Lite Skin Jib - a mixed bag

[Stickinthemud57]

Caveat – This is from my singular experience. I believe Lite Skin sails are an excellent product.

Condensed version:

The Good: Great sail, reasonably priced, definitely improves performance.

The Not So Good: Requires more pampering than Dacron sails for my application.

Longer version:

After less than a year of use, my hank-on Lite Skin jib showed excessive wear at the leech and had to be repaired (see photos). My sail supplier (thesailwarehouse.com) made the repair free of charge, but I was frustrated by Rolly Tasker’s responses when I made them aware of the problem. They repeatedly suggested that the damage was due to handling (folding at a seam) and chafing, even when I showed them with photographic proof that the area was not subject to folding or chafing. Flogging was mentioned as a possible culprit, but I don’t allow flogging other than in the minute or less it takes to raise the sail and bring in the jib sheet. Material failure was out of the question as far as RT was concerned, even though none of their suggested causes seemed plausible or consistent with what I was seeing. For instance, even though I fold my Lite Skin mainsail at the same points consistently I am seeing no undue wear as a result.

My expectation was that the “durable” Lite Skin material would stand up to being stored in my deck bag, as I had done with my Dacron foresails since I purchased my boat in 2020. Naturally, getting the Lite Skin sail in the deck bag requires flaking it, but my supplier says that is not the ideal way to store it, and that it would be better to remove it from the forestay and roll it up. I keep my boat in a slip five minutes from home, and love that I can hop on the boat and be on the lake in 15 minutes or less. Removing and rolling the jib would add considerably to that time, so is not really a good option for my situation.

Hopefully the repair will hold and I will experience no other issues.

My takeaways are:

-The Lite Skin jib is probably better suited for roller furling, as it allows quick deployment and retraction without folding.
-If your jib hanks on, the recommended storage method (per thesailwarehouse.com) would be to remove it and roll it up. It rankles me that this advice was not offered until after I experienced problems.
-Hold on to your old Dacron jib if you plan to store it in a deck bag and save the Lite Skin for race days.

Holes for post.jpg

Damage before repair

repaired area for post.jpg

Repaired area

[NiceAft]

Well done report, Concise, to the point. A+

[PSNA]

Thanks for the update.

Unfortunately, these and all the sandwiched string sails are only good for a couple of seasons.

Performance sails in general are not durable. Never have been. Most will lose their shape within two years and suffer all kinds of problems such as delamination.

Several including "Lite Skin" have glued panels. Something I am not a huge fan of. A lot of spinnakers are built with glued seams, but the nylon is only .75 to 1.50 oz.

Most racers will replace them every two to three years. It's the cost of competing.

They are also a pain to use. They must be removed after each use and "rolled". That goes for the main and headsail.

If you want a performance sail with the longevity of polyester, look at Warp Drive by Challenge. Mine are about six years old and look like new.

[PSNA]

By the way.

That is not chafing.

It's a bad seam.

[Stickinthemud57]

By the way.

That is not chafing.

It's a bad seam.

I agree that it is not chafing, and tend to agree with your assessment. Not being an expert by any stretch of the imagination, my opinion doesn't really count for much.

The things that bother me in this whole thing are:
-No advice at any point from the dealer or Rolly Tasker as to how to care for these sails.
-The sails are described at the Rolly Tasker website as "durable", intended for "racing and cruising". I'm not seeing much durability from this jib. Certainly not the durability one needs for a cruising sail
-Explanations offered by Rolly Tasker ignore the facts at hand: The damage is definitely NOT from from folding or chaffing. The dealer agrees. Flogging maybe, but if so, then this sail fails to fit the "durable" descriptor.

I find it interesting (and a relief) that the mainsail is showing no signs of such failure. I can't help but wonder if the material for the jib is defective, or simply not as robust as the mainsail material.

PSNA,

Thanks for your comments and the Warp Drive suggestion. I will have to check them out.

[PSNA]

You can usually get an idea by the warranty on the sail.

Normally, a good ole tidy whitey polyester sail will be three years on workmanship and material.

Performance/exotics are 1 year with a whole lot of weasel wording to boot.

I spent about 5 years on this merry-go-round. Replacing every two to three years. Wifey was not a happy camper.

[Stickinthemud57]

You can usually get an idea by the warranty on the sail.

Normally, a good ole tidy whitey polyester sail will be three years on workmanship and material.

Performance/exotics are 1 year with a whole lot of weasel wording to boot.

I spent about 5 years on this merry-go-round. Replacing every two to three years. Wifey was not a happy camper.

Good points

Warranty on this one is two years. I haven't read the warranty (stupid me), so don't know how weasel-y it is worded.

At the Rolly Tasker website, the material is described as "durable", and the target market is "racer/cruiser". Nah, I don't think so, at least not for this sail.

I spent the better part of the afternoon reinforcing problem areas with self-adhesive Lite Skin tape, graciously provided by my local dealer. Sadly, I encountered failing material and even failing of the repair after only a handful of outings.

In stark contrast, the mainsail (also Lite Skin) shows no undue signs of wear. Only complaint there is that the luff seems to have an excessive amount of curve, but it's not causing any real problems.

I intend to pursue some kind of recompense through my dealer, but firmly believe that Rolly Tasker needs to step up on this one.

My next step is to compare the material weight between the main and jib. Stay tuned.

[PSNA]

Weight should be the same on the main and jib. 6 oz or equivalent.

Whoever you bought them from is responsible. They in turn will go to Tasker to get reimbursed.

The jib should be replaced, not repaired.

There should be no curve on the luff unless the rig needs tuning. The luff can get wonky if there is too much or too little rake.

The other thing I noticed was the corner patches on the clew of the jib are really small.

[Stickinthemud57]

Weight should be the same on the main and jib. 6 oz or equivalent.

Whoever you bought them from is responsible. They in turn will go to Tasker to get reimbursed.

The jib should be replaced, not repaired.

There should be no curve on the luff unless the rig needs tuning. The luff can get wonky if there is too much or too little rake.

The other thing I noticed was the corner patches on the clew of the jib are really small.

Thanks for your comments, all good points.

[Stickinthemud57]

I am pleased to announce that my dealer (thesailwarehouse.com) and Rolly Tasker have stepped up and offered a solution that I find very satisfactory. I think the most courteous thing would be for me to not disclose specifics other than to say that I am still a fan of Rolly Tasker and thesailwarehouse.com. Thanks for the support and comments from those here at the forum!

Edit - I have come to learn that Lite Skin comes in several weights. If you are considering a sail made from this material, be sure you DO NOT get the lightweight. I'm convinced that is the main problem in my case.

[PSNA]

Great!

Tasker has been around forever, and I have never heard of them pinching pennies when it comes to a situation like this.

Sail Warehouse had a change of ownership last year. The previous owner was tough to deal with in his latter years. Good to hear the new ownership did the right thing and you are a happy camper.

[Stickinthemud57]

Great!

Tasker has been around forever, and I have never heard of them pinching pennies when it comes to a situation like this.

Sail Warehouse had a change of ownership last year. The previous owner was tough to deal with in his latter years. Good to hear the new ownership did the right thing and you are a happy camper.

Yes, I have been very pleased with Sail Warehouse's new owner. It doesn't hurt that he is a member of our sailing club.