Butterfly sailboat parts and accessories from Jim Young Sailing

Butterfly Parts

You have come to the right page if you are looking for Butterfly sailboat parts. Jim has been associated with the boat since 1965 (really!), has won 17 National Championships, and has done just about everything with the boat and the class.
We normally stock virtually all Butterfly parts and pieces, the items shown here are the things most-often requested. If you need something else including one of the items on the list below, drop us a note for a price quote and delivery estimate. NOTE: everything in stock has the "Add To Cart" button, if we are temporarily out of anything, that button will be missing.

We make many of the parts - hiking straps, bridles, stays, flotation panels, our own tiller extension, cutting all of the lines - in our solar-powered yurt high in the Colorado Rockies.

Yurt

Hey!! Check out our Sale Bin for goodies at great prices!

Lots of Spool Ends (left-over line), Packs, assorted tops, and more coming soon as we clean and rearrange our shelves!

In addition to the common items listed below, we normally stock parts for repairs or rebuilding including screws, rivets, etc, contact us if you need those pieces.
Contact us to order unlisted items.

Parts that no longer exist: The original mainsheet blocks, white sheaves with stainless steel hook & clip; the original drain plug, the black rubber snap version for a 1/4" hole; the old black plastic 'glove box' mounted on the side or back of the cockpit; old style masts (the original teardrop shape) - note, there are a FEW replacement mast tubes left BUT there are NO remaining splice pieces for joining the old style mast halves, so you if have - or can find - an old, bent mast, remove and keep the splices (we might even buy those from you!).

Rub Rail
We'll start the parts list with one of the biggest jobs in Butterfly-land, replacing the rub rail. Note that it only needs replacing if it is cut/split/broken. If it is just old and dirty, try a vinyl cleaner from your local auto shop, or wiping with acetone or xylene to clean stains. But if you want to go forward with this, please read our pdf info sheet, Rub Rail Replacement. $114.90

Deck Repair Plates and inspection ports For those who need to get to the inside of their boat; both options are 6 inches diameter, mounted on a 4 1/2 inch hole, and if you really want it to match your deck color, they are easy to paint with any spray enamel. We include the mounting screws, but you will need a sealant (below) to make your work waterproof. They are best mounted anywhere along the centerline of the deck such as behind the spray rail or in front of the transom, depending upon what you are trying to fix. They can also be used on the sides of the cockpit if you are having problems repairing/replacing your handrails. Big hint; while you could cut the holes with a jigsaw, the easiest solution is to run to your local hardware store and get a 4 1/2 inch hole saw, use with your drill. Plain repair plate, $19.95, inspection port, $29.95.

3M Marine Silicone Sealant This is 'the right stuff' to use to seal any edges wherever there is a hole in a boat, for screws and bolts, hardware mounting, repair plates, and inspection ports. We stock it in 3 oz tubes, White, a buck cheaper than recommended retail pricing. $17.49

Jim's Tiller Extension $84.50 - Maximum length (to not foul in the mainsheet or bridle), ultra-light, easy grip rope-wrap handle, and with the best swivel made, one that doesn't jump out of your hand. The tubing is made of unidirectional S-glass, very strong and light, and it takes more abuse than carbon.

This is the Universal Joint Jim uses on his Tiller Extensions. Its a combination mechanical/rubber joint that doesn't jump, it stays where you left it. Notice that Jim finishes it off with heat-shrink tubing over the screw heads on the tube.

Want a custom length? We can do anything up to 42" at the same price as the standard length, and anything from 42 to 72" for $119.00. But time to ship could be anything from 1 to 4 weeks, depending upon time of year. Contact us to order a custom length. (Shipping charges on longer extensions are much higher!)

