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1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Sail Construction Methods Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10
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Almost every
sailmaker designs sails on a computer, but the trick is building a sail
that will keep its intended shape. UK Sailmakers can offer the option
of building sails with the patented Tape-DriveŽ con-struction system as
well as with the standard radial and crosscut layouts. This flexibility
ensures that you get a durable sail that is custom-designed and built. You have probably noticed that there is considerable variation in how panels are arranged in modern sails. These variations result from the fact that sailcloth is most resistant to stretch when the yarns are in line with the loads in the sail. Because the loads change direction from place to place within a sail, sailmakers arrange the panels to keep the stronger threadline aligned with the loads, particularly in the leech area where the greatest loading occurs. With smaller, less heavily loaded sails, fabrics can be selected which are adequately strong in all directions, tending to eliminate the need for the more complex and costly panel layouts. |
| Tape-DriveŽ UK Sailmakers uses a patented method of construction called "Tape-DriveŽ " for high tech sails that hold their shape longer than any others on the market. |
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Tape-DriveŽ
is a patented two-part construction process in which the structural strength
of the sail and the skin that defines a sail's three-dimen-sional shape
are separate elements. In this unique process, Tape-DriveŽ marries a grid
of high strength, low stretch tapes (the structural strength) to a three-dimension-ally
shaped membrane (the fabric or skin). The grid carries the primary structural
loads of the sail, while the membrane produces aerodynamic lift. The tapes,
with breaking strengths up to 1900 pounds, radiate across the sail with
a heavier concentration at the predicted high load areas, the corners
and along the leech. Tape-DriveŽ is the only
high-tech construction method in which the materials can be varied to
suit the specific use of the sail. Depending on the size of your boat
and its sail requirements, we select the appropri-ate membrane material
from a wide variety of custom designed laminates using scrims of Kevlar®
Edge™, Technora, PBO Zylon, Pentex or polyester yarns. Tape-DriveŽ offers many advantages to cruising and racing sailors:
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| Other Construction Methods |
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| Crosscut Panel Layout: A sail with all panels parallel to each other and perpendicular to the leech. The cross cut layout is used for traditional mains and genoas because it is simple, does not waste cloth, and it gives sailmakers the most control over sail shape since all the seams are shaped. Cross-cut sails use fabrics with their greatest strength in the fill direction to withstand the antici-pated loading along the leech of the sail since the greatest loads in any sail are up and down the leech. Fill-oriented fabrics are used in cross-cut sails because the stronger fill yarns are parallel to the leech in a cross-cut layout. |
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| Radial Panel Layout: Radial cut sails are made with long narrow triangular panels called gores which attempt to align the warp thread of the laminate with the primary load paths of a sail. The laminated fabrics used in radial sails have much more strength in the warp direction (that is more yarns or stronger yarns running the full length of the roll of cloth). In order to more precisely match the warp-oriented cloth with the loads in the sail, the gores need to be very narrow. Wide gores are used in low load areas, allowing sailmakers to use cloth more economically. |
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| Radial sails with their many panels allow sailmakers to use more than one laminated fabric in a sail. Stronger laminates can be used in high load areas like the leech and tack, while lighter cloth can be used in the less loaded luff of the sail. A third fabric, one that is heavy-duty and chafe-resistant, can be used in the foot panels to stand up to the abuses of tacking and chafing on the life lines. By mixing cloth types, sailmakers can make a lighter sail that has strength where it is needed. | |
| The gores radiate from the corners of the sail, because all loads start from a corner and then run in arcs through the sail and end at the other two corners. | |
Tape-DriveŽ
sails are also lighter because they do not require large, multi-layered
corner patches. With so many tapes coming together at the corners,
very little additional reinforcing is necessary.| Top | Chapter 4 | Encyclopedia | |