• SAIL FABRICS

    North Direct offers two different types of cruising sail clothes 4800 Series NorDac™ and 3200/4500 Series NorLam™.

    DACRON

    Polyester is today's "classic" sailcloth fiber. It is often called by the Dupont trade name DACRON® although there are other suppliers of polyester yarn used in sailcloth. Polyester is widely used for its combination of reasonably low stretch, good strength, low cost and durability. Because it can be heated and shrunk during weaving to form a tight, stable woven cloth, polyester woven sailcloth remains a good choice for cruising sails and casual racing sails.

    NorDac™ 4800 Series

    products are 100% Polyester and feature an extremely tight weave for improved stability and shape holding. 4800 series cruising sails feature a crosscut panel layout that aligns stronger fill oriented threads in the cloth with aerodynamic loads in the sail. Available in weights from 5.0 oz. to 9.5 oz., the tightly packed weave helps improve shape holding and reduce stretch.

    4800 Series NorDac™

    Cloth Weight
    Warp X Fill
    5.0 oz
    150 x 300
    6.0 oz
    150 x 400
    7.0 oz
    250 x 500
    8.0 oz
    250 x 840
    9.5 oz
    250 x 1000

    NorLam™ 3200/4500 Series

    sails are built using North Sails proven cloth and construction techniques and have been helping sailors win races for the last 10 years. North Direct 3200 and 4500 Series Racing Genoas feature a radial panel layout to align stronger warp threads with aerodynamic loads in the sail. These sails are designed using general purpose "molds" developed from North Sails' 30 years of laminate sail technology. Each of the styles possesses outstanding threadline stretch for its actual weight compared to a scrim based equivalent. Available in two weights 3.2 and 4.5 oz, NorLam™ has produced proven club racing Genoas for years.

    IMPORTANT TERMS DEFINED

    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.

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

    Fill fibers are large, straight horizontal fibers around which are woven vertical "warp" fibers (right.) This close-up shows large, straight horizontal "fill" fibers around which are woven vertical "warp" fibers.

    Flex Strength is the ability of a fiber to retain its strength after being folded back and forth. Flex strength is commonly 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.

    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.

    UV Resistance measures the effect of sunlight on sailcloth. UV resistance is usually expressed as the time it would take for a material exposed to Florida sunlight to loose half of it's breaking strength.

    For more information on North Sails' complete line of sail fabrics, visit the North Cloth Web site.