Radial-cut main

[Neil]

Hi,My son sails an Optimist. He's improving rapidly and it's time to get him a racing quality sail. Several of the small single-handed dinghies around the world seem to be experimenting with radial-cut sails (I gather that some of the top Finns have had these for a while). Can you please give me your views of the pros and cons of this sail design for dinghies, especially in comparison with the conventional cross-cut mains?Thanks,Neil

 

[Tim Stodola]

Radial Sails

Hi Neil, Thanks for joining the Doyle Sailmakers forum.The reasons are quite simple. Radial designs allow for more sail shaping capability than a simple cross cut.Radial designs are more expensive to build because they have more seams.Most laminate sails to date are radial design because the fabrics orient the fibers in the warp(or length) of the cloth to better support the sail loads.The reason you do not see many radial Dacron Sails on larger boats, is the fact that a true Warp oriented Dacron Sailcloth is not available, so Crosscut Sails support the sail loads better.On Dinghys, a good stiff Balanced Dacron fabric can be used in radial configuration and still provide the support the sail needs.