Butterfly Sails,. New Sails from a new sailmaker, using a much superior 4.2 oz cloth compared to the old (and cheap) 3.8 oz fabric!! In case you haven't been paying attention to sail prices, they have jumped up by a lot in the last few years. For almost 40 years, with just one class-legal sail supplier, the Butterfly parts builder/supplier, Barnett Marine Sports, was able to buy sails in quantity, keeping anywhere from 10 to 30 sails IN STOCK which both held down prices ($435 for many years) AND kept sails on the shelf so that a sailor could get one right away. That all changed into a free-for-all a few years ago. You can now get a sail from anywhere, from cheap and ugly all the way to way too expensive and short-lived. But there are almost none on a shelf, you'll probably have to wait to get it made. And you get to pay the one-at-a-time price, currently in the $500 for cheap to $900 for expensive for a sail made by sailmakers with no personal knowledge of the boat.

So we started a project to do a new Butterfly sail in early 2020, designed by Jim (17 Butterfly National Championships, 5 Olympics over 25 years as a successful international Olympic-classes coach) and the Elliott loft in California (long history of outstanding sails for the California and Pacific market, from Optis to 90 ft ocean racing yachts). It's a new sail shape and a new cloth, producing a superior sail for both recreational sailors - ease of use, longer life - and racing sailors - superior performance. If you would like to read a bit more about our new sail, click HERE to read a short pdf on the design and the material choices that we made to produce a superior Butterfly sail.

We have a few sails IN STOCK for immediate delivery this fall, $519 with FREE SHIPPING. When these are gone, new sails will be in the $529-559 range. Because of the limited color availability of the superior 4.2 oz cloth we are using, we expect that our color choices will still be limited to white.

We still have 1 of our demo/test sails from our development program now sitting here, in excellent, like-new condition. It would be a great camp/club sail, not quite the same shape as our final design. This one uses a heavier cloth, 5.5 oz, in the same weave as our final sail, that will last 'forever' compared to the old 3.8 (still used by all other sailmakers) or our new 4.2 oz sails, $475. If you want that one, drop us a note and we'll send you details.

Battens, $25.20/set

NOTE (because we get questions); a sail is still a sail without numbers, they are only needed if you are racing. BUT a sail is NOT a sail without battens, so you don't need to order battens if you are buying a sail! Battens are included!! The battens are listed below for those who need REPLACEMENTS.

SHIPPING on battens has become a killer, it now costs us over $20 (shipping, packaging) to ship ONE batten. So we now only sell battens as a complete set of 3 for $25.20.

Sail Numbers (BLACK only), $3.25 each, $2 for #1.

Sail Number Positioning; The numbers on the STARBOARD side go 1"-2" ABOVE the seam between the two long battens, while the numbers on the PORT side go 1"-2" BELOW that same seam. You can use the numbers themselves for spacing, they are spaced at least one number-width (any number except "1"!) from the leach, and at least the width of the "1" apart. HINT; do the starboard side first, then put the port numbers on in reverse order (from the leach) using the starboard numbers as a guide.

Butterfly Floatation Panel NEW from us back in 2020: A floatation panel that slides over the top of the sail, made by us in our solar-powered yurt in the Colorado mountains. It fits over the top of the sail and slides up the mast in the luff groove. Sides are sailcloth outer, mesh inner to drain fast, Ethafoam flotation, nifty Spectra/Dyneema/polyester luff tape that is stronger/thinner that other options so it creates less bulk and slides up the mast's luff track easier. Extra security for younger and less-skilled sailors, it keeps the mast tip floating, so the boat does not turn full-turtle (upside-down) in a capsize. This is our own design, made here in our yurt, sized for the Butterfly. $154.75
August status, soonest shipping early Sep.

Vang Assembly $135 Standard 3:1 with vang arm, (the vang arm is necessary to allow the mast to rotate correctly - seen in lower left corner of photo on right.)
Vang Arm $62.90 alone,
Standard 3:1 Vang complete $73.95 without arm
All vangs come complete with line and shackles and the hook on the boom-end of the vang as seen on photo right.

New sailor hint; the cleat on the vang goes on the MAST end as pictured, not on the boom.

Daggerboard $248.50 - sand and sailing shoes in photo right are customer-supplied!

Board Snubbers - the thingy that holds the board up, shown on top of the board trunk at the right - $34 for the kit with template and screws, replacement blades (includes rubber spacer), $7.90 each. Note that 'each' means one snubber blade, if you need a pair, make sure to order 2!

