Hi Tony (and everyone)
Re your 15th Oct post, I have now acquired -
- definitely, some action pics of Cadenza in her new dress
- possibly, the IT skills required to be able to do a post with pics.
As it might be of 'general' rather than just boat-building interest, I will shortly attempt (you will have to imagine the long, loud drum roll) a post elsewhere with pictures and other news. Watch that (rather than this) space.
As I tried to indicate, I don't actually know anything about UV degradation of sails except that it happens. Sailors I have met who go round the world and such-like are rather comically obsessed with sail covers for this reason. (In my youth, such covers were to prevent sails going mouldy. More recently, I assumed they were to keep gull poo off sails at moorings, or to protect bespoke racing sails from too much fresh air.) I just thought that UV was a likely contributor to your main's middle-leech spread, given your sailing habits, and that as you hadn't mentioned it, I would.
Sail colour is a funny one, isn't it, and mostly a matter of personal choice. I don't care for cream, myself (I know Swallowboats do, big time); it looks like grubby white? Can't fade a lot, though, and might in the long term look whiter than old white. There is a junk rig liking in some (especially Norwegian) circles for royal blue: I don't think UV is a huge problem in Norway. I saw a small junk rig schooner recently with yellow sails which, with a not-too-dark green hull, actually looked rather good. I've played safe with Cadernza - white.