Back in 2019 – 20 a request by sailors went out to improve consistency in the production of 49er and FX sails. The result of this request being an outcome that not only offers improved production consistency and longevity but is likely to be a far greater sustainable one.
The rollout of the new 3Di sails to sailors has begun. With it, sailors will receive sails that are near identical to the next set of sails coming off the production line. As a result, there should no longer be the need to purchase additional sails just to obtain the perfect sail wardrobe.
Adding to this consistency improvement, the new sails are expected to maintain their shape for far longer than seen before in the Class. Furthermore, sail degradation once seen in the past from use, flapping and rolling sails up, will not be seen to nearly the same extent.
Interestingly, longevity improvements has been well evidenced already on the high-performance racetrack with examples of VOR teams using one mail sail for 35,000 miles, where formally two or three laminate sails would have been used.
Mark Bradford, Managing Director, North Sails Sydney, explains how 3Di sails have a longer life span than some other sails. “The biggest killer of sails is UV. However, 3Di sails contain zero mylar which is the main culprit of delamination. Instead 3Di use environmentally stable thermo-set adhesive (as opposed to thermoplastic hot-melt) which has a UV protectant added to the outermost surface. This means that the sails can stand up better to the sun than any other sail material. The surface may degrade a bit, especially in the tropics, but the top layers protect the basic structure. As a result, when older sails come into our loft for annual maintenance, we often have trouble finding any damage at all.”
In the past, when new sail cloth materials were introduced to the market, it resulted in sails being made lighter which was great for performance but not so great for longevity. However, the new 3Di 49er / FX sails are marginally heavier than the mylar sails and expected to last far longer than the 2-3 regattas or for one season that the 49er/FX mylar sails tended to last.
The obvious benefit to all of this (improved production consistency and improved longevity) is that less sails are demanded or used by a team. Thus, the knock-on effect is the reduction in carbon emissions with less energy being used to produce and distribute sails, less raw materials consumed and less waste going into landfill. For sailors it also means a reduction in the overall running costs of the boat as the new sails are expected to significantly reduce campaign costs due to less replacement sails being required.
While it is early days and too difficult to quantify savings just yet, the Alliance will be collecting data to measure just how effective these new sails are at reducing carbon emissions and the savings to sailor’s pockets. Stay tuned!