Top Coating System for Long Term Care
OceanWeave sail cloth Top Coat offers pigment-based coating that enhances UV and mold protection while sealing the stitching. Easily applied, even in the field, OceanWeave sail cloth Top Coat also has the benefit of providing consistent color throughout the sail. Annual or bi-annual top coating protects and improves the lifespan of the sail cloth while satisfying the continual need for the most demanding aesthetics. Pigment color matching is available.
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Advanced Vectran Sail Cloth
High-performance OceanWeave sail cloth has been designed to present the most discerning super-yacht sailors with the combination of performance, durability, efficiency, and value along with an enhanced aesthetic. While sailors may vary in their style and technique, they all insist on sail cloth that is lightweight, stretch resistant, and cost effective. Developed exclusively at Warwick Mills, the OceanWeave sail cloth system for blue water yachts is based upon woven Vectran core fabrics to provide ideal characteristics of high strength, low stretch, and excellent strength-to-weight ratios. A specially developed topcoat system protects from UV, extends the life of the material, and conveys a traditional white Dacron appearance.
Advanced fabrics are only as good as the design application. Successful sail designs must meet not only the details of the specific boat, but also the conditions and the way you sail.
Design considerations must include details like reefing layout, batten pockets, leach design, clew tack, and head board all while striving for performance and efficiency. Our material engineers at Warwick Mills are experts in marine material engineering and work closely with designers on each project to address complete design requirements for load transition, off axis stiffness, stability, areas of excessive wear, and critical load zones. Lightweight OceanWeave sail cloth sails are sensitive to light winds and strong enough to handle extreme wind loads while maintaining shape and efficiency.
| OceanWeave Sail Cloth System |
| Woven Vectran sail cloth core options: |
| OW18 - 1800 x 4000 denier per inch |
| OW27 - 2700 x 6000 |
| OW36 - 3600 x 8000 |
| OW45 - 4500 x 10000 |
| Bias and non bias cover fabrics: |
| 1 oz. super light taffeta |
| 3 oz. standard taffeta |
The OceanWeave Sail Cloth System
The heart of the OceanWeave sail cloth system is our woven Vectran substrate. Available in a variety of core densities, the core is fabric bonded with bias cover fabric for off-axis stiffness and superior abrasion resistance. Then our proprietary OceanWeave sail cloth TopCoat finishing system is applied to further protect against UV, moisture, mildew, and ensure abrasion protection. The careful construction of OceanWeave sail cloth fabric is designed to achieve maximum performance benefit and lifespan of the rugged and lightweight core Vectran fibers.
Typical laminate sails are constructed of multiple layers of yarn and glue combined with a film laminate for adhesion and bonding – essentially a bag of yarn and a bucket of glue. These sails are vulnerable to failure when the films fail. Local areas of high wear and complex loading present a difficult challenge for other core materials. Wovens offer inherent mechanical strength and are tougher than glue bonding. The OceanWeave sail cloth system expands the boundaries of woven sail cloth construction and performance, blending performance ideals of laminates with the durability of traditional wovens. OceanWeave sail cloth's unique Vectran core properties limit stretch and allow sails to maintain their shape for maximum performance and durability.
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Vectran – Perfectly Suited for Sail Cloth Construction
High-performance multifilament Vectran fiber is exceptionally strong, lightweight, and durable – perfect for demanding high-stress applications like sail cloth. Pound for pound, Vectran is five times stronger than steel. The properties of this unique material also include outstanding cut and abrasion resistance, low stretch, and excellent flex/fold characteristics that are unmatched by other high-performance fibers.
Super Yacht Mirabella V
(Beadon Yachts)
Courtesy of Alexis Andrews
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Warwick Mills is the world's leader in engineered woven Vectran applications. In addition to high-performance OceanWeave sail cloth, Warwick's woven Vectran fabrics have made their way to Mars on NASA's Spirit, Opportunity, and Pathfinder missions and have seen extensive use in high altitude airships.
Warwick Mills engineers Vectran sail cloth substrates that are extremely well suited to the harsh conditions and rugged demands of the marine environment.
- Tensile strength is 2x stronger than steel
- 5x lighter than steel
- Lightweight and high modulus
- Excellent resiliency to folding/bending
- Does not breakdown in flex situations
- Low stretch properties maintain airfoil shape
- High abrasion resistance
- Minimal moisture absorption
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To speak with a Warwick Mills representative about your sail cloth questions, please call us at 1.603.291.1000 or | e-mail | inquiries | @ | warwickmills.com |
