Sailmakers will sew you a sacrificial UV strip on the leech and foot of your genoa. The strip adds weight, distorts the sail shape, and still wears out. The Original ATN Genoa Sleeve is the alternative: a custom-built UV cover that hoists over the furled headsail on the spinnaker halyard, tightens from the deck using our DoubleCross tensioning system, and protects the sail without touching its cut. Built in Pinellas Park, FL. Eight-year fabric warranty.
Pricing
The ATN Genoa Sleeve is priced per linear foot, in two tiers by length.
Up to 60 feet of luff length.
60 to 75 feet of luff length.
Every sleeve is made to order in Pinellas Park, FL. Build plus delivery typically runs two to three weeks.
Worked example: a 38-foot luff sleeve costs 38 multiplied by $20.00, which is $760.00. A 72-foot sleeve, the length Kris ordered for his Oyster 575, costs 72 multiplied by $23.75, which is $1,710.00.
The ATN Original DoubleCross Tensioning System
The DoubleCross Tensioning System is the system Etienne developed to solve the flutter problem on the mooring...you want a tight sleeve over your genoa, not a flapping flag. With our sleeve over your furled sail, the DoubleCross system allows you to tension both the bottom and top of the sleeve while standing on deck. This collapses the sleeve around the sail top to bottom, and stops the wind from getting inside it. No climbing the rig, no second pair of hands. And when it's fully tensioned you can just tuck the excess tensioning line into the ATN unique line pocket that's built right in. The DoubleCross system is at the heart of every ATN Genoa Sleeve. There are imitators, but the system we designed requires every part of the system to work together well and we've not yet seen imitators copy it successfully.
Product specs
| Construction | Sewn UV cover with full-length zipper plus the DoubleCross internal lacing pattern. |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Top Notch 9 (TN9, 9 oz/yd2 marine canvas). |
| Thread | Tenara (PTFE thread, UV-stable). |
| Fabric warranty | 8 years. |
| Thread warranty | 15 years. |
| Sizing | Custom, built to luff length of the furled headsail and your provided sail circumference. |
| Length cap | 75 feet. |
| Hoist method | Spinnaker halyard. No need to lower the sail. |
| Tension method | DoubleCross lacing, tensioned from the deck. |
| Country of manufacture | United States (Pinellas Park, FL). |
| Designed by | Etienne Giroire. |
Color options
Eleven Top Notch 9 fabric colors are available: Admiral Navy (2674), Forest Green (2688), Caribbean Blue (2694), Tan (2642), Taupe (2608), Cardinal Red (2606), Burgundy Wave (2609), Silver Gray (2648), Charcoal (2692), Black (2649), White (2687).
2674 Admiral Navy
2649 Black
2609 Burgundy Weave
2606 Cardinal Red
2694 Caribbean Blue
2692 Charcoal
2688 Forest Green
2648 Silver Gray
2642 Tan
2608 Taupe
2687 White
How to Install
- Overfurl the roller furler, winding the sheets down to drum / deck level. Install the opened genoa sleeve and close it around the furled genoa.
- Attach the spinnaker halyard on the head of the ATN Genoa Sleeve. Attach the slider of the zipper onto the lifeline using the included elastic strap. Hoist away. Once almost fully hoisted, attach the bottom hank of the genoa sleeve onto the roller furler drum shackle. Finish the hoist.
- Pull the lower double lines and cleat.
- Then pull on the center line (this tensions the upper half of the DoubleCross system and is an ATN original) and cleat. Put the excess lines in the pocket.
- Grab a beer and know your valuable genoa is well-protected.
Where to use
The cruiser who refused a sacrificial UV strip
Cruising couples on 30 to 50 ft monohulls who specced a clean genoa and never want a leech-and-foot UV strip on it. The strip adds weight, distorts the shape, and ages out in five to seven years anyway. The Genoa Sleeve does the UV job that the strip would do, without touching the sail. Hoist it once the boat is on the mooring, lower it before you sail. 90 seconds per side.
The owner whose strip replacement went wrong
A common path to this product: the original UV strip failed, the owner had it replaced, and the loft used the wrong fabric and distorted the sail. Keith's verbatim quote: "After that season I removed everything that was added, and replaced it with lightweight fabric." The Genoa Sleeve protects the recovered sail without the cost or shape penalty of strip replacement number two.
Tropical and high-UV moorings
Caribbean, Sea of Cortez, Florida Keys, Mediterranean, Australia. Top Notch 9 with Tenara thread holds up under sustained tropical UV in a way that lighter sail-bag covers do not. Paul D.'s testimonial documents the cover surviving a 70 mph gust event at a mooring in the Sea of Cortez. B. Lewis ran one for three years on a Wylie 39 in San Francisco Bay before UV damage to the older fabric showed (warranty replaced).
