Good sailcloth for JR

  • 18 Nov 2016 22:16
    Reply # 4400072 on 1206989
    New Zealand is metric and has been so for ages: all my Kiwi friends 'think metric'.  However, the nearest large supplier of stuff we don't make here is USA and as everyone knows, USA has its own idiosyncratic version of the Imperial system of measures.  It can get very confusing: some places sell metric fastenings, some Imperial and some both.  And the Weathermax measurements I quoted you were exactly as quoted to me: weight in oz the rest in metric.

    However, Godzone is not without its quirks: Kiwis, in essence, only use millimetres  for measuring up when making boats, curtains, houses, etc.  Centimetres are completely unknown.  Metres are used rather more loosely - a 10 metre boat (still often described as a 33ft boat, but even the French use 'pieds' for measuring boats!), 40 metres across the yard, a couple of hundred metres down the road sort of thing.  Kilometres are used on land and also, at times, at sea, which is also very confusing.  Wind speeds are km/hr.


    Last modified: 18 Nov 2016 22:17 | Anonymous member
  • 17 Nov 2016 22:22
    Reply # 4398340 on 1206989

    USA measure is based on one yard length, at 27 inches (0.75 yard) wide, simply because that's the width that the first sailcloth weavers in the USA decided to produce, so as to get the loom to pack the threads tightly and get the most stable result. 

    [edit] ... or so I had always understood. But looking at Wikipedia, I see that it should be 28.5 inches x 36 inches as the unit of USA sailcloth measure. And to make it more confusing, the standard width for cotton sailcloth was 23 inches in the USA and 24 inches in the UK. The heavier grades of Clipper Canvas are 60 cm (23.6 in) wide, so as to reproduce the effect of cotton cloth for traditional boat's sails. Keeping up so far?

    UK measure nowadays is actually based on a square yard. Easy.

    So, 1 oz/square yard is the same as 33.91 gm/square metre.

    And 0.7916666 oz USA measure is also the same as 33.91 gm/square metre.

    As soon as the USA goes metric, we can all turn over to metric and everything will be easy. But don't hold your breath. I haven't seen whether this is another way in which the President-Elect will try to prevent globalisation, but I wouldn't be surprised.

    Last modified: 17 Nov 2016 22:39 | Anonymous member
  • 17 Nov 2016 21:57
    Reply # 4398288 on 1206989
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    So many confusing standards here, cm, square yards and ounces!

    Just to clarify for myself:
    If
      1 ounce = 28.35 gram and 1 yard = 0.9144m,
    and if the sailcloth weight in ounces means
    ounces per square yard, then

    1 ounce/sq.yd = 33.91g/sqm, that is..
    8 ounces = 271.3g/sqm.

    Am I the only one who is calibrated in the metric system? I know sailcloth weight (in ounces) is measured differently in UK and in USA.

    Can anyone clarify, please?

    Arne


    Last modified: 17 Nov 2016 21:58 | Anonymous member (Administrator)
  • 17 Nov 2016 21:17
    Reply # 4398199 on 1206989
    I've found a source for Weathermax here in NZ and they will sell it to me for NZ$20 a metre ($18 if I buy the whole bolt).  It's 8oz per sq yd, 152cm wide and comes with a 5 year warranty.  Sounds like the go.
  • 16 Nov 2016 23:30
    Reply # 4396154 on 1206989
    Deleted user

    Some useful(?) information here:

    http://www.contender.co.uk

    Personally, I find it all very confusing, and, 'v' expensive!

    Perhaps, we might limit ourselves, to traditional Chinese sail materials?  :o)


    Regards Tim

    Last modified: 16 Nov 2016 23:31 | Deleted user
  • 16 Nov 2016 19:29
    Reply # 4395846 on 1206989
    It's all right, Graham.  I've changed my mind about purple - I'm thinking more along the lines of buttercup yellow, now :-). Or tan if I go for the cheaper option of Clipper Canvas.  The Weathermax does sound appealing, though, and the fact that your sailmaker and Sebastian both reckon it's OK for a junk sail ...  It sounds a lot more suitable than acrylic. Unfortunately, Contender in Oz don't give any prices.  I'll try contacting them here.



