comaring sail materials

[steveeasy]

Hi,
Just in the process of ordering some new sails. nothing special but one supplier has stated dacron 6.5, and another has referred to 8oz. what is the difference ?.

Steveeasy

 

[alahol2]

So far as I understand it the 6.5 refers to 6.5oz which is a standard cloth weight. Weight is usually given per square yard. As always American oz are different from British oz so check which one they are talking about.

 

[James_Calvert]

This may just be marketing puff but I was persuaded by our sailmaker that they quoted lighter weight cloth for their sails because they were more tightly woven than some competitors'.

 

[steveeasy]

Right this makes sense now. So now I've got to decide if 8 Oz is to heavy for a furling gena. Then maybe there's not a lot of difference. Bit of a midfield.

Choice between two sail makers. One is well known 1000 dearer. The other one not so well known but nice chap. Maybe I need to flip a coin.
Steveeasy

 

[Motor_Sailor]

Are both sailmaker's UK based?

Although US and English ozs are the same, the weight in the UK is per square yard, but in the US (and suppliers to the US market elsewhere in the world), give the weight per yard run, but with a cloth width of only 28.5 inches.

So am 8oz UK weight cloth is about a 6.5oz cloth to the Americans.

 

[James_Calvert]

You should have been offered samples to compare, any significant difference should be obvious.

 

[steveeasy]

Yes both UK sail makers.

 

[steveeasy]

Yes good point. Perhaps that's my fault. I've focused on only 2 sail makers. One has a great reputation. The other one is in a different region hence the price difference. Does not mean he'll do an inferior job though.
Steveeasy
.

 

[Homer J]

This may just be marketing puff but I was persuaded by our sailmaker that they quoted lighter weight cloth for their sails because they were more tightly woven than some competitors'.

Surely a tighter weave would give a heavier weight per area than a light weave?

 

[James_Calvert]

With the same yarn, but I think the idea is that because a tighter weave is more resilient, a lighter, tighter cloth will do the same job as a looser heavier one.

Anyway I'm no expert....

 

[Puffin10032]

Tightness of weave and cloth weight have little to do with each other. All sailcloth is extremely tightly woven when compared to most fabrics. When comparing one sailcloth to another the difference in tightness of weave will be tiny but can make a noticeable difference on a sail. Sailcloth manufacturers are always pushing the boundaries of what is possible. This is limited by the strength of the yarn on the one hand and the robustness of the loom on the other hand. I believe that the looms they use are specially reinforced to cope with the high stresses involved when weaving sailcloth.

 

[Steve The Seagull]

Sailcloth is a very diverse matter, and the quality of the sail dosen't just rest on the cloth, but the design behind it and how it is built so all need to be taken into consideration.

With Dacron there are quite widly varying levels of quality which allow a sail built out of high quality cloth to sometimes be in a lighter weight and vice versa for a heavier cloth. There are differing weaves as well to accomadate high and low aspect sails and different coatings.

As a quick guide you have approx 3 levels of Dacron
Low end
Challenge Newport
Bainbridge SPX
Dimension Polyant Optimum Cruise
Contender Supercruise

Mid
Challenge Fastnet
Bainbridge HSX
Dimension Polyant C Breeze
Contender AP

High
Challenge Marblehead
Dimension Polyant Strong Fill and AP
Contender High and Low Aspect

Each sailmaker has his own prefernces to which he likes and dislikes.

 

[Mikedefieslife]

Depending on how large the sail is, a basic dacron sail will be heavy.

My genoa is 36m2 so not the largest in the world. It's a bog standard cheapest dacron 6.5oz fabric. It is heavy. Probably weighs close to 20kg. Also the 7.5oz fabric needs a good amount of wind to fill it out and stop it collapsing when rolling in lighter airs. It's almost pointless getting it out in anything less than 10-12knts.

I think for larger sails it definitely makes sense to go for a lighter more technical fabric, which is going to offer better sail shape and performance. How far up the scale you go though is just a question of budget.

I'd love to have these:



My wallet though says these

BTW - I thought sail cloth is always measured in US OZ.