Good sailcloth for JR

  • 24 Jan 2014 12:55
    Reply # 1482167 on 1480659
    Deleted user
    David Tyler wrote:Antoine,
    I have used spinnaker nylon for such a model sail.

    David Thanks. I don't know why I didn't think of that.
  • 23 Jan 2014 11:50
    Reply # 1481361 on 1206989
    I just stumbled onto this topic.  I often wondered about the fact that Odyssey 111 was only coated on one side.  Arion's black sail did not have a sail cover for the first 18 months of its life (in the deep tropics) and the material does not show any visible deterioration.  That's not to say there isn't any.  In July last year I got a sail cover made and now put it on whenever the sail is furled for more than a day.  One thing that is curious is that when the sail is wet it turns a sickly grey, then goes back to being black when it dries out.  Often when I hoist it after a night of rain or heavy dew it looks all mottled.  I assume it absorbs moisture on the uncoated side.  I am not sure if this has any negative effect.  If my sail falls apart I will have to go back to my flat dacron sail as a new sail will be beyond my budget for some time.
  • 22 Jan 2014 14:00
    Reply # 1480659 on 1206989
    Antoine,
    I have used spinnaker nylon for such a model sail.
  • 22 Jan 2014 12:32
    Reply # 1480612 on 1206989
    Deleted user
    Hi every body

    This post is not exactly on topic but I didn't know where I can put it, and wasn't sure it was worth a new thread.

    I'm planning to make a scale model of my future rig (1/5, that wold mean 1m²) in order to understand how it works, what it needs, etc...
    What do you think could be a good cloth for such a model ? My idea was an old bed sheet.

    Thanks for yor thoughts.

    Antoine
  • 17 Dec 2013 03:23
    Reply # 1459492 on 1206989
    I've been looking into a newish fabric called WeatherMAX touting high strength, good hand (no backing) and high UV resistance. They also claim elasticity, that it will recover from stretch (unlike acrylic).

    The FAQ at that link is missing some details, so I wrote the company.

    This is what I got back:

    1)       WeatherMAX is made of SaturaMAX as the website states.  It is our proprietary fiber that is based on a polyester but with additional chemistry to add UV resistance and is solution-dyed with pigments.

    2)       The elasticity comes from the fiber itself.  It will stretch around 2% but has memory that will allow it to return to its original length. 


    And, in response to a wish for more elasticity:

    As for 10-12% elasticity, we are actually developing a WeatherMAX "Stretch" that is a knit product using the same UV resistant fiber.  It has 10% stretch in one direction and around 25% in the other.

    Prices vary from different suppliers, but tend to run a bit less expensive than Top Gun, and generally at toward the low end of JR sailcloth candidates.

    Here's my correspondent (will be away until Jan 2014):

    Jamie Martin
    WeatherMax Sales & Market Development
    (864) 240-2681 Office
    (864) 252-6727 Mobile


    Anyway, this has got me thinking. Sounds like WeatherMAX 80 would put a little stretch into an otherwise flat-cut sail, while remaining a fairly conventional JR sailcloth. Sounds like a particularly good match for flat-cut, fanned sails?

    WeatherMAX Stretch has potential, especially in crab-claw like panels.

    Dave Z




    Last modified: 17 Dec 2013 05:15 | Anonymous member
  • 12 Dec 2013 11:29
    Reply # 1456737 on 1206989
    Annie, just wondering. I think our sails are about the same age and same material, though different colour. Your sail has seen a lot more sailing than mine and mine has spent most of it's life covered. I am wondering though if maybe you have copped a bad batch of material?
    Mine came from the US via Bainbridges.
  • 12 Dec 2013 04:04
    Reply # 1456613 on 1455855
    David Tyler wrote: Before we all get too carried away with thinking this is UV damage, are we sure it's not wind damage? The splits look very similar to the breakdown of cloth that I reported earlier, due to fluttering of the leech when reefed. If it's UV damage, shouldn't the whole top panel be weak?

    I have to tell you David, that whatever else flutters on my sail, this part of the leech never does: it's bar taut in fact.  Possibly b
    ecause of my shorter yard, the after end of the sail often ends up with big bights of cloth hanging down and this is what the sun has got at.  Sometimes the sail stows itself perfectly and all this material flakes itself down nicely.  The rest of the fabric may be equally weak, but I'm not inclined to start poking at it with a spike or some such, to find out.  Three of us have looked at it and made the same assumption.  We may all be wrong, but on the offchance that it is UV damage, I felt I should post about it.  I would hate to think that other people might allow their sails to 'rot' quietly away in the sun, simply because I wasn't entirely sure that my prognosis is correct.  No doubt in a few week's time, I'll have more of an idea as other tears make themselves apparent.  Or not.
  • 11 Dec 2013 15:52
    Reply # 1456118 on 1456034
    Anonymous member (Administrator)
    Gary King wrote:Arne...  

    ..you live in Norway..

    ;)


    Yes, I have noticed that. My point is not to show how long our sails last (they get mouldy instead of sun-burnt), but to show how the different parts of the sail get exposed. I guess it is similar in NZ, but that the process is just 5 times as fast there.

     

    Arne

    Last modified: 11 Dec 2013 15:56 | Anonymous member (Administrator)
  • 11 Dec 2013 14:37
    Reply # 1456034 on 1206989
    Deleted user
    Arne...  

    ..you live in Norway..

    ;)
  • 11 Dec 2013 08:29
    Reply # 1455886 on 1206989
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Stavanger, Wednesday

    Here is a photo of Malena’s 16 years old nylon sail, in 2010. The patterns caused by bleaching clearly shows what parts of the sail that have been most exposed to sunlight over the years. That sail never saw a sail cover and after I sold her, in 1999, it has hardly ever been seen with the furled sail bundle tied up either. I guess the holes are a result of the combination of sunlight and fluttering.

     

    All this encourage me to make sail cover for Frøken Sørensen’s new sail, a variation of the one with chains in the hems, as used on Broremann. That was so quick to fit that it never stopped me from using it.

     

    Arne

    Last modified: 24 Nov 2015 11:55 | Anonymous
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