UK Sailmakers Cruising Sails
All sails have two “lives” to consider:
STRUCTURAL LIFE: how long will it stay in one piece.
PERFORMANCE LIFE: how long it will hold its aerodynamic shape.
Dacron sails stay in one piece longer but have the shortest performance life compared to
laminate sails made with carbon, aramid, Spectra, Vectran or polyester yarns.
A blown out mainsail on the left shows distortion wrinkles and the draft point too far aft, both of which prevent the sail from giving any aerodynamic lift. Compare it to the sail on the right, which is a smoother, perfectly shaped X-Drive sail.
How much life is left in your “good” sails?
A sail without its aerodynamic shape is like to a worn tire.
The tire still holds air and goes around; but it won’t corner, stop quickly or handle wet roads.
A blown-out sail will move your boat, but it will perform poorly upwind, is slower,
and will make your boat heel more -- none of which is fun.
The best balance of longevity and performance
UK Sailmakers recommends sails made with our X-Drive® or Tape-Drive® construction systems.
These sails are made from cross-cut laminated sail cloth that are reinforced with
a grid of continuous load-bearing, shape-holding, fiber-reinforced tapes.
