Racing Headsails: X-Drive®
UK Sailmakers’ X-Drive® sails are the preferred choice for sailors seeking the performance of continuous-yarn sails while maintaining durability and affordability. X-Drive sails can be constructed with a variety of base laminates and yarn types, allowing each sail to be optimized for your specific goals—whether you’re a serious racer, a club competitor, or a performance cruiser. For those pursuing the ultimate in upwind performance, ISL (Integrated Structural Luff) technology is now available for new X-Drive headsails.
Holds Its Shape
X-Drive sails are created using a two-part construction method. The first step starts with lightweight laminated sailcloth that’s cut into cross-cut panels with shaped seams. Once the broad-seamed panels are assembled, the sail will have the exact aerodynamic shape the sail designer created.
Then UK Sailmakers uses proprietary machines to lay-down a grid of continuous yarns that span the sail. These yarns run continuously from corner-to-corner following the sail’s primary load paths. These yarns are high-strength and low -stretch and they serve the same purpose as the steel skeleton in a tall building – the yarns carry the highest loads in the sail while the paneled skin defines the aerodynamic shape.
And since the continuous, high-strength yarns cross over the seams between the cross-cut panels, seam creep and catastrophic sail failures are eliminated.
Depending on your specific needs and which X-Drive sail you select, these yarns can be carbon fiber, Endumax, or S-Glass. A grid of carbon fiber yarns on a laminate with a black aramid scrim gives the sail an all-black appearance. For those who prefer sails that are all-white, X-Drive Silver sails look like traditional, all-white sails.
Cost Effective
The cost of the sail is also controlled because the sail surface can be made out of a less expensive, lightweight laminated material, whose only job is to give the sail its 3-D shape. All the sail‘s strength comes from the dense grid of continuous high-strength fibers that are bonded to the sail’s surface.
Construction Options
X-Drive Carbon
Description:
Load-path fiber-reinforced sail construction for performance cruising and club racing.
Construction:
Extra lightweight cross-cut laminate panels reinforced with continuous corner-to-corner fibers bonded to the sail.
Integrated Structural Luff (ISL):
Available as an upgrade on new headsails
Material:
Carbon fiber load-path yarns applied along the sail’s computer predicted load-paths. Carbon fiber is the strongest and least stretchy yarn used in sailmaking.
Shape Stability:
★★★★
Durability:
★★★★
Price:
$$$$
X-Drive Silver
Description:
Load-path fiber-reinforced sail construction for performance cruising and club racing. Allows for an all-white appearance.
Construction:
Extra lightweight cross-cut laminate panels reinforced with continuous corner-to-corner fibers bonded to the sail.
Integrated Structural Luff (ISL):
Available as an upgrade on new headsails
Material:
S-Glass fiber load-path yarns applied along the sail’s computer predicted load paths. S-Glass yarns have more stretch than carbon but are less expensive.
Shape Stability:
★★★
Durability:
★★★★
Price:
$$$$