Cruising Headsail: Titanium Double Taffeta

image 8301da0f d2e7 4948 a036 3fd2452e042a — *A Dehler 41 with Titanium Double taffeta main and jib. The taffeta can be grey or white; this is an example of the grey taffeta.*

Titanium Double-Taffeta cruising sails are an attractive option compared to heavy, multi-ply Dacron or radially-paneled sails. Titanium Double-Taffeta sails are made with continuous loadpath yarns fused in between two layers of film. The exposed side of the film is covered with a finely woven polyester taffeta, creating a five-layer sandwich.

Titanium® sails are made with a grid of continuous carbon loadpath yarns running unbroken between the three corners of the sail; those yarns are laminated between two layers of 3D-shaped film. In the Titanium construction process, the yarns are laid dry–without glue–to reduce weight and to prevent the carbon yarns from becoming brittle. The mylar films are tacky on the inside from the copolymer coating; this holds the yarns and films in place until the final lamination has been completed.

The five layers (taffeta, film, loadpath yarns, second film layer, taffeta) are dropped into a custom-formed variable geometry thermo form in which the sail is heated and UV-bonded under vacuum pressure to become a one-piece finished membrane.

Not coating the yarns with glue makes for lighter (by 15-30%), more flexible, and more durable sails, which makes happier foredeck teams and happier owners who are not replacing their misshaped and broken sails as often.

Yes, there are seams in a Titanium sail, but they are there simply to shape the film layers. Unlike most high tech sails in which structural yarns only run the width of an individual panel, a Titanium sail’s continuous yarns eliminate seam loads, load-induced seam distortion, wrinkles, or worse yet, seam failure. Titanium sails are smooth and wrinkle free.

Extra Durability With Taffeta

While very strong, Double-Taffeta Titanium sails are made more durable with the addition of a finely woven polyester taffeta layer laminated to both sides. The taffeta layers don’t add strength to the sail, but they protect the film layer from abrasion, which is a great benefit for cruising sailors. Taffeta comes in white or grey.

image d2c6227d a3cf 45c3 935a ef80052a94e1 — *An Arcona 410 with Titanium Double Taffeta mainsail and Genoa.*

Available Details

Available with:

Reefs
Loose Foot
Cunningham
Telltales
Draft Stripes
Sail Numbers
Leechline Options

Battens:

Powerhead
Full Battens
Furling Mains

Other Options:

Lazy Cradle
Lazy Jacks
Dutchman
Sail Cover