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Paneled Race Cloth Options

A variety of different cloth types can be utilized in paneled mains and genoas to match the design and intended use. In addition to offering our own styles, North is also the largest customer of other cloth manufacturers which translates into more flexibility when selecting sailcloth. The loads generated in nonoverlapping headsails, popular in the new offshore one design classes like Mumm 36s differ greatly from a heavier displacement boat with large, overlapping genoas. Your North Sails representative can guide you in the selection of the best material matched to your boats specifications, sailing conditions, and budget.

NorLam Mylar

Taffeta weave, available in 3 weights, works well in large lightweight staysails for bigger boats. For club racers and PHRF boats in the 25' 40' range, this cloth is often chosen for reachers and lighttomedium genoas. Light weight and low stretch make the sail easy to handle.

NorLam Gatorback Aramids

Taffeta weaves, otherwise known as an "over/under" weave features high modulus aramid fibers with an offline reinforcement thread. Excellent for use in paneled mainsails, and high aspect ratio sails, such as #3s and #4s.

NorLam Gatorback XP

Scrim style with reinforcing polyester offaxis threads laminated between mylar on both sides. Lighter weights are used in upwind sails and heavier weights can be used in the front of Aramid paneled mainsails. Scrim fabrics have unidirectional high modulus fibers laminated between Mylar layers. Off axis yarns add bias support.

FIBERSPEAK

Almost every piece of sailcloth begins life as an industrial fiber. While the brand names of many of these fibers are well known to sailors, their basic properties are less well understood. The characteristics of these fibers are an important factor to consider when choosing sails for your boat.

Denier is the weight in grams for 9000 meters of a given yarn. A higher denier signifies a heavier fiber.

Flex Strength is the ability of a fiber to retain its strength after being folded back and forth. Flex strength is commonly expressed as loss in breaking strength after fifty 180° backandforth folds over a dull knife.

Initial Modulus describes the material's inherent ability to resist stretch. Initial modulus is usually expressed as grams of load per unit of stretch for a certain amount of fiber weight. The higher the initial modulus the less the fiber will stretch.

Breaking Strength is the load required to break a fiber of specific weight (in denier). Used primarily as a reference for measuring the effects of flex, sunlight and chemical attack on the ultimate strength of sailcloth over time.

PANELED RACE - Aramid, NorLam, Mylar