John A. Lever photo
Summer is finally here, and many sailors have found that their boats can be the perfect vacation home/hotel/resort. Going for a cruise on your boat doesn’t require boarding a plane, crossing a border or risking getting stuck in quarantine. Cruising on your boat is an out-of-home activity that is safe for your whole family while also allowing you to move your vacation cottage from harbor to harbor. Swimming is allowed, out-door dining always has a view, and sailing provides great exercise in lieu of going to the gym.
To upgrade your cruising boat to a cruising cottage, talk to your UK Sailmaker about a new set of X-Drive loadpath sails. You can use X-Drive sails for both cruising and racing — after all, you may find yourself racing a buddy’s boat to the next harbor or sailing in one of the short-crewed races that have become so popular. UK Sailmakers’ lofts can deliver new sails in three weeks or less so there’s no need to delay. `
Shown here are four different X-Drive materials configurations.
The first is a Hallberg-Rassy 53 with a set of X-Drive Endure sails. The corner to corner reinforcing fibers are Endumax, which is a film that comes from the same fiber family that includes Spectra and Dyneema. Notice the partial taffeta layer on the leech and foot on both sails; the taffeta layer adds durability. Since we only add it where it is needed instead of having it cover the whole sail, the partial layer saves weight and cost. The owner of this boat originally considered buying HydraNet Radial® sails (a woven material made of Spectra and polyester), but the price was prohibitive. X-Drive Endure was an affordable to solution for getting a Spectra sail.
A Swan 60 mainsail, where the reinforcing fibers are a combination of carbon and Endumax.
The newest X-Drive construction technology that is great for big performance cruisers is made using a 50/50 blend of carbon and Endmax reinforcing yarns as shown on this Swan 60 mainsail above. The combination of carbon and Endumax yarns offers the best of both fibers — no-stretch for shape retention and durability. Notice how smooth the sail shape is on this massive sail.
The third photo is a more race-oriented X-Drive construction made with an aramid laminate, carbon reinforcing fibers and the Liteskin finishing layer on a Beneteau 473. In addition to being fast, these sails are both light and strong.
The fourth picture is of a X-Drive Silver roller furling genoa. Silver refers to the load bearing fibers that are made of S-Glass. These sails are the most economical X-Drive sails we make and are plenty strong for the loads on smaller boats.
Regardless of which X-Drive sail you choose, new sails will help make your summer “boatcation” more enjoyable. Call UK Sailmakers today while there’s still time to plan your summer get away.
