Star Class Jib Weight
In 2019 the star class voted to increase the minimum weight for Star jibs to an unfinished fabric weight of 4.4 oz per sailmakers yard (28"x36") . This raised alot of questions about what was legal and what was not legal.
The rule was ultimately suspended and Brian Cramer the head of the technical committee sent the following email asking for input from sailmakers : "The Star Class members voted last year for heavier jib cloth weight minimums but due to a wording "snafu" the initiative was delayed. The Fleet that proposed the original rule change is requesting your input into where you think the new minimum cloth weight for jib construction should be set. I remind you that at the present time the rule in force is: 12.1 Sails - Allow polyester woven material not lighter than 3.7 ounces per sailmaker's yard ."
I sent the following email to Brian and I feel it explains the situation: “Contender style 3.8 polykote , which is currently used in many star jibs, is actually 190 grams per meter square (as specified in their catalog) or 4.44 oz. per sailmakers yard ( the multiplier is 0.02335) , so you could conceivably change the rule without changing the sail. I feel the authors of this resolution are confusing fabric style numbers with actual fabric weight. An example is Contender 3.6 polykote , which is use in many star mains. You might assume it doesn’t conform to the 3.7 oz class rule, but it is actually 180 grams per square meter or 4.2 oz per sailmakers yard as specified in their catalog. Probably the next step up would be 200 grams per square meter or 4.67 oz /sailmakers yard which would include Contender 4.46 polykote and Dimension 205 SQ HTP. Unfortunately there are not too many fabrics to choose from in this weight, with most of the development going into the 180 and 190 fabrics. There are other variables, besides cloth weight when you are looking for durability. I personally use fabrics with a large ripstop thread when I want durability. You might consider consulting with the cloth manufactures, most notably Contender and Dimension Polyant, and develop a list of approved fabrics for Star jibs. There aren’t that many to choose from and any new fabric that came on the market could be added with approval from the technical committee.”