Soft wing sails; why such thin sailcloth?

[dustman]

Why do people use such thin sailcloth on soft wing sails?

Just for weight savings?

 

[jehardiman]

Reefing.

 

[philSweet]

Yes weight. It is only in very high performance, low angle of attack conditions that the drag reduction converts to useful improvements a vessel's polars. Such performance requires everything to be as light and strong as possible before you ever consider twin skins. It is more a prerequisite than a choice.

 

[gonzo]

Thicker and heavier cloth will increase the weight, cost and ease of handling. There is usually a margin of safety depending on the use. An ocean cruising boat will have a larger margin than a day sailer.

 

[dustman]

Reefing.

By that you mean the way that cloth folds as it is reefed?

 

[CT249]

Why do people use such thin sailcloth on soft wing sails?

Just for weight savings?

Why not?

For most craft there is no evidence of a significant performance gain from the aerodynamics, but we know that there is a significant gain in weight.

Soft wings have been around for years and time and time and time again those who promote them have failed to give any evidence that they work as claimed. They may seem to be working on AC75s but their physics are vastly different to that of most craft.

Perhaps the real question is why people keep on believing that soft wings have anything to offer with most craft, and why they believe in claims made by people who could very easily give some good evidence of the alleged performance benefits, but somehow never seem to find it possible to get away from making claims on their website to just get out on a racecourse and prove the claims.