Main Sail Dimensions??

Where do I find the sail dimensions? Luff, Foot, and Leech. I don't need mast length or sq.ft.
Thanks.

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2003 Tiger - Don Atchley

The only way is to measure a sail. I have asked Hobie for this information before when modifing my SX and there response is "If it is a Hobie sail than it is legal" I have been told that if you lay several 18 sails on top of each other you will see slight differences in dimensions which would be one reason you would not want anyone to have the "official" dimensions, but I have no proof of that.

Jacks right. I have three mains and they are all cut differently.

So much for one design. I guess the nasty rumor is true, there could be three hobie 18's with hobie sails but have different sail measurements. I guess the other side of the coin is that there will always be a margin of error which is why in other one design classes they have a minimum and maximum for any given dimension. In Hobies defense I am sure they have a similar tolerance deal and the sail maker just insures that all of the sails fit that margin.
Hobie has once said that the requirement to buy Hobie brand sails was to prevent an arms race and to keep the cost down yet you can buy a replacement sail for less than the Hobie brand, and in the case of the SX where the sail will delaminate after just a year or two regardless of how well you take care of it you can buy a better quality sail. The entire reason I went aftermarket on my sails was because I didn't want to pay hobie prices for a sail that would only last a season or two in hard race conditions. Inter has a similar requirement with their sails and every Inter 20 sailor will tell you it sucks. Their sail design is outdated and I have heard the quality has gotten bad yet they are stuck buying the same sails. I love my Hobie, but when it comes to racing in open classes Hobie offers absolutly no support.

I have been able to measure my old sails pretty carefully, as I plan on building a couple of new sails for myself. I can not speak to differences in different sails built for the same boat - I only have my one set to check, prob from 1989.

These are for the standard 18, not the SX.

The main measures 25' 11.5" luff, 8'4" foot (not incl bolt rope), 25'9" leech (measured to the fwd corner of the headboard). Headboard is 5" wide across top; roach maxes out at 24.5" (measured perp. from a straight line from the aft corner of the headboard to the clew) at the 4th batten down from the head, and luff round is about 4.75" at mid-luff.

The jib measures 16'10" luff, 16'2" leech, 8'4" foot, and 7'10.5" LP (measured to sail fabric edge, not including luff sleeve).

I pinned the entire sail out flat when I took measurements, and the sails did lay quite flat while I measured.

Hope this is what you were looking for, although as the other posts said, it has to be an official Hobie sail to be able to race in a Hobie class event, and Hobie's not publishing "official" sail measurements for that reason.

Hobie doesn't give out sail dimensions because they're not part of the sail specifications.

Each panel in the sail is defined by a digital pattern. Layers of sailcloth are laid out on a cutting table, held in place by a vaccuum, then marked and cut with a CNC cutter.

The panels are assembled (by hand) into the complete sail. Some adjustments in size can be made when the sail is finished (bolt rope added, etc.). Like anything that's assembled by hand, there are bound to be some minor variations.

I guarantee you, one blown tack or bad start will more than erase any gain from having a "perfectly cut" sail.