'd like to get a Furlex, and a Strong Track system at the same time.

I was lucky, my boat came with a Furlex in very good condition. Those things are expensive! I just ordered my new genny for it last week. I am getting a 135 genny with reinforcement patch and soft luff for reefing , tell tale windows and white UV protection for when furled. I single hand a lot or sail with my wife who isn't a big fan of sail changes.

Dave, how did you decide on a 135%? It will probably be a while until I have to make the choice, but I (and the sailmaker) were thinking more like a 150%.

Everything is a compromise. A 150 would be better in light air, but wouldn't hold as good a shape when reefed to 65 %. I am looking to be able to reef down to be able to handle 30 kts. or so (double reefed main and app. 65% genny). I have an asymmetrical spinnaker, so reaching and down wind in light air I can use that. If I were going to race it would be a different story.

I might add that the typical windspeeds you encounter in your area should have something to do with your headsail choice for a furler.

Since a furling headsail is, for all intents and purposes, a multi-purpose sail that you will use in a variety of speeds, you need to ensure that it is sized properly to allow for most efficient use in the winds you encounter.

Many cruisers find that a 150% is just a bit too large much of the time, unless wind speeds are low enough often enough to dictate its use. But a sail like this quickly becomes too big when the wind pipes up, and if you regularly see 15 knots or more, you might be happier with a smaller headsail like a 135%, which gives up a small bit of the lightest-air performance, but makes up for it in most typical windspeeds.

Plus, keep in mind the practical maximum that you can reef a roller furling headsail. Typically, it's about 30-40% before you really start to lose useful sail shape (though you can still roll more and get where you need to go--just maybe not happily or efficiently). So you can reduce a 135% to approximately a 95%, or typical "working jib" size; but you can only roll a 150% to about 105%. This may not be a problem, but it's a consideration.

I think most boats do pretty well in all conditions with a 130% or 135%. Larger is nice when the winds are light, but by 8 or 10 knots you really don't even notice the difference. Most cruisers are more than willing to put up with marginally reduced performance in the lightest winds in order to have a more versatile setup that covers 95% of anticipated conditions.

You do give up some performance offwind with smaller headsails. As always, this needs to be balanced against the need for the sail to work well when beating, which is the most critical time to have a sail that truly performs well.

Compromise, compromise...always!