I just got a sample of this polyester fabric from eBay.

Looks and feels very promising: seems strong, although a bit (but not alarmingly) stretchy diagonally. It's claimed to be 180 g/sqm, and has strong through-colouring - however there's no technical detail about uv-durability.

The cloth is significantly softer than e.g. Outguard, so it should set nicely to reefed/lowered bundel, and it might also be a good candidate especially for barrel-cutting.

And look at the price!

I'm seriously considering this as an alternative to Outguard, should I end up making a SJR. 

Professional versus amateur sailmaking

Paul and David
I can see the point in making use of proper western sailmaking methods when one is to sell sails. The eyes of the buyers have been trained to assess the work on western sails, and my amateur methods would for sure look poor compared to these sails. With ample room for proper sailmaking, and with the skills developed by doing things over and over, it can be done without adding too many man-hours of work.

I have never aimed on telling sailmakers how to do their job. My ‘calling’ has been to encourage amateurs and, above all, first-timers to make their own sails, since there is no (legal) homework which pays better, and since most professional sailmakers will screw up.

And mind you; my sails even hold up quite well.
Look at Malena’s (nylon) sail, built in ’94, here in her final season, in 2010. It was a test sail, never expected to last. Still, not a stitch was repaired on that sail, neither along the batten pockets (Amateur method A), nor along the rope type boltrope. On the photos, the bleached pattern on the sail shows where the sail has been most exposed to the sun. That sail never saw a sail cover, and for the last ten years, the sail bundle was not even tied up in harbour, so at the ends of the bundle, the sail was quite free to move in the wind.

To me it is quite certain that the holes in the upper panels stem mainly from sun exposure, as the white patches had become quite stiff and paper-like.

I therefore claim that the sails made with my ‘primitive’ amateur methods , i.e. without patches, tablings and metal grommets, will both last and perform just as well as sails made by using professional western methods.
The critical factor when it comes to performance, is the amount of and shape of the camber.
The professionally made sails will, as said, sell better, but that is another story.

The canvas used is not critical and may well be just half as heavy as for a western sail. One must just make sure that the boltrope around the sail is properly stiff and strong (either made from rope or webbing). The boltrope is a critical part of the integrity of a cambered panel JR.

Arne

I make my sails using mostly traditional ways of doing things except for using Arne's method for batten pockets and of course joining the panels. I've made some refinements so that the seam is flat at the ends. So far, over nearly twenty sails of varing sizes, I've had no failures todate. I suspect that I may well be over doing the reinforcements, however I feel if you are using materials that should last 10 or more years, you should build your sail accordingly.

That looks strange - nothing like the Outguard I made my sail with. The difference between the sides, the overall look is totally different. Weird.

Well, I have to disagree with you there, David.

With my experience using HM-style sails with 60-70° yard angle, there is very little cyclical movement in the sail. The combination of stiff battens, stout boltrope, a throat- and yard-hauling parrel, plus Hong Kong parrels, locks the profile of the sail, even with the boat punching through head-sea. My guess is that one could even hoist such a ‘framework’ alone, without the sailcloth added, and still keep the shape.

I spoke with Svein Magnus Ueland (‘Samson’) the other night. His sails, using that stretchy, blue (220g/sqm) nylon cloth, have seen 19 seasons now. The sail has no reinforcing patches and no metal grommets, only hoops, as far as I remember. The sails live protected under cover when not in use. Svein doesn’t cross oceans, for sure, but he makes lengthy cruises up and down the coast, and remember, those sails are pushing a 23ton vessel. He also told me that when the wind picks up when running before, he just drops the mainsail, and lets the (37sqm) foresail do the job.

Ketil Greve reported the same night that his sailcloth is holding up fine (spinnaker cloth). He is planning to remove the top panel to let him increase the balance in the sail.

As I understand it, Jami also wants to increase the balance in the next sail for his Gallion 22. The natural result of that is a flatter yard angle. I see nothing wrong in that. I just don’t buy the saying that a junksail with a high-peaking yard is under hard stress.
An all-fansail planform may have issues with it, I don’t know, but the HM-style sails I make are doing just fine.
I actually think one could well ‘un-learn’ some sailmaker’s skills, as the load in the junksails is so much lighter.

Arne