Anybody who has stopped by a sail loft lately knows that new sails pose a significant financial investment.

Used sails, on the other hand, can be had for a fraction of the cost and they come with added benefit of knowing that you are recycling – but there are few important caveats.

You should know upfront that used sails will probably never perform like new ones. Even if purchased in exactly the right size and shape, used sails are going to have a certain amount of stretch and bend already sailed into them, and they may never match the nuances of your boat exactly.

Also, the market for used sails is fairly efficient, meaning that there are traditionally few "great deals" out there. That said, the current economic spiral means there are deals to be had if you have money to spend. In general, a used sail runs you about two-thirds of the cost of a new sail – because it only has about two-thirds of its life left.

FRANK MUMMERTBuying sails from someone you know can save some money and you'll have a fairly good idea how the sails have been used (and abused).Finally, the Internet has made it a lot easier to find the right size and shape sails, but like everything else online, you have to be careful about who you're dealing with. While many dealers are reputable, as my old boss in the Navy used to say, "you get what you inspect, not what you expect." Make sure that you get a guarantee that you can return the sails if they don't perform as promised.

THE OPTIONS

There are three basic ways to buy used sails. The easiest is to buy the exact the sail you want from a broker. This is also the most expensive option. That's because you are buying the broker's knowledge and experience, both in choosing the sails and in matching you with the sails found in their inventory. So when searching for a relatively new set of sails for a specific purpose, or a hard-to-find set of sails, a broker is usually the best bet.

The second option is to haunt the used marketplace. This can be done online, using sites like craigslist and eBay, and by letting people in your local area know that you are on the lookout. Find boats of a similar size and style as yours and let the owners know that you are interested in buying used. You may find they have sails they are not using and are ready to part with. More likely, however, is the possibility that having a ready buyer will encourage the captain to upgrade his own sails. This is particularly true of racing sailors, who tend to upgrade and replace sails on a regular basis.

By cutting out the middleman, you can save some money and, if you know the seller personally, you'll have a fairly good idea how the sails have been used – and abused – in the past. On the other hand, if the deal is made over the Internet, you may be buying someone else's junk, and that should be factored into the cost.

The last option is to purchase sails of good quality that are not of the perfect fit and convert them to the correct size and shape. While you can have this done by a sail loft, the cost of the work may exceed any savings you achieve on the sail material. But if you are careful, reasonably competent with a sewing machine and patient, this may be the least expensive way to get exactly the sails you want.

IN THE KNOW

No matter what path you take to acquire your new sails, you will first need to collect some information about your boat – that includes the appropriate measurements of the luff and foot of your sail, as well as a decision about how you want the sail to attach to the mast, boom or stay.

FRANK MUMMERTUsed sails may require some DIY modifications.  Although head sail roller furling has been around since the mid 1960s, there are still some boats out there that use hanked-on jibs. Hanked-on sails – which are clipped on to the head stay – tend to be the simplest sails to convert and can be customized to give the most efficient sail shape for the size. Hanks can be clips or snaps, the difference coming in how secure the sail is in operation, and how easy it is to remove and attach. Sailrite, which makes sailing machines and products, has a complete selection of each type and is an excellent source of information for both converting and repairing sails.

If the plan is to replace roller furled sails, the need for quality workmanship increases exponentially, because the tolerance on the roller furl slot can be exacting. While it is still possible to do it yourself, buying the correct size and shape sail usually pays dividends.

The luff of the sail can match the length of the foil or it can be cut so that the sail is several feet off the deck. The longer the luff, the more sail area available and the more powerful the sail. However, if the sail comes down to deck level, it will be more difficult to tack the sail as it drags and snags on deck gear. In addition, the sail will be harder to see around or under. Finally, if the boat has a bow pulpit, the sail will have to be protected from chafe where it rubs against the tubing.

Generally, the length of the foot and leech of the headsail will be dependent on the length of the luff, but the location of the cars for the jib tracks will need to be taken into consideration. While there can be some overlap between the forward end of the track and the clew of the sail, too much overlap can be a waste and can result in inefficient sail shapes.

Main and mizzen sails generally have two points of contact to the boat, both along the mast and along the boom. They can attach at individual points, either at the ends, so the sail is loose footed, or at points along the edge using slugs or cars. The other possibility is that the sail has a boltrope sewn into the edge. The boltrope is a length of line with the fabric of the sail sewn around it, causing a bulge in the edge of the sail that slips into a slot on the mast, the boom or both.

Slugs and bolt ropes fit into the slot in the mast, while cars ride on a track on the outside of the mast. Like the slot in a roller reefing foil, the slot for a boltrope can have very exacting tolerance and the friction involved in raising the sail can restrict the boltrope to small sails. However, changing a sail from boltrope to slugs is fairly easy, and slugs have a greater tolerance in the slot. Also, slugs are often made from a material that will slide with less friction. Slugs allow for a greater control over the tension of the fabric, allowing you to control how tight the sail is stretched along the luff. The downside of the slug is that it tends to create a wear point in the sail, unlike a boltrope, which stretches the tension over its entire length.

FRANK MUMMERT If you are careful and competent with a sewing machine, converting a sail to fit your boat be the least expensive way to get the sails you want.Cars are more expensive, but they tend to make the sail ride up the mast significantly more easily and are often combined with full battens to better control the sail shape. Because the combination is a fairly recent innovation in sail control, they don't tend to show up in older used sails. However, if you are converting new or almost new sail material, it may be worth considering the extra engineering necessary to make the sail work better.

A USED MAINSAIL

When considering used main sails, you have to take into consideration the roach desired and how it will interact with the backstays. Roach is the extra sail material beyond a straight line between the head and the clew of the sail. More roach means more sail area, which again means more power. However, if you have a single back stay, the roach will wear as it crosses the stay during tacking and gibing. It may even wear against the stay when sailing close hauled. Roach is supported by the battens, so both the material of the batten and the structure of the batten pocket will need to be considered.

Some boats, Hunters in particular, do away with the backstay and use a triangular arrangement of head stay and shrouds to counterbalance the mast. This makes it easier to have a sail with a large roach, but restricts the distance the boom can be moved out to either side when sailing downwind. Also, sacrificial chafing pads are often sewn into the sail at the point where it touches spreaders and shrouds. These may need to be replaced when the sail has been used a lot.

Finally, used sails, especially if they have been re-cut for your use, may have the reefing points in the wrong place. Especially if the foot has been cut off, the lowest reefing points may end up too close to the boom to be useful. Moving reefing points is possible but, again, the additional sewing involved may outweigh any cost savings. It may end up being more efficient to leave the foot of the sail alone and remove material from the luff of the sail. This is especially true if you are converting the sail from boltrope to slugs or cars.

Well maintained sails can last a decade or more in intermittent service and sails that are "blown-out" for a racer may be just the thing for a slow cruising boat. In other circumstances, a jib from a 45- foot ketch that has had the foot ripped out may be just the thing, once cut down and repaired, for a 20-foot daysailer. The key, as always, is knowing what you need to make your boat work, and working with people you trust.