Design

Sailmaking

As part of the integration of computers and software within the marine industry, we work with many file formats to provide cross-company integration of CAD files. This coupled with our commitment to quality produces documents for each sail that are made available to our agents, giving them the ability to crosscheck specifications and final product. Classic sails require more than computer expertise, they require the hard earned knowledge of sailmaking that can only be gotten on the loft floor, working with the unusual requirements of four sided sails. To this end, we have years of experience and a broad database from which to work with that ensures the right fit, the right shape and the right construction. This experience than is taken into hand when we make the conversion from paper to digital information.

Sailcloth

We work closely with Challenge Sailcloth and Contender USA in developing the fabrics that will represent the best performance, longevity and value to our customers. ALL of our woven fabrics that we use in our sails, with the exception of our 3.8oz, which is manufactured by Teijin in Japan, come from these two suppliers. Through an aggressive manufacturer quality control system, and then through our own in-house testing procedures, which include INSTRON strip testing and visual testing for flatness, the fabric we use day to day is consistently the best we can buy Challenge Dacron is finished 100% in-house (the largest U.S. based sailcloth manufacturer to do so). The fabric is heat-set, shrinking up to 20%. The Challenge durable Stabilized finish is achieved by immersing the fabric in a bath of suspended resin. The resin is absorbed by the fiber. The cloth is then fed into a long oven where the liquids are driven off, leaving the resin solids bonded to the fibers. The result is the tightest possible weave, lowest bias stretch, and maximum durability.

Cross-Cut Fabrics

Challenge fabrics use almost exclusively Dacron yarns and Type 52 High Tenacity High Modulus Dacron is used wherever possible, as we consider it the best sailcloth yarn in the world, due to its low stretch (for strong cross-cut leeches), and high shrinkage (translates into lowest bias stretch and best durability) Type 52, made for sailcloth, is only available in 220, 350, and 440 deniers. In yarn diameters where high tenacity is unavailable, standard Dacron is used in order to maintain the precisely engineered density ratios necessary to achieve maximum fill yarn efficiency, and lowest stretch.

Instron Tester Pull testing fabric strip “Classic” Balanced Fabrics

Woven balanced fabrics are intended for use in low aspect, square/gaff or workboat applications. The large warp yarns help to lock in the bias of the fabric while at the same time giving the fabric, ounce for ounce, much better longevity and U.V. life than comparable unbalanced constructions. In addition, these fabrics are available in both Cream and Tanbark colors. Production runs of these ‘traditional’ fabric colors are limited so it’s best to work in advance to ensure supplies.

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