cotton sailcloth ?

[HUON]

Is it still possible to acquire good cotton sailcloth which has been made on a shuttle loom. After reading an article in the april/march Wooden Boat magazine it seems that cotton may suit the the boat I'm restoring (1918 Fyfe design). I like the idea that cotton acts as "a huge shock absorber".Not a bad thing for an old boat .
Look forward to reading your replies ,pro or con, hpoefully with a supplier or two tacked on the end .
Cheers for now,Brendan .

[Boatmik]

Howdy,

Having cotton sails would be a lovely thing and worthwhile from an aesthetic point of view anytime.

However, there is a lot to disagree with in Woodenboat magazine - and that is what makes it such a spectacularly useful thing. So many varied opinions.

I think that if they are saying it is a "shock absorber" then this is the most tiny of reasons for choosing cotton sails.

Choose them because you like them, choose them because they are beautiful, choose them because they are wonderful to handle (when dry anyhow), or that they smell nice.

If the shock absorbency makes any difference over a conventional sail material then the boat they are talking about has not been restored properly.

Also be aware of the potential downsides. The sails will be heavier, harder to dry - and have to be gotten dry quickly or they will mildew - you will lose all the calculated sail shape when they get wet.

There is an argument if you go past conventional dacron cloth and use high tech spectra/kevlar or carbon cloths but the difference between cotton and standard synthetic cloths is too small for "shock" to be a strong argument.

As far as sailmakers ...

I did a quick web search and found that a sailmaker called Rick Mitchell does traditional cotton he has done a talk here
http://www.htpaa.org.au/

Also does anyone know the business down at Port Adelaide that used to sell all sorts of traditional bits - they had a sailmaker too. Business was William something - am I right - does anyone know?

Michael

[PAR]

I've sailed with flax, two different types of cotton and several of the modern sail material fabrics and hands down you'll want a modern fabric, possibly Oceanus, which has the look and feel (somewhat) of cotton.

Unless you expect to enter shows as a full up restoration and might get "dinged" for using a modern cloth, then you just can't compare the differences.

One of the reasons the USA won and kept the America's Cup was sail cloth. The flax the British used was soft handed, but stretched more then the cotton we used, hence the USA sails held their shape better.

Flax sails are about the loveliest things to handle, when dry, but the nastiest when wet. Cotton is a bit stiffer (depending on cotton type) but suffers the same problems as all natural fabric materials, they stretch, soak up several times their weight in moisture, tear easily, distort quickly and generally can't hold a candle to the modern fabrics in shape and durability. I do have to admit I have a soft spot for the mold, mildew and rotting cotton smells I remember in my earliest memories of sails. It brings me back to boyhood days, when I'd sleep on a sail bag in the forepeak.

Oceanus fabric (not cheap) is a North Sails product (other manufactures also have a traditional looking man made fabric) and it looks great, but more importantly, sets well and stays that way.

There's an old saying about never reefing a new sail (natural fabrics), because they'll never set right again. This is a very true saying, born from old salts that had to hang bagged out rags, that where left up too long in a blow one day or hadn't stretched out their "newness" before getting distorted by a reef or big blow.

Unless you really need a set, go with a modern fabric. Maybe a couple of sets, one natural to win shows and the other Oceanus to win races and look good doing so.

Give Nat Wilson a yell. He's an old school sailmaker of impressive skill (not cheap). He doesn't have a web site, so call (USA) 207/633-5071.

[HUON]

Michael, thanks, I do appreciate your informed reply. It certainly puts things into context for me, especially the bit about when not if the sails get wet.
look forward to more yaes and naes
Par , interestingly both Nat Wilson and Oceanus were mentioned in the article . As for shows, well I've had many breeds of chooks over the years and never been tempted to show them,prefer to sit down with a stubbie in my hand and have a deep and meaningful with them. Wouldn't even put them in a chook race .
cheers, Brendan.

[Boatmik]

Howdy PAR,

thanks for mentioning Oceanus and other cloths - I ran out of time - and just came back to complete. So thanks heaps.

MIK