Sails

Since I own a full set of '05 Gus and more than 4 sets of Norths over the years on my old FS 3913, here's what I think about them. They are all fast....but...the Norths have a wider "sweet spot" and are easier for the average sailor [me] to race fast. I sail snug rig now, after racing loose and then tight rig, and now snug. The Gus are snug only, which is good. The Gus jibs are noticably flatter forward than the North snug sail and hence require more precise steering to stay in the groove. The North snug is easier to steer with as it can stand more feathering in puffs and still keep speed up. In chop the North's have an advantage, being fuller with more power. But in flat water, with a good helmsman, the Gus are scary fast. In my opinion the Gus and North mains are both excellent. North changed the cut of the main recently, moving the draft aft slightly. I can't tell the difference. Chutes - the Gus is physically bigger - closer to the max size allowed and it is easy to trim and is very fast. The North cross-cut is fast initially when new but doesn't last long speed wise. I don't like them. The new North Tri-radial is fast and easy to trim and would me my choice. But my favorite Scot chute is one built by Benz Faget in the North New Orleans loft which is a big, full runner. I have a 5 year old one that is still quick - used it last week in the Fall 48 at Lake Norman. One problem with buying Gus is quality - the seams in my Gus main are not smooth, as if the seamer was jerking the sail thru the sewing machine instead of pulling it thru smoothly [I used to be a sailmaker] - North's work is impeccable. Another Gus problem is lead time. They are extremely slow to arrive, so order them many months in advance. The North's come inside a month, usually. So putting my money where my mouth is, I have new North's on order for next season. A snug jib and standard tri-radial chute. One note about chute material - nylon is affected by the dyes and the new flourescent colors are not holding up well after some use. Ideally the whole sail should be made out of one lot of cloth to have the same stretch characteristics throughout the sail. This means all one color, which is boring. The next best thing is to get the head and foot of a sail the same color [lot] and have a contrasting middle body. My 2 best chutes are all white, and have held up longer than the 2 colored ones. White and grey is affected the least by UV degradation of the nylon. FS 5626 Disclaimer- I am not now affiliated with any sailmaker - I worked for Ullman Sails and Banks Sails in a previous life.

The Scot rules allow you to purchase 2 sets of sails in the boat's 1st 12 months [see Article S-IV paragraph 3 of the FSSA specs]. This is a good way to experiment with a new sailmaker. I got the Gus set as part of the purchase deal with Harry for a slight additional fee over the stock Schurrs. The North New Orleans loft marches to a different drummer, and makes their own Scot sails for a loose rig tuning. They are fast, if you can deal with the floppy mast. If you want them, or just the chute, call Benz direct. I think the regular Norths are made overseas [Sri Lanka?] as are the North boat covers. Good luck with your new Scot. You will have a great time with it. formerly FS 3913, now FS 5626