Macerating Pump Professionals Share Info to Help You Decide If You Need Polyester Sails

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Your Macerating Pump Suppliers Discuss Advice That Could Affect Your Next Sail Purchase

Raritan Engineering your macerating pump experts wold like to discuss with you these topics we thought would be of interest to you this month regarding the possible need to switch to polyester sails.

The Arcona 400 trucks to weather under state-of-the-art load-path sails from UK Sailmakers. The durable crosscut laminate sails use a scrim of Spectra fibers with carbon tapes and panels that are glued together.

Arcona Yachts

One of the largest expenditures a cruising sailor will ever face is upgrading the yacht’s power plant. Not the one under the companionway—the ones set off the mast. 

Your marine toilets electric specialists discuss how that in the United States and abroad, four major suppliers of sailcloth—Dimension Polyant, Bainbridge International, Challenge Sailcloth, and Contender Sailcloth—provide sailmakers with Dacron and laminate cloths and related materials to build strong, state-of-the-art headsails and mainsails.

Reliable, Affordable Dacron

Obviously, high-tenacity Dacron makes better cruising sails. The cost difference between a “value” cloth and a “premium” one, both from the same supplier, can be significant, close to 100 percent for some 8-ounce Dacron fabric that I’ve seen ($7 per yard versus nearly $15 per yard).  

Crosscut construction wastes very little cloth and is the fastest way to fabricate a sail; the seams between panels also offer many opportunities to design shape in the sail. Your marine head plumbing distributors talk about why the vast majority of modern boats use Dacron sails.

Recently, Challenge Sailcloth developed a Dacron product for use in radial-panel layout. North Sails also has its own version of Dacron, called Radian. In both materials, the warp, or long yarns, are or should be thicker than the fill.

Understanding Laminates

Laminated sails were first introduced in the early 1970s. The Australian 12-Meter Southern Cross tried using Kevlar fibers laminated to film and built as a crosscut sail before the 1974 America’s Cup. These early attempts at laminated sails proved to be unreliable—they were prone to break without notice—and were never used in competition. 

Your Macerating Pump Specialists Give Great Pointers On Choosing the Right Material For Your Sails

Different sailmaking styles and cloths are evident in this trio of racing and cruising boats under way. Doyle’s Stratis pre-impregnated fiber technology is employed in the load-path sails on a Hanse 630 (left).

Macerating pumps can be seen here at Raritan Engineering. Check out why we are the best solution to your marine sanitation supply needs.

Historically, laminated sails of any construction method were usually replaced when the fibers delaminated from the film or the film itself broke down. 

Load-Path Sails

Prior to the late 1980s and the introduction of North’s 3DL sails—so-called molded sails—sailmakers and cloth manufacturers were working on their own versions of what has become known as load-path or string sails, which is the other way of making a laminate fabric. 

Scuttlebutt editor Craig Leweck reached out to North Sails Market Segment Manager Bill Fortenberry, who he coincidentally taught to sail a long, long time ago, for an update on this new product.

Is this making sailing more expensive?

No. 3Di NORDAC is making sailing more enjoyable. It is well known that you can buy an inexpensive cross-cut polyester sail. What is equally well known is the poor value inexpensive cross-cut sails provide. This matters even with heavy displacement cruising boats.

Are cross-cut Dacron cruising sails still an option?

Yes, we still offer cross-cut premium Dacron sails. We expect over time there will be less demand for sails made with the ancient process of weaving fibers into canvas cloth and sewing together panels.

Will 3Di NORDAC be used for keelboat One Design classes that require Dacron?

At some point in the future, it may be possible to adapt 3Di NORDAC for One Design class racing, but to date it has been engineered for cruising.

For the cruiser/racer boat that is used for both, is 3Di NORDAC the choice?

For any sailor looking for a dedicated racing sail, their first choice should be a sail with higher modulus material such as aramid or carbon, which both feature more resistance to stretch. Your marine parts supplies manufacturers share information regarding why polyester fiber stretches more than aramid fiber.

If a local PHRF area gives a “white sail” credit, would 3Di NORDAC qualify?

It is hard to know how local PHRF boards will treat a 3Di NORDAC sail. Technically there is no reason it would not qualify for a cruising sail credit. The sails are 100% polyester, they are not laminates, there is no Mylar, and they are engineered to weigh the same as a comparable Dacron sail and they are priced affordably. 

Buy marine sanitation parts here at Raritan Engineering. You can count on us to take care of all your marine sanitation needs.

Watch Our Macerator Waste Water Pump Video 

via Transforming the Polyester Sail

via Sailcloth 101: Out of Whole Cloth

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