Jim's Hiking Strap, $44.50 - really, it works across the cockpit as shown in the photo above/right (yes, a number of other classes use the same style 'athwartship' strap - for example, Lightning - and the sailors who use this style prefer it to the along-the-centerline versions, which tend to tangle lines and feet - ask any Laser sailor!) We now offer colors - photo left. Color note; the red and navy blue straps fade in the sun - red more that blue - so a boat cover is wise if you want to keep the color bright. Or remove the strap after sailing.

We make our straps with Cordura nylon covers, the outdoor-industry standard cloth for high-abrasion use.

It's late summer, colors sold out, only Grey available.

Butterfly handrails do age, wear out, even break when they get really old. These replacements will at least make the cockpit of an old boat look new again! This can be a tricky job, so check out our pdf on Handrail Replacement. Note that Handrail prices ($29.50) are for EACH, and do not include the spacer blocks ($2.45 EACH). If you need them, we also have the handrail bolts, price of $1.89 is for EACH.
for all parts sold by EACH - adjust quantity when you view your cart:

Butterfly Spray Rails - We found a new source back in 2018 with better prices and more consistent quality. They come with screws and mounting/replacement instructions, you will also need one tube of 3M Marine Sealant (see below) to glue/seal the spray rail to the deck. $184. Note that shipping charges on many of our longer items have gone nuts...

3M Marine Silicone Sealant This is 'the right stuff' to use to seal any edges wherever there is a hole in a boat, for screws and bolts, hardware mounting, repair plates, and inspection ports. We stock it in 3 oz tubes, White, a buck cheaper than recommended retail pricing. $17.49

Rudder/Tiller assembly comes with standard factory-supplied Forespar tiller extension. There are two styles; the photo right is of the New Style, standard since the mid-80s, it attaches to one-piece stainless bracket - called the 'gudgeon' - attached to the stern of the boat.

The Old Style, photo left, attaches to two separate cast-aluminum gudgeons, is still available, either without a tiller extension or with a Forespar extension. (We also have replacement old-style gudgeons in stock if you are rebuilding an old boat.)

Note on Tiller Extension; instead of the Forespar extension,we can put on one of Jim's custom extensions (see top of page), see pricing below.

Replacement Tiller Handle $57.50. We can supply either new or old style, old style has a slot on the end, fits over the top of the rudder head and bolts through it all sideways, and the new style has only the bolt hole on the rudder-end of the tiller, attaching flat against the rudder head. See photo left.

OS Gudgeons These are the original, now Old Style, cast-aluminum lower ($33.0) and upper ($44.00) gudgeons, the things on the back of the boat where the rudder attaches. Newer boats (see the photos above of OS and NS rudder assemblies) use a stainless steel fitting on the transom. On older boats, these aluminum fittings work fine BUT they can wear out, and can even break if old and worn enough. The upper one is easy to replace, just for small nuts/bolts. If you need to replace a broken lower gudgeon, you will need to get into the boat to access the nuts and backing plate on the inside of the transom. Than means a hole in the deck (see the deck repair plates near the top of this parts page or an inspection port large enough to get your arm into). That hole should be on the center-line of the deck, with the back of the hole 5 to 6" in front of the transom.

Rudder Safety Spring ~ $5.50 These little bits of spring steel are what keep the rudder attached to the boat if you happen to capsize. If yours is bent out of shape and no longer clips in with that distinctive "click" when you attach the rudder, its time for a new one. These fit both Old and New rudders - and are really cheap insurance.

Drain Plug/replacement plug assembly with screws and instructions, $9.25 (you will need some 3M Marine Sealant to seal the edges of the fitting, see below). Probably the least effective part on the original Butterfly was the drain plug, that little black rubber/brass snap 1/4" thing that was hard to use, and slow to drain. Somewhere in the '80's it was finally replaced with a modern molded plastic fitting with a captive screw plug, 1" in diameter. Those old rubber snap fittings can still be found - they are used primarily as bait well plugs - but you'll probably find 1/2" diameter plugs, not the old 1/4" ones. That means you still have to do some filing to get them to work AND you get to pay about $2.00 MORE than the new fittings cost.

