Is traditional 100% cotton sailcloth obtainable in the UK ?

[Keith 66]

When you think about it the whole sport of yachting & boating is just a net consumer of resources, fibreglass, plastics, metals, paints, antifouls, sails, none of it has any useful purpose beyond peoples pleasure, add in the fuel & it looks worse.
Now we have rotomoulded dinghies, kayaks etc & the latest fad blow up paddleboards, they arent very green, most will be in the bin within a few years.

 

[Wansworth]

But that is the whole nature of western man consumerism,we have long ago left food production because we were hungry.Our whole existence in the first world is one of consumption much of which is not needed.

 

[wombat88]

they arent very green, most will be in the bin within a few years.

And...remembering the thread about disposing of grp boats, how exactly do we responsibly go about disposing of them?

 

[tidclacy]

Try this company
James Lawrence

 

[PetiteFleur]

Also try Kayospruce who used to list heavy duty canvas but not sure if suitable for sails.

 

[Blueboatman]

Also try Kayospruce who used to list heavy duty canvas but not sure if suitable for sails.

One wonders what is still used for sails in countries where fishermen have no access to hi tech sail lofts and hi tech synthetic fabrics?

Perhaps look towards Haiti , or East Africa and the farther east?
By the by “ in theory” gaff rig and junk rig sails ‘ should’ outlast highly stressed pointy modern ones because they are loaded less. In the case of the junk sail , cloth panel leadings are negligible because unsupported panel between battens is so much smaller and little is in tension.. of course performance to windward is a whole other trade off with going eco !

 

[wombat88]

I mentioned that sailcloth was called Egyptian cotton at one point. Think feluccas on the Nile. Never seen one with new sails mind!

Look up Quantum sails, they say:

Quantum’s design team has the experience and the tools. Special expertise in the area of materials, and a complete in house testing facility allow analysis of every option from Egyptian cotton and tanbark, to classic narrow panel cream and tall ship fabrics. Modern performance with traditional aesthetics is the goal. Traditionally inspired handwork and finishing techniques updated to take advantage of modern design and engineering. Quantum craftsman still know how to bring the best of the old into symmetry with the best of the new.

 

[DownWest]

One wonders what is still used for sails in countries where fishermen have no access to hi tech sail lofts and hi tech synthetic fabrics?

Poly tarp is common in poor areas and has been for years.

 

[davidej]

In about 1958 my dad bought a Cadet for my brother and i to race at the local YC.

He was very proud of the brand new Egyptian Cotton sails he had made fir it.

We always came last. Everyone else was using Terylene and after a couple of capsizes our sails looks like an out of shape sack.

Things didn't improve until he bought an Enterprise in about 1961.

 

[duncan99210]

Has the OP tried Point North (Marine & Boat Canvas | Profabrics | Profabrics) they stock cotton canvas which may be OK for making sails. I made a bimini of their Pollycotton canvas once because the fabric width was just over 2m which suited the project. It wasn’t a total success as the fabric shrank a bit (warned about that before buying and faded rapidly.
As for man made v natural, I hear what the OP is saying but tend to feel that I’m consuming less resources by using man made fibres that will give many years of low maintenance service and then are useful for upcycled products once the sails come off the boat. I currently have 4 gig covers living in bags made from a sail dating back to the early 70s as well as a dinghy bag. The real problem with plastic is the single use stuff that doesn’t get recycled but dumped by careless idiots and winds up in the rivers and seas.

 

[Kukri]

One wonders what is still used for sails in countries where fishermen have no access to hi tech sail lofts and hi tech synthetic fabrics?

In my experience, old woven polyethylene 50kg fertiliser sacks.

 

[rotrax]

I agree, But surely, in this day and age would it not be appropriate that traditional sail cloth was at least an option. After all, we managed fine with it for a 1000 years or so.

But we dont go fishing with silk lines and real gut casts anymore do we?

We have discovered things which are far superior and better at catching fish as well as being more resistant to natural deterioraton.

You wont want to hear this, but the same has happened with sailing.

And I speak as someone who has spent forty years professionaly restoring Vintage and Veteran motorcycles to as near origonal as possible.

They looked dead right, but modern stuff HAD to be used in many cases as OE stuff does not exist anymore. The trick is distressing it to look right.......................

 

[rotrax]

Sincere thanks to everyone who has taken the trouble to reply. I should have made it clear that my enquiry Included flax, but as this is now even more obscure than cotton canvas sailcloth I think there is very little chance of finding the really traditional hemp sail fabric.
I have industrial machines and so I am really looking for a supplier of new sailcloth fabric over 12oz.

I agree that natural fibre production is certainly not without some environmental impact regarding pesticide, water consumption etc. but I am sure that most would conclude that it is incorrect in any sense to compare natural fibre production and use with the long term effects of the production and use of synthetics, the micro-plastics of which are acknowledged to be devastating to ocean life, and indeed the planet. Surely anyone who has a passion and love for the sea should seek to protect it in any possible way they can ?
I must admit that I am completely biased, having avoided plastics since they began to be widely introduced in the fifties,
Is it possible that an underlying problem may be one of Perception and Attitude ? From some of the comments one cannot help but feel that many people are simply unable to entertain or tolerate the thought of the inconvenience that they might be caused by having to give up something that is now perceived as the normal accepted way of doing things.
Please believe that I have no intention to offend anyone and thought to join just briefly in order to try and source material and hopefully at the same time raise interest in an important and worthwhile issue. Enough ! - I shall depart !

Unilateral action on this front is worthless IMHO.

There are those in this world at the very edge of existence to whom a bit of modern sailcloth would be riches beyond measure.