North 3DL for cruising

[Guest]

What do you thing about using 3DL for cruising purposes ? Apparently North are selling a 3DL series now (called Marathon) which is supposed to be useful for jibs that need to be furled. Apparently it keeps its shape while furled better than any other type of sail. I'm also being told that its lifetime will be considerably longer than panelled sails, which would justify the additional cost of a few thousand euro's (for a 42 foot yacht). Any experience out there ?

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[qsiv]

Can't comment on 3DL - but I have UK Tape Drives (which are not totally dissimilar). The sails are now 4 years old and the shape is just as when they were delivered. The fully battened mmain is stunning, the blade jib very docile and the staysail bullet proof (but only really used above 30 knots AWS).

I dont actually reef my jib to any extent (perhaps once in 3 years), preferring to drop straight to the staysail, but I do worry that when reefed the load bearing tapes do not run to the new clew and head - but the loft say that the load is properly distributed around the furled part of the sail.

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[david_e]

Peeps in the know tell me that 3DL's are bullet proof (almost) and it would seem to make sense that a profiled sail would furl well. We do cruising/racing and use a performance cruising laminate genoa and high quality dacron f/b main, make all the difference compared to standard sails. North are a quality outfit so go for 'em.

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