The new ones have two huge advantages; they work, and the plug doesn't get lost. We don't have any of the old ones left, upgrading is simple and you'll have something that you can rely on to work, over and over. Sorry, the manufacturer does not sell separate/replacement plugs, only complete assemblies. But if all you need is the plug, we'll send you a bare assembly without instructions or the screws for $8.80.

Mainsheet: Jim's favorite version, fuzzy, soft, and it floats, 8mm $43.00, or 7mm, $36.00. Made of New England Rope's wonderful Bzzz Line, a unique blend of ploypropylene and polyester. In general younger sailors and recreational sailors prefer 8mm, racers like the 7mm. Colors available are entirely dependent upon what New England Ropes can provide!! As of mid-2023, we have the 7mm blue, and the 8mm in silver. We have not been able to get 8mm yellow since early last year.

A less expensive option for cottage boats and occasional recreational sailors is New England's Regatta Lite, a polypropylene braid that is easy on the hands and floats, in the hand-friendly size of 8mm. Available in Purple only. $30.75
August status, we are OUT of the 7mm Blue Bzzz line, no resupply until sometime in the fall.

Mainsheet Blocks - we can do this two ways; the standard blocks (on the right in the photo right), or substitute Harken Carbos for the two blocks on the boom. Recreational sailors and most youth or club racers will prefer the standard blocks $39.85, more advanced sailors will prefer the Carbos $36.50 (Harken #2636, pictured on the left), which swivel and have a bit less friction. Note that the Std block, Harken #146, which does not swivel, should always be used on the bridle, with the shackle attached 90-degrees from what is in the photo. The block prices include the shackles as pictured. NOTE on blocks, price is for EACH, so you can mix/match as you need.

40mm ratchet Ratchet Block is the same size as the other mainsheet blocks, but has ratchet with an on/off switch to control the ratchet feature. The sheave of the block is grooved, so that when the ratchet is on the block only turns in one direction, with the grooves helping to hold the mainsheet, reducing the load on the hand/arm of the sailor. Since it can be switched off, it won't affect the line running out in light winds. A useful addition for younger sailors or anyone with a grip or arm strength issue. Usually mounted in the middle of the boom, above the cockpit. $69.50

Halyard, 5mm (3/16") from New England Ropes, $23.25. We do not recommend using a shackle on the halyard - look closely at the photo on the right.

Note; color can vary, we make these up in large batches with whatever 5mm Stay-Set we have in stock.

We get questions about the photo -> the KNOT at the end of the line STAYS TIED once you pull it tight!! It a 'figure-8' with an extra turn around the 'standing' part of the line to give it a bit more bulk so it doesn't pull through the eye on the sail.

Cleats Cleats on the Butterfly come in 3 versions: The T- or horn cleats on the mast, for the downhaul and the halyard tail, $3.60; the small clam cleat mounted near the top of the mast as a mast-head halyard cleat, $4.20; and the larger clam cleat used on the boom as an outhaul cleat, $5.90.

Stay Set, $149.95 (stays only, not adjusters), side stays (shrouds) are $46.95 each, forestay is $57.95, stay adjusters are $15.50 each for New Style (see photos below) or $16.90 for Old Style.
All of the stays COME WITH the mast tangs already attached, so you have no extra work to make them fit, the only tools needed are a pair of wrenches. And one special note to owners of very old boats - your forestay might have been attached to the FRONT of the mast with two screws. This system no longer exists, but you can order a new Forestay and it will work fine, it comes with a fitting (called a 'hound') that uses your existing bolt holes that the side stays already use.

New Style Side Stay anchor plate OS Side Stay attachemtn The New Style adjusters - attached as shown on left - have a clevis pin and split ring for the stay attachment, and a spring-loaded captive pin to attach to the fitting on the deck. If you have an older boat - as shown in the photo on the right - you have a bit of work to add a new stay adjuster, that adjuster is no longer available. You will need to cut off the captive pin in the deck fitting, and order the "Old Style" adjuster, which is similar to the New Style but modified by us to fit the Old Style deck fitting with a longer pin in the bottom. Fortunately, if your deck plate looks like the left photo, then you have the New Style, and the New Style Adjusters fit without any, well, adjusting.... The forestay adjuster on all boats regardless of age is the New Style.