  • 16 Nov 2016 04:26
    Reply # 4394581 on 4394304
    Annie Hill wrote:Aaah - Graham, I should have said that Clipper Canvas is Terlyene (Dacron).  Interesting about the Weathermax, however, but it would be cheaper for me to import the Clipper Canvas than to buy Weathermax.  However, if I could find some way to get it from USA, then that could be the way to go.  I've been quoted NZ$30.50 here - it's about $12 from Rochford textiles, but with only three (boring) colours to choose from.




    Contender Sailcloth in Sydney are the Australian distributors for Weathermax 80.  I don't know what their prices are like.  They appear to offer the full range of colours but all are pretty boring - no purple!  I think the purple 3.5 oz material you mentioned, with lots of reinforcing at the throat, peak and batten ends, might be ok for you.  Perhaps you could use two layers in the top two panels, sewn together like a quilt?
  • 15 Nov 2016 23:35
    Reply # 4394304 on 1206989
    Aaah - Graham, I should have said that Clipper Canvas is Terlyene (Dacron).  Interesting about the Weathermax, however, but it would be cheaper for me to import the Clipper Canvas than to buy Weathermax.  However, if I could find some way to get it from USA, then that could be the way to go.  I've been quoted NZ$30.50 here - it's about $12 from Rochford textiles, but with only three (boring) colours to choose from.



  • 15 Nov 2016 22:01
    Reply # 4394192 on 1206989

    I looked at Weathermax when considering material for my new sail.  My sailmaker was willing to use it.  I chose Dacron in the end because it was a material I knew and trusted, and could be repaired using sticky-back Dacron patches.  I'm a conservative guy and was stung by my experience with Odyssey.  However, Weathermax appears to be a good material.  It is much stronger and more chafe-resistant than acrylic but with the same handling and UV-resistant characteristics.  It needs to be cut with a hot knife and some amateur users have reported that it was hard to stop puckering when sewing the seams.  However, my sailmaker, who has a lot of experience making awnings, felt confident he could overcome that tendency.  I'd say it was a good choice for those looking for alternatives to Dacron, along with Topgun. 

  • 15 Nov 2016 20:36
    Reply # 4394091 on 1206989
    For all those weeping into their beer about the unsuitability of Odyssey and worrying about other exotics, there is some good news: rumours about the demise of Clipper Canvas have been exaggerated.  It is only the very light weight cloths that are no longer made.  Shame, they were lovely, but still, I've got it from the horse's mouth that the following are still manufactured.  (From personal experience the tan is much more UV resistant than the natural.

    Clipper Canvas

    100% Spun Polyester

     

    Quality                                  Width    US oz     GSM      UK oz                           

    Natural / White

    13440 Superlight                 150cm   7.2          310         9.1                                         

    15450 Lightweight              060cm   9.8          420         12.4                                       

    16545 Extra                         060cm   12.2        523         15.4                                       

    22600 Heavy                       060cm   13.5        580         17.1                                       

    24800 Superheavy              060cm   17.4        750         22.1                                       

     

    Quality                                  Width    US oz     GSM      UK oz                          

    Tan

    13440 Superlight                 150cm   7.2          310         9.1                                         

    15450 Lightweight              060cm   9.8          420         12.4                                       

    16545 Extra                         060cm   12.2        523         15.4                                       

    22600 Heavy                       060cm   13.5        580         17.1                                       

    24800 Superheavy              060cm   17.4        750         22.1                     

     

     


       " ...there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in junk-rigged boats" 
                                                               - the Chinese Water Rat

                                                              Site contents © the Junk Rig Association and/or individual authors

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software