North Sail headsails

[Vgard]

In the process of renewing my sail wardrobe.

Will be quoting for Jib1/2 for light to medium wind a jib4 for when the wind pipes up a bit.

Looking for some thoughts and or experience on the different technology provided by North in terms of quality vs price.

3Di Raw, 3Di Endurance and NP(L) Sport.

I'm mostly sailing regattas with the occasional day trip for enjoying sun and swimming.

The regatta ambitions are still and will be at an amateur level but the wish to perform well.

 

[View from the back]

I’m with Ullman Sails.  What’s so great about North?  

 

[Monkey]

I’m with Ullman Sails.  What’s so great about North?  

Well, on one of the boats I race on, we’ve got a mix of North 3di and Ullman. The sail shape is garbage on the Ullmans. They were fast originally, but just didn’t hold up well. The 3di’s just seem to carry on. 

 

[Faram]

I’m with Ullman Sails.  What’s so great about North?  

 

[Faram]

Technology maybe? 

 

[Sailkraft]

I have to laugh at North. The Melges 24 that won the European championship used North radial cut sails made from Contender cloth. Beating the other Melges 24's using 3Di. With millions probably spent on marketing 3Di, including marketing to the Melges 24 class, with a product that no one else has. They show the world that is isn't the great wonder sail material after all and win with a non-north material that anyone can buy, much to their own detriment  :lol: .

And then of course there is Quantum winning the TP52's quite a lot of the time with flat seamed film membranes. 

Not saying that 3Di isn't a good product, but there is a lot of marketing and BS out there. 

 

[George Dewey]

I have to laugh at North. The Melges 24 that won the European championship used North radial cut sails made from Contender cloth. Beating the other Melges 24's using 3Di. With millions probably spent on marketing 3Di, including marketing to the Melges 24 class, with a product that no one else has. They show the world that is isn't the great wonder sail material after all and win with a non-north material that anyone can buy, much to their own detriment  :lol: .

And then of course there is Quantum winning the TP52's quite a lot of the time with flat seamed film membranes. 

Not saying that 3Di isn't a good product, but there is a lot of marketing and BS out there. 

View attachment 464027

Wait, what??? Do you mean to say that winning races depends on something other than the brand of sails you buy? Wow!

 

[Irrational 14]

One thing that many don't see is the random vertical wrinkles common with the 3DI products. You can see this on CRO 739's  mainsail in the pic above.

It's not always the batten tension that causes this. If the mold is off a bit, weird things happen. There are a lot of moving parts in that mold and I would bet that replicating the settings can be an issue at times.

 

[Monkey]

One thing that many don't see is the random vertical wrinkles common with the 3DI products. You can see this on CRO 739's  mainsail in the pic above.

It's not always the batten tension that causes this. If the mold is off a bit, weird things happen. There are a lot of moving parts in that mold and I would bet that replicating the settings can be an issue at times.

We had this issue on a Beneteau 10R I sail on. North replaced it free of charge.  I don’t care who the sailmaker is, they’ll never get them all perfect. How they deal with problems is the key. 

 

[Monkey]

In the process of renewing my sail wardrobe.

Will be quoting for Jib1/2 for light to medium wind a jib4 for when the wind pipes up a bit.

Looking for some thoughts and or experience on the different technology provided by North in terms of quality vs price.

3Di Raw, 3Di Endurance and NP(L) Sport.

I'm mostly sailing regattas with the occasional day trip for enjoying sun and swimming.

The regatta ambitions are still and will be at an amateur level but the wish to perform well.

This may not be the most popular opinion, but I’m pretty sold on the 3di Endurance. The main and 1 on my new boat are from 2011, and the 3 is from 2012. All of them were still fast enough for the previous owner to win the season championship at a decent sized club this summer. To be fair, the boat was in storage for 4 years, but 6 years of racing and 4 years in the shed, while still being race worthy is pretty impressive. For a PHRF boat, I’m going to carry on with Endurance instead of Raw. They don’t look as cool, but I can live with that. 

 

[ryley]

my 3di raw sails are holding up just fine and don't show the shrinkage that my previous carbon sails had.

but the real seal-the-deal for me is the service. the sails I order come when I expect them, the off-season service on them is great, and the loft is easy to deal with.

 

[longy]

I have to laugh at North. The Melges 24 that won the European championship used North radial cut sails made from Contender cloth. Beating the other Melges 24's using 3Di. With millions probably spent on marketing 3Di, including marketing to the Melges 24 class, with a product that no one else has. They show the world that is isn't the great wonder sail material after all and win with a non-north material that anyone can buy, much to their own detriment  :lol: .

And then of course there is Quantum winning the TP52's quite a lot of the time with flat seamed film membranes. 

Not saying that 3Di isn't a good product, but there is a lot of marketing and BS out there. 

The advantage of 3Di is longevity - shape holding. If you can rock up to every major regatta with a new set of sails, construction doesn't matter much

 

[Frogman56]

Irrational,

Good eyes you have!

The CRO 739 problem is likely to be some shrinkage and some diagonal tune NQR. The shrinkage requires departure from the guide!

 

[OCS]

even good old fashioned Dacron seems to be holding its own in the Melges Class?

Ullman Sails – Posts | Facebook

 

[JMOD]

3di is about longevity. if cared for, they last very long. This makes them cheaper in the long run as you don't have to rock up with new sails at every regatta. Though, there are numerous other options. if you have a local loft that gives great service, stick with them.3