The Sail
As the Lightning is a strict one design boat, all sails are made by Bruce Banks to a high standard in conventional sailcloth. They are loose footed and have three battens, the top batten being full width and the lower two part width of the sail. The battens themselves are similar to aqua battens - they are blue and tapered.
The sail is hoisted by a halyard, most use a rope but some have a wire halyard with a pin rack. The tack of the sail is hooked onto the downhaul and is also tie to the mast using a small strop. Failure to tie the sail to the mast can lead to the sail unzipping itself from the track! Finally the clew is hooked on to the outhaul, which is on a slider in a track in the boom. As a result the sail is quick and easy to rig and can also be dropped in an emergency or for lee shore landings. A useful hint is to have a loop of shock cord tied around the mast for the halyard to tuck into, this keeps it out if the way but easy to release.
New sails are only available through the class association. The price is very reasonable and includes insignia, numbers, battens and a sail bag. Normally the sails are supplied folded but it is possible to obtain one rolled in a tube if specified when ordering.
A smaller sail is also permitted. The size is left at the discretion of the helm, but usually 30cm is taken out of the foot of an old sail. Care needs to be taken that the cut-down sail does not suffer from 'droopy boom' disease!