Premium Paneled 200 sails are made using North’s revolutionary NorDac Radian™ warp-oriented polyester sailcloth. Radian uses a unique, patented process to combine low-stretch radial performance with the durability, soft handling and mildew resistance of non-laminated woven polyester. Radian delivers lower stretch and higher performance than any other non-laminated polyester sailcloth. If you’re looking for more from a woven sail... this is big!
Product Highlights
- Made using North’s NorDac Radian warp-oriented woven polyester sail fabrics
- Radial construction delivers lower stretch and improved performance
- Non-laminated cloth maintains easy handling and mildew resistance
The Radian Story
For decades, polyester (Dacron) fabrics were woven with straight FILL yarns encapsulated by “up and over” WARP yarns. When building a crosscut panel layout sail, cloth of this type is the established best choice. However, “fill oriented” fabrics are not suitable for radial sail construction, where the length of panels exceeds the width of commercially available sailcloth rolls. Until now, the solution for radial sail construction was to laminate the fill-oriented woven sailcloth with Mylar film to improve strength in the warp direction.
Given the inherent limitations of looms and sailcloth-grade polyester yarn, weaving high-density polyester cloth with straight and highly tensioned warp yarns has been a difficult challenge. There are “warp” polyester styles already in the marketplace, but they are loose constructions that compromise both warp and fill performance. This tradeoff is not acceptable if the goal is to produce high performance radial cruising sails.
Starting with a now patent-protected concept, a clean slate, and a healthy dose of patience during over three years of trials, North Cloth has combined unique materials and a novel manufacturing process to create Radian... the first warp-oriented polyester sailcloth in the industry suitable for radial panel layouts. The clear benefit of radial panel layouts can now be applied to a whole new class of cruising and one-design sails.
What does Radian mean to you? Now you can buy a load-aligned radial sail that performs better and holds its shape longer without sacrificing the easy handling and mildew resistance of woven sailcloth.
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Above: Electron microscope photo of NorDac Radian shows dense weave with perfectly straight warp yarns surrounded by tightly woven fill yarns.
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