Even if it is hard to believe with all the foil and membrane sails that can be seen in pictures and on yachts up and down the country, the majority of the sail market is still covered by woven and sewn cloth. And accordingly, the development of suitable raw materials is not standing still here either.
Bainbridge has now added a new fabric to its Ocean range. It is called "Strong Warp 15" and is available with a basis weight of between 253 and 427 grams/square metre - in other words, for boats from seven to 17 metres in length, to put it simply.
"Strong Warp 15" is a so-called warp-orientated cloth - this means that the threads in the longitudinal direction, the warp threads, are particularly strong. This is not a new development, but was quite popular in times when the aspect ratio of sails was not as pronounced as it is today ("low aspect", a more balanced ratio of luff to foot). However, as rigs and sails became slimmer and slimmer, this type of cloth fell behind - until sailmakers began to make more radially cut sails from woven cloth. This is where warp-orientated cloth can make the most of its strength in the direction of the bale.
Dimension Polyant occupies this field with the "Pro Radial" cloth, Contender offers a "Low Aspect" quality. Information on prices is available from the sailmakers.
