I have sails I purchased on a used boat that are made of a certain stiffness and seemingly treated material most likely Dacron. I recently purchased a used sail made of Polyester which has less of a treated stiffness to it. Can anyone give me an education on the advantages and disadvantages to different types of sail materials (for cruising not racing), is Dacron the preferred material? Thank you.
- Status
A little clairfication?
Can you clarify a bit more? Dacron is a polyester. The stiffness may be related to the weight (read thickness), weave, treatment on fabric, age, etc. My 20+ year old sails were generally not in bad shape when I bought them except the main was left on the boom for ten years partically covered and was badly stained. Sailcare cleaned and treated my sails and they now appear new. Sailcare's special treatment processs adds considerable stiffness to the material. You may want to call them for advice. CVP
Can you clarify a bit more? Dacron is a polyester. The stiffness may be related to the weight (read thickness), weave, treatment on fabric, age, etc. My 20+ year old sails were generally not in bad shape when I bought them except the main was left on the boom for ten years partically covered and was badly stained. Sailcare cleaned and treated my sails and they now appear new. Sailcare's special treatment processs adds considerable stiffness to the material. You may want to call them for advice. CVP
Sail cloth is treated
with resins to stabilize the weave. Some cloth is as stiff as the paper in a manila file folder and some is as soft as a pair of well worn jeans. A six ounce fabric will be woven and then the resin treatments will be added according to the desires of the sailmaker and the boat owner. Heavily resinated sails will breakdown more quickly than soft sails if allowed to flog like a flag. Cruising sails are usually softer than racing sails.
with resins to stabilize the weave. Some cloth is as stiff as the paper in a manila file folder and some is as soft as a pair of well worn jeans. A six ounce fabric will be woven and then the resin treatments will be added according to the desires of the sailmaker and the boat owner. Heavily resinated sails will breakdown more quickly than soft sails if allowed to flog like a flag. Cruising sails are usually softer than racing sails.
Tradeoffs...
Like just about everything concerning a boat, sail cloth choices involve lots of tradeoffs, usually between price, performance, and longevity. Usually, the higher tech fabrics cost more and perform better than the less expensive, but longer lasting Dacron sail cloth. Once you have a clear understanding of how much you want to spend, how often you want to spend it, and what your minimum performance requirements for a given sail are, you'll then know what material to choose. In my particular case, I'm a cruiser who doesn't want to buy sails every few years. My choice is Dacron and I'm very happy with it.
Like just about everything concerning a boat, sail cloth choices involve lots of tradeoffs, usually between price, performance, and longevity. Usually, the higher tech fabrics cost more and perform better than the less expensive, but longer lasting Dacron sail cloth. Once you have a clear understanding of how much you want to spend, how often you want to spend it, and what your minimum performance requirements for a given sail are, you'll then know what material to choose. In my particular case, I'm a cruiser who doesn't want to buy sails every few years. My choice is Dacron and I'm very happy with it.
speak with a sailmaker
Bly: Speak with a sailmaker. They can give you an education on the differences of quality cloths. We often have this discussion on this site. There is a lot of difference in QUALITY between a cloth of the same weight. A good sailmaker can show you different material and what they will do when the forces of the wind are applied.
Bly: Speak with a sailmaker. They can give you an education on the differences of quality cloths. We often have this discussion on this site. There is a lot of difference in QUALITY between a cloth of the same weight. A good sailmaker can show you different material and what they will do when the forces of the wind are applied.
- Status