Sail fabric alternatives

I tried to find a dacron supplier but I got tired. Which parts of a Bermuda sail break down first?
Most popular dakron (or alternative) available around the world?
In what widths is it produced?

 

What exactly do you need it for? Dacron is just a plain woven polyester cloth, what makes todays dedicated sailcloth different from say shirt fabric are the coatings used to give it more stability and therefore more performance. Dedicated sailcloth is usually sold only B2B because nobody else has use for it. There are only two ways to buy it as a private customer, trough a sailmaker or from someone specialized in selling surplus fabric. The second option exists but you can only buy what they happen to have in stock, no weight or color choice available. For example that's the choice today for this shop: extremtextil https://www.extremtextil.de/en/search?sSearch=segeltuch tomorrow that could change.
"Normal" dacron can be used to make sails, you just have to know the weight you need, that's usually available from any better stocked fabric store.

 

Business like usual .Abrakadabra.

 

Sorry, you wanted it more specific?

There are only four brand manufacturers with worldwide presence: Dymension-Polyant (probably the market leader), Bainbridge International, Challenge and Contender.
There are other more niche brand manufacturers like for example British Millerain with its Duradon line.

The alternative is unbranded polyester cloth, it comes from China, Korea, etc. Usually carried by distributors in the category "technical fabrics" without any reference to sails.

Widths: 61cm, 91cm, 137cm, 147cm, 152cm, 181cm, etc.

Breakdown occurs primarily where there is chafe. Stiching lines are usually the other problem.

 

You could try looking for used sails on Craigslist or Facebook's Marketplace. There was a thread on the sailboatowners.com forum the other day asking what to do with old sails. If you can sew your own, you can always try to obtain someone's older sails and salvage the less worn pieces.

I'm not a sail maker or any serious expert, but most people replace their sails when the cloth has become too stretched out to give them a good shape. Sails can become too full in the luff and can't be pulled flat for good windward pointing. This indicates to me, that the luff, and likely the leach get soft and stretched out from strain, motion, and Sun over the years.

The other place that might be productive is a racing club. Serious racers replace their sails every one too two seasons, so a cruiser would get plenty of good years of use from a two year old main or genny.

As far as alternatives, no.

When Clark Mills was asked to design a home-built racing class for a father-son project. Major Clifford McKay, the man who commissioned the Optimist design, wanted kids to be able to build this boat from supplies they had on hand. He imagined them using a bed sheet for a sail. Clark Mills talked him out of that. Sail material is so far superior for its intended use, tight weave, no air leakage, low stretch, holds a better foil shape than a lighter material, that even a two meter dinghy won't sail worth snot with most alternative cloths.

-Will

 

Sailrite in the US sells sail cloth, but nothing exotic. Dacron is a brand name for polyester. I don't know if they export.
Sailrite: Fabric and Sewing Supply Store https://www.sailrite.com/
Marine Fabric: Canvas & Vinyl https://www.sailrite.com/shop/fabric/marine-fabric?facet_fabric_material_blend=Polyester&facet_marine_uses=Sails

 

I made a couple of balanced lug sails for dinghies, out of 50/50% poly cotton, off the roll at a craft supplies store, made in china. Basically bed sheet, costing about $50 for 5m X 5m, then about 3 - 4 days full time measuring, marking, and sewing for each one. They are nothing special, no shaped panels, just flat, so they will stretch and blow out to shape with use, then blow out of shape in a year or so. The warp is vertical and weft horizontal, and lots of zigzag stitching. To stiffen and lock the threads I painted them with water based acrylic paint, so now they feel more like canvas, and don't look like bed sheets. They won't last long, but they got me going in my curiosity to try out balanced lug sails. I saved $3 - 4K doing them myself, but have inferior, temporary home made sails. Best to get a sailmaker to supply and manufacture for you - less bother and a better product with some sort of guarantee if it comes apart too soon. I would make them myself only for small sails on a hobby boat, or you're wasting your time.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I want to make a strange sail so I'll definitely start with cheap material. There will probably be a lot of trial and error. If the sail works I'll use more expensive material.

 

I've seen small boat sails made with house wrap fabric. The original version was sold by DuPont as "Tyvek". It is a synthetic material made by a felting/paper process, not weaving.

 

I know this material. I once had a map made of this material. Tyvek of low grammage is also in protective suits.

 

There is also the polyethylene tarpaulin material, coarse weave covered in plastic. Search for 'polytarp sails' or 'Polysail International' online. I had one, a 59 sqft leg-o-mutton sprit sail, on a small boat for a few seasons, put together with double-sided tape, bolt rope, stitched with a sewing machine, and grommets.

 

White UV resistant polytarp 7.5 ounces per square yard is available here.
Its curious , my first boat were made of PVC truck tarpaulin . Over 7m inflatable , two chamber, raw boards deck , plumbing valves .After 3 days of build we sailed down the river. And it wasn't my fastest boat build.

 

I bought my Marblehead (no longer made I hear) directly from Challenge. I think it was Challenge. Whoever it was I bought directly from the manufacturer.

 

The leech, foot, and stitching are usually the first parts of a Bermuda sail to break down. Common Dacron brands include Challenge, Contender, and Dimension-Polyant, known for global availability. Standard production widths are typically 54 to 60 inches (137 to 152 cm).

 

Dacron is a trade name from Dupont. It is a polyester fabric. A polyester fabric with UV protection, may be used for sails if the weight is adequate for the purpose.