Best premium dacron genoa

[Chanquete]

Hello
I am thinking in a new genoa 2 for my cruising boat
I had a more or less forgettable experience in terms of durability and in particular mildew sensivity of my old laminated genoa.
Therefore I am thinking in a new sail only with the best dacron, warp or fill oriented premium dacron.
In terms of cost, quality, performance, shape durability what should I choose?
A triradial cut genoa (for example with warp oriented cloth like radian dacron from North sails or other similar sailcloth fabric) or a C cut genoa with premium fill oriented dacron?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Robin]

Hello
I am thinking in a new genoa 2 for my cruising boat
I had a more or less forgettable experience in terms of durability and in particular mildew sensivity of my old laminated genoa.
Therefore I am thinking in a new sail only with the best dacron, warp or fill oriented premium dacron.
In terms of cost, quality, performance, shape durability what should I choose?
A triradial cut genoa (for example with warp oriented cloth like radian dacron from North sails or other similar sailcloth fabric) or a C cut genoa with premium fill oriented dacron?

Thanks in advance!

I'm a big fan of 'Hydranet' cloth from Dimension polyant. we had main and genoa from that by Crusader, superb sails, call them and talk to Paul Lees the MD, tell him I recommended Hydranet to you , it is woven Dacron but has Dyneema/Spectra woven in both warp and weft directions to minimize stretch which as a by product makes it very tear resistant as well. We had a tr-radial roller genoa and a tri-radial fully battened main both in Hydranet. No mildew problem as can occur with laminates..

 

[charles_reed]

Hello
I am thinking in a new genoa 2 for my cruising boat
I had a more or less forgettable experience in terms of durability and in particular mildew sensivity of my old laminated genoa.
Therefore I am thinking in a new sail only with the best dacron, warp or fill oriented premium dacron.
In terms of cost, quality, performance, shape durability what should I choose?
A triradial cut genoa (for example with warp oriented cloth like radian dacron from North sails or other similar sailcloth fabric) or a C cut genoa with premium fill oriented dacron?

Thanks in advance!

Both Dimension Polynant and Bainbridge produce, in their top woven fabrics, ones with an high bias and additional re-inforcement - Dimension Polynant call thier's Hydranet, Bainbridge Ocean Premium Plus, I'm sure Contender and others also produce similar fabrics with little to choose between them.
There is an interesting comparison between various fibres used in sailmaking in wikipedia.
Of all the UK sailmakers I'd agree that Paul Lees of Crusader offers good advice, good pre- and after- sales service and highly competitive prices. And finishing in-house in Poole.
Unfortunately many of the big names in sailmaking send their woven sails to the Far-East for finishing.
I'd certainly agree that cross-cut foresails are inferior to radial cut, especially for roller furled >100% foresails - my solent is cross-cut and needs battens to prevent leech-flutter. and the one cross-cut genoa I had died, to my relief, after 5 seasons.

 

[silver-fox]

I I cause a slight thread drift,my apologies, I am in the same position as the OP.

I am wondering what sail cloth to choose for blue water cruising and have also heard others express their preference for a radial cut genoa before. So two questions if I may: -

1. What is about the radial-cut that makes it superior to a cross-cut genoa - and is there much of a price difference?

2. Are there any disadvantages for the cruising sailor in using Hydranet or equivalent compared with "traditional" Dacron?

 

[Robin]

I liked the tri-radial cut as it set better in all wind strengths, even rolled, but as I said earlier talk to a good sailmaker like Paul Lees, the MD of Crusader in Poole For his advice on what best suits your boat and wallet, no doubt they will be in their usual spot at SIBS which must be coming soon?. Crusader had several boats that were world cruising with Crusader madesails using Hydranet cloth and the feedback I believe was excellent., another reason why we chose to go with it. Our last UK boat was a Jeanneau SUN lEGENDE 41 a with a very powerful tall rig and consequently high sail loadings that would quickly stretch a normal Dacron sail but I didn't like laminates and the North Sails laminate genoa we inherited on purchase was knackered after just 5 years as well as mildewed between layers, we sold that boat after 10 years in our ownership and nearly 20,000 miles on and the Hydranet genoa was as good as on day one. AS to extra costs, it was all more costly on purchase yes, but not as much as you might think as the labour costs are the same regardless of material, although there is a bit more work with a tri-radial cut too., IIRC the overallextra cost was a couple of hundred squids or so or so, not much IMO for a sail that would perform at it's best for many years more than would a bog standard one. We didn't race, but cruised extensively ( SWMBO rules oK?) but I hated to go slow and to use the donk more than necessary!

 

[silver-fox]

Thanks for the feedback and personal experience