Double-sided Taffeta

Offshore distance racers who need rugged sails have the option of a finely woven polyester taffeta on both sides of the sail. For X-Drive and Tape-Drive sails, UK Sailmakers can use laminates that come from the cloth manufacturers with taffeta on one side. After the sail is made and the tapes have been laid, a second layer of taffeta can be applied over the tapes as shown to the right. Taffeta layers provide extra abrasion resistance and the layer over Tape-Drive and X-Drive tapes prevent damage to the tapes. Taffeta also reduces damage from flogging and hinging at the leech, but there are weight and expense issues to consider.

Titanium sails can be made with taffeta on both sides of the finished laminate. On Titanium sails, only grey taffeta is available. On Tape-Drive and X-Drive sails, taffeta comes in white and grey.