Oh for blue sails... Double layered Dacron?

**rhumbunctious** · 11-05-12, 23:07

I finally have my cruising budget built up to where I can at last have some new sails made, and have long yearned for non-white sails, particularly something in a nice royal/pure blue.

Alas, according to all the lofts I've been talking to, it seems that colored Dacron is only available these days in fairly light weights, 4oz being the heaviest I've found. I was actually hoping for some beefy 10oz offshore cruising sails, but am wondering whether it's madness to simply layer up two sheets of 4oz blue Dacron, sewn together into what would roughly equate to an 8oz sail.

Or must I be doomed to have pathetically boring white sails on my boat...?

(or blue sails barely capable of force 4 and a gentle hand)

**fergie_mac66** · 11-05-12, 23:20

+1 for colored sails white is crappy

**ccscott49** · 12-05-12, 05:49

Originally Posted by rhumbunctious

I finally have my cruising budget built up to where I can at last have some new sails made, and have long yearned for non-white sails, particularly something in a nice royal/pure blue.

Alas, according to all the lofts I've been talking to, it seems that colored Dacron is only available these days in fairly light weights, 4oz being the heaviest I've found. I was actually hoping for some beefy 10oz offshore cruising sails, but am wondering whether it's madness to simply layer up two sheets of 4oz blue Dacron, sewn together into what would roughly equate to an 8oz sail.

Or must I be doomed to have pathetically boring white sails on my boat...?

(or blue sails barely capable of force 4 and a gentle hand)

You can get cream cloth and cream soft clipper canvas in dacron. Plus of course Tan. But never seen blue, not in higher weights anyway.

**nimbusgb** · 12-05-12, 06:22

Hobies always had bright sails. Surely heavier than 4oz spinnaker cloth?

**fergie_mac66** · 12-05-12, 11:09

Originally Posted by ccscott49

You can get cream cloth and cream soft clipper canvas in dacron. Plus of course Tan. But never seen blue, not in higher weights anyway.

working sails of catalac's (my avatar )including storm sail v heavy were blue

The Lacks did have them specially made Its a big disappointment that I cannot get replacements

**maxi77** · 12-05-12, 13:10

Enterprise sails are blue and are a bit heavier than spinny stuff.

**nimbusgb** · 12-05-12, 14:19

Perhaps not dacron?

**rhumbunctious** · 15-05-12, 07:33

Rolly Tasker FTW! I'll be getting my blue sails!

We have plenty of 3.8 oz dark or light blue (and cream for that matter). We could twin ply all your sails using 3.8 oz. This means we double each sail and sew them together.

We had a client who worked for the United Nations who was a geologist who visited our sail loft who insisted we make all his sails twin ply. They were white dacron and a different weight to the ones I am suggesting above because it was a much larger boat than your ketch. I asked him what his reasoning was. He said that he was taking the boat to the Antartic for a year and bitter experience had taught him it was better to have two sails sewn together rather than one only as there was nowhere to take sails for repairs and maintenance. He also said that when repairs were necessary you were faced with repairing only one of the sides only as a rule.

Appearance wise it is impossible to see that two sails are sewn together. If we twin ply all your sails together you will achieve the blue colour you want, additional rugged strength and by and large they should be about the right weights for the boat.

Kind regards,

Mike Tasker

WOOHOO!!!