Dacron or Laminates?

I am in the process of buying a new genoa. My last one was a Tri-radial cut Dacron sail. It has lasted twelve seasons.  Four seasons ago I had a new mainsail made from a Pentax laminate. It shape is still good, but already showing signs of distress at the top quarter due to leech flutter. 

These are cruising sails. What experences have other people had with these new cruising laminates?

John

Hi John,

I have just ordered a high quality DACRON Main (costs more than a laminate) due to long term durability and a CAL laminate 125 % from Island Planet Sails. As we are planning a crossing the main has to be robust and repairable so Dacron. I have a number of headsails so if I run into a problem with the laminate I have backups. My present Dacron Main is from 1980 but has about 12 years of use. It is not suitable as a back up but the message here is that a Dacron sail will last for a lot longer than a laminate. Putting a Dacron on a roller usually ends up with you flying it in too much wind and they stretch leaving you poor shape. A laminate will take this abuse better not stretching but has a shorter life time. At the moment I have a North Penlam #2 on my furler. Lovely sail which I have abused (too much wind) it still has nice shape but is as you have experienced is breaking down. If you look through the threads you will see one where we discussed the selection of sails. There are some reviews there as well.

I guess if I was racing and had an unlimited budget I would go all laminates but I am not racing. The decision I would suggest is based on your projected use of the sail.

Hope that helps!

Mike from Storm Svale

Hi John,
Here on Proximity, we are using a set of UK Halsey Passage Maker II laminates. They are mylar, spectra, carbon tape cruising sails. We have had them about four years on San Francisco Bay, then in September, 2009, we went cruising with them. We did Mexico then across the Pacific, and we are now in New Zealand. We had the sails inspected by the local Doyle loft. They are still in fine shape with many seasons ahead of them. Will they last as long as dacron? I doubt it, but they have already lasted as long as dacron would have kept their shape. They are also much lighter than our old dacrons, so there is less weight aloft. So, there you have the two schools of thought. The dacrons will last maybe 20 years, but loose their shape, and are heavy. A good laminate will have near perfect shape until its life is over, and I guess that is the unknown, but I'm sure it will not be 20 years. Bottom line is that we too, are happy, and would make the same decision again. Either way, you'll be happy. New sails are wonderful!! By the way, if you would like to see more of these sails, we have a website of our travels with many photos. It is www.sailproximity.com Best Always, Rod and Elisabeth

Dear John,

main: cross cut dacron, genoa: triradial "Dimension-Polyant DC-line" has been our combination for the last ten seasons (Baltic Sea). While the main now is no more than a sack the genoa still keeps its shape and is our favourite sail for daily use. If it becomes too windy we always change to a smaller one so it has seldom been "reefed" with the furler. Regarding top weight there sure will be lighter laminates on the market but regarding durability we have made very good experiences with this cut and this laminate. www.dimension-polyant.com will give you more information. We bought it with Halsey Lidgard Sailmakers in Germany.

Fair wind,

Toni (38/113)