Pre-hurricane and named-storm protection
The cover does not turn a mooring into a hurricane hole, but a Genoa Sleeve installed the day before a storm keeps the furled headsail from flapping itself apart in 50+ knot gusts. Thomas L.'s boat Kolea was on a Maine mooring when Hurricane Lee hit. He had installed the sleeve the day before and the sail came through clean.
Customer concerns addressed
How do I know the right size, and what happens if it is wrong?
The sleeve is sized to the luff length of your furled headsail. The slanted top is cut so that when you hoist with the spinnaker halyard, the opening swallows the roller-furler head swivel and the sleeve sits at the top of the roller furler drum. No overlap is built in or needed. We will need the maximum circumference of the furled sail at the clew with the sheets on, because a sleeve sized too small for the sail's circumference will let wind inside the cover and flap on the mooring.
How is this different from a $200 sail-bag cover or the Asian copy on Amazon?
The Asian copies and most sail-bag covers use a lighter, untreated polyester. They are fine for a sail you store in the garage. They are not fine for a sail that lives on the headstay in tropical UV for six months on your J boat. The ATN Genoa Sleeve is built with Top Notch 9 (a 9 oz/yd2 marine canvas with an 8-year warranty) and stitched with Tenara, the PTFE thread Sunbrella uses on premium covers, with a 15-year warranty. The DoubleCross tensioning system is the other differentiator: a sail-bag cover hangs slack on the sail and flaps. The DoubleCross collapses the sleeve around the sail and keeps it tight. We also stand behind our unmatched warranty.
Why Buy ATN?
What sailors and the press say
In the press
For even more protection, I now have a new item that protects my genoa beyond the normal UV-protective Sunbrella leech and foot coverings. The easy-to-install Genoa Sleeve from ATN also protects the stitching and the Sunbrella cover. It's another great way to protect your sail and have it last for many years.
Pam Wall, Cruising World, longtime cruiser of Kandarik.
If you have a roller-furling headsail, the ATN Genoa Sleeve is worth your attention. It's built of abrasion-resistant, UV-proof material and protects your headsail (racing or cruising) without adding weight to the sail or requiring that it be altered. The sleeve is hoisted on a spare halyard and is laced with adjustable thin-diameter cordage that holds the sleeve snug to the sail when tightened, even in a blow. Unlike other headsail sleeves, the Genoa Sleeve's tensioning line tightens the sleeve up high as well as down low. Prices vary based on mast height.
David Schmidt, SAIL Magazine, April 2009.
Doyle salesmen usually recommend using the UPS in conjunction with a continuous line furler, or an ATN Sleeve.
Chris Howes, Doyle Sails, via Darrell Nicholson, Practical Sailor.
From the sailing community
I have the ATN sleeve. It's a good alternative if you don't want to add the weight of the Sunbrella sacrificial edge. The ATN sleeve is well thought out, and better yet, is not made of Sunbrella. First, Sunbrella is fairly heavy. The most important reason, though, is that Sunbrella, although the best around for UV resistance, is NOT chafe resistant, and in this application wouldn't last too long.
Multihullgirl, SailNet Community, 2015. Read on SailNet
Several people I know including myself like the Genoa Sleeve from ATN, we have laminate headsails on furlers year round in the California sun.
Calif. Ted, SailboatOwners Forums, 2018. Read on SailboatOwners
This is not a new invention, I had one made last winter by my local sailmaker. First a comment on the price: it costed me far less than a new genoa. The genoa sleeve give better protection against weather and pollution than a sunscreen on the sail. I'm satisfied with mine it's easy to hoist and lower.
knuterikt, SailNet, 2008. Read on SailNet
Customer letters
Just to let you know, our boat was in Maine when hurricane Lee hit. I was on shore watching Kolea on a mooring. I had installed the sleeve the day before. Went through the storm beautifully. Thank you for a well made addition to our boat!
Thomas L., Kolea, Maine, 2023.
Received a repaired genoa sleeve today from ATN. Looks new and fits perfectly. Job well done. I love this sleeve.
Jim O., Santana 30/30, Chandlers Landing Marina.
I just received my ATN genoa sleeve and it fits perfectly. Since I have purchased a tacker, mast climber and this is my third genoa sleeve over the years, I have to say the one you just sent is the most well made and being able to zipper up to the sheets from both ends is a real improvement. 5 stars for your product, again!
David L., repeat ATN customer.
