Wovens
Dacron
The first Dacron (polyester) was developed in the 1950’s and this is still the most popular material for sails today. The quality of the Dacron is governed by the tenacity of the yarn used and the tightness of the weave. Cheaper Dacron’s incorporate large denier, medium tenacity yarns which results in excessive crimp. The better-quality Dacron’s use a finer denier, high tenacity yarn and considerably more of them. This means that it takes far longer to ‘load the beam’ prior to weaving and far longer to weave the cloth. You may be surprised to hear that a good quality
Dacron costs twice as much as the cheaper styles, which is why ‘boat show sailmakers’ will normally only use the later. However; a good quality Dacron will last far longer and perform far better, making the initial increase in cost a worthwhile expense.
After years of testing various dacrons across multiple styles and manufacturers, we were able to quickly eliminate a significant number that simply didn’t meet the Sanders standard. Today, we are proud to offer a carefully curated selection of materials that truly live up to our name:
A) Crosscut Dacron:
a) Standard Quality: Dimension Polyant C-Breeze
b) Best Quality: Dimension Polyant AP & SF
c) Classic Quality: Contender AP
B) Radial Dacron:
a) Cruising Quality: Challenge Newport Pro Radial
b) Racing Quality: Dimension Polyant Pro Radial
N.B. The racing quality fabrics are also suitable for performance cruising.
Vectron
Vectron used to be exclusively manufactured by Hood textiles in Ireland, but since their closure, three other companies have started to produce it. Like our Dacron sailcloth’s, we have put months of research and testing into the new alternatives and we are delighted with what we can now offer. Vectron combines the best properties of two very talented fibres: high strength polyester meets low stretch and high modulus Vectran. The result of this unique fusion is a tightly woven fabric that is both incredibly stable and easy to handle. Dimension Polyant’s Vectron is our cloth of choice in this range, but we also offer Contender’s Pro Vectran, which offers a different range of weights at a lesser cost.
a) Dimension Polyant Vectron
b) Contender Fibercon Pro Vectran
N.B. The Contender Pro Vectran range has a slightly softer finish to that of Dimension Polyant’s Vectron.
Hydranet Radial
An additional benefit of this construction is that it is based on a breathable platform, where the less damp environment gives mildew growth a much smaller chance of developing. This is very popular in our Ocean sailors – wanting to optimise all the benefits listed above.
Want to find out more about our unique range of materials? Get in touch with the Sanders team, we’d love to hear from you!
SANDERS FILMLESS MEMBRANE (SFM)
LAMINATES