Need spare clevis pins/split rings? $4.95/set, you can find them using the Down Arrow on the Butterfly Stays "Add To Cart" box below.

Bridle, the vinyl-covered wire on the back of the boat that the mainsheet attaches to... this is the part on the Butterfly most likely to wear out, replace it if the plastic covering is damaged, or completely gone as we see on so many older boats. We make our own, its a stronger wire and thicker vinyl cover than the standard. On newer boats, you MAY be able to unscrew and remove the eye straps, and then attach a new bridle directly to the boat. But on older boats we don't recommend at all that you even try to remove the eye straps, you might end up having to cut a hole in the boat to find the nuts that have fallen off inside the boat! On newer boats, the machine screws attach to an aluminum plate on the inside of the deck, that have threaded holes instead of using separate nuts. TO BE SAFE, remove only one screw at a time, and just loosen the other, so that the backing plate will not fall off if the bonding putty has broken loose. BIG HINT: on any age boat, if you remove ONE screw and hear a nut fall off on the inside, there is still an aluminum backing plate there. If you know how to use a tap to put in new screw threads - or can find someone to help - you can tap the backing plate and use the next size larger machine screws to reattach the eyestrap. If you are unable or unwilling to try all of that, then simply order the bridle with shackles, and use the shackles to attach to the eye straps.

Rope replacements are an easy answer - but not necessarily a good one. Rope, especially cheaper Nylon, dacron, or polypropylene, will stretch, catch on the rudder head and prevent the boat from turning, and will wear and break much faster than wire, especially if they normally sit in the sun. The new high-tech ropes (Spectra, Dyneema, Technora) are a neat, short term solution, because most (but not all!) of them are slippery, the block will slide easily from side to side. But they will wear much faster than our wire bridles, and the Spectra and Dyneema versions will also deteriorate in sun, and stretch as well. For racers, any stretch is not good.

Our recommendations will be; tied rope as the cheap/fast 'need it only for a while' answer, rope with eye spices for a better medium-term (1 to 3 years of useful life), and wire for the best, longest-lasting, answer.

Bridle alone $24.95, bridle with shackles, $33.95.

Yea!! We once again have the Good Stuff back in stock after 'making-do' with a cheaper replacement for most of 2022. If you got one of those cheaper ones and the cover has long since worn off, drop us an email and we'll sell you one our good ones at the late-2021 price, $23, with free shipping.

Butterfly Covers They are from our sail loft, the Elliott Loft in California. This is the same loft making our our sails. Besides Jim's long relationship with Skip Elliott, going back to the mid-70s as competitors in the Olympic catamaran, the Tornado, the Elliott loft has a long reputation for very high quality, with their gear not just used up and down the California coast on small boats but across the Pacific on big boats as well. Cover colors used to be available, but have become victims of price increases on smaller quantities of cloth, so we are sticking with our standard gray but in a new lighter weight - and less expensive - fabric that allows us to take advantage of buying in full rolls in an attempt to keep the price reasonable. Late 2024 price $329 (not guaranteed to last!), shipping is $22.85 to anywhere lower 48 states.
Sunshine will fade the color of the deck, hiking strap or graphic insert. Protect your investment!

The Butterfly Dolly: Years ago we worked hard to create a dolly with a machine shop in Illinois that made land sailboats (think of an ice boat with wheels) for the dry lake beds of the southwest. The result, our Voodoo dollies, were super! BUT the shop's owner had a back that failed him, and he closed his business. We have been unable to find anyone who could produce anything similar at a reasonable price, so we have gone with an eastern shop that produces dollies for many boats out of stock aluminum parts as the best alternative. Because shipping costs are going nuts, rather than stock them at our shop and have you pay double shipping, we recommend that you visit their web site and purchase directly from them. Go to https://dynamicdollies.com/products/butterfly to find your new dolly!

All prices FOB Granby CO.
All prices subject to change without notice.

If you would like more information on these products, send us an info request.