All
UK Sailmakers sails are made from 54” panels of material that is
broad-seamed together at a loft to create the desired aerodynamic shape.
How those panels are combined and what reinforcements are added make
the UK Sailmakers difference.
For well-made, durable, and inexpensive
cruising sails, choose UK Sailmakers's Dacron sails. Dacron cruising
sails are the heart of the UK Sailmakers business. Even though UK Sailmakers
mostly advertises leading edge sail materials and patented construction
methods, half the sails the worldwide group makes are traditional woven
polyester cruising sails. Cruising sailors like Dacron for its
durability - no material is tougher. Many customers come in with sails
over 10 years old looking to "get one more season out them." That's
because woven polyester stands up to flogging and the sun's UV rays
better than any material used in sailmaking.
The trade-off in
choosing the durability of Dacron is performance. While a Dacron sail
will stay in one piece for more than a decade, it starts losing its
aerodynamic shape over time because polyester yarn is relatively
stretchy compared to high tech yarns like aramid and carbon fiber.
Blown-out, poorly shaped sails increase heeling and reduce the distance
you can sail in a given amount of time.
Dacron cloth is best
suited for cross-cut designs, which is the same construction system used
in our high tech Tape-Drive® sails. The marriage between UK Sailmakers's
proprietary AccuCut CAD/CAM design program, cross-cut technology and
Dacron produces the fastest sails possible. Fast sails increase your
cruising range, or they get you to you next anchorage faster so you'll
have more time for swimming, socializing or plain relaxing.
But
don't make the mistake of assuming that all Dacron sails are the same.
The difference is in the construction details, and the reason UK Sailmakers
Dacron sails may be more expensive is that the sailmaker puts more into a
sail. The following is how UK Sailmakers makes all their Dacron sails.
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