Tri-radial Pentax laminates sails longevity

[syscode]

Looking to buy an 8 yo boat with Tri-radial Pentax laminates sails.
The sails look in a lovely condition.
However, it seems, according to some, that unlike dacron these kind of sails can suddenly explode(?!).
Anyone has any tips, knowledge, or experience?
Cheers!

 

[michael_w]

It's good stuff. Plenty of life left after an Atlantic circuit on my old boat. Best Pentex has the reinforcing threads crossing at an oblique angle, which avoids the 'hinge effect' of the sort with right angle threads. Buy Dacron if you want a triangle that lasts forever and don't care about the shape,

 

[syscode]

Thanks for the thoughts.
My concern has to do with the tales of pentex "exploding". The boat needs a few upgrades and if i can be reasonably confident the sails will not suddenly disappear on me - it helps prioritizing works.
--
perhaps people who talk of exploding sails refer to kevlar rather than pentex??

 

[flaming]

What sort of life has the boat had in the last 8 years? Marina queen or ocean voyager? Or something in between… 8 year old Pentex that’s been relatively lightly used coastal cruising should have plenty of life left. In my experience the first signs of wear will be on the leach of the main. And that’s a relatively easy fix. To be honest the bad reputation of laminates really comes from the early days, say pre 2005 ish. An 8 year old sail was made in 2015…

 

[syscode]

yes.
light coastal cruising.
the concern really is about sudden explosions.. i heard stories circa mid 00's and noticed some people mentioning this as an issue.
Thanks for resting my worries
cheers!

 

[bitbaltic]

I’ve got 10 year old tri-radial cruising laminate sails (main and Genoa) in some Dimension Polyant fabric (can’t remember) by Sanders. When I bought them I assumed 5 years of moderate use. In reality the boat is close to a marina queen and the sails are annually serviced by Sanders. They’re still as good as new with no issues whatsoever. They’re absolutely not on the to do list and still set and perform as well as they ever did.