Black sails - dacron?

I just had a thought - I'm well aware it isn't new by any stretch.

I'm thinking about black sails, propably dacron. Will it have a shorter life than cream sails?



I can think of only one disadvantage, unless it's life-span is much shorter, and that is that you cannot shine a light on it at night when a huge gin palace is bearing down on you.

How many disadvantages can you think of?

Andre

 

I think if one side of the sail is black, and the other side is white, you will spin around in circles like a large radiometer.



Lunar light may rotate you the other way.

 

Ha haha, if I go fast enough, it will seem grey, even

The reason I'm asking this is sort of "Will the cloth itself "rot" faster, than a light colour, just like epoxy goes soft at around 60 centigrades"?

And will it fade quickly/faster than cream or white dacron cloth?

 

Black spinnaker cloth is common. Pigment in plastics make them more UV resistant. It prevents light from penetrating. Dacron is more heat resistant than epoxy resin.

 

Very cool Gonzo - I didn't know that about the pigments.

How about black for the main and foresail? You think that would be an okay idea (disregarding people's taste, of course)?

 

Dark brown sails to imitate the old tanbark dye are popular. I can't see anything wrong with black goth sails

 

Nice, looks like I will be going for that, then

Heh, I can't wait. I haven't even found a place to build my small boat, but I figured I might get as much information as possible while looking.

I think it will be really neat. Dark mahogany and black sails. Unfortunately I can't afford carbon fibre for the spars, but that will come too

I don't want a black boom tent, though - getting up with the sun, all sweaty, isn't that nice to think of.

Btw, have you heard of using cordura-nylon for boom covers and the like? The reason I'm asking is that I can get hold of some, pretty cheap. I figured if I'd make some mesh in it, so the dampness can get out. Then again, it might be too rough on the sail(s).

 

Cordura is excellent for covers and tarps.

 

He he, things are getting better and better. Looks like my boat is set to become a _very_ dark-blooded girl

 

What you gonna call her "Turkish Coffee":?:

Strong as a horse
Sweet as love
Hot as Hell
BLACK AS NIGHT?

 

Hahaha, that's a great idea!!

But, I have always had a fondness for the name "Molly", for some odd reason. But that would mean I would have to make it all red, wouldn't it?

Nah, it will propably be Molly, as that translates well into danish, whereas "Tyrkisk Kaffe" sounds quite ridiculous in danish, and I don't want an english-only name on it.

Plus, I want to stick to traditions, on this, my first boat of my own. Well, when it comes to names anyway.