North Sails 3Di NorDac

[Silver_Surfer]

i had a quote last year for a set of 3di and the cost were for my 37 baltic 11k each.
i had quotes from other lofts, quantum, doyle, that were half as much.
i didn't pull the trigger and now was looking at the North 3di NorDac line.
called the north loft and its 5k for a dacron version of their race sail.
question: does anybody have a set of these sails and have any input? my existing mainsail is fully battened dacron from 2003. sail was never in use, boat was a floating cocktail lounge.
new quote on nordac is with 2 full and 2 partial battens, trying to figure if thats the way to go too.
thanks in advance for any thoughts.

[Snowpetrel]

My brother (on here as BooBoo)had an prototype set dyed black to look like carbon on his sunfast 3600. With these he won his class in the two hand round north island race. He was pretty happy with them. Time will tell how well they hold up, but after a lot of brutal racing the sail shape and condition looked very good to me.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Why are you hunting for a new main if the current one has virtually nil wear on it? UV damage, or other?
As to tips on high tech fabrics, it's worth asking over on Sailing Anarchy Forums too.

[Silver_Surfer]

not sure if its from halyard being fully tensioned all the time or what but there is a bulge that runs along the foot and stained at the folds where water and dirt collected. took off and scrubbed but looks kinda trashed. putting new standing rigging and running so this a upgrade i liked to do.
will ck anarchy for posts and might post this item too.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Here's one of the threads over there on this 3Di Nordac - Cruising Anarchy - Sailing Anarchy Forums

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

Why are you hunting for a new main if the current one has virtually nil wear on it? UV damage, or other?
As to tips on high tech fabrics, it's worth asking over on Sailing Anarchy Forums too.

My question also? Mold? Vernon?

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Cadence

My question also? Mold? Vernon?

3di Shouldn't be any worse than normal dacron. There is no mylar to delaminate, or for mould and green slime to get inside. I think my brother (he worked for norths)said it had small pinpricks through the sail to let it breath and allow moisture trapped on one side of the sail to escape. The resin felt very solid when did a race onboard. It will be interesting to see how 3di nordac goes long term.

At this stage it seems cost competitive with a good dacron radial sail. In theory it should perform better for longer and has minimal stiching to chafe and the fibres are well protected by the glue/resin. I guess it all depends on how well the resin holds up over time in the real world. Large repairs could be more tricky than a normal fabric sail. But it has potential to be a great step up for peformance cruisers.

[Lambretta]

I contributed on the the thread on Sailing Anarchy ........ there is some good advice on that thread (nothing to do with me )

I have recently signed for a new build on a 50ft cat and have investigated the 3Di sails pretty extensively and some of these points may prove helpful.

1. Ideally you dont want to be the first yacht design (or class) to have these sails made as they are moulded sails and if the cut is not perfect it can cause issues with the fit of the sail (the main especially) as it is not a simple alteration after the fact.
2. The cost multiple is in the region of 2.5 times that of the base dacron sail equivalent. I think the Spectra sails are a better all round bet for cruising (IMHO)
3. The biggest they are making these sails for at the moment is for cruisers up to approx 40ft (so your yacht fits inside that parameter. ) I am not sure how far you are from the two NS lofts that make these sails .... one in the USA and one in Sri Lanka .... if far from these lofts the time delay of getting things sorted after the fact is not an overnight process .... This is a big deal for me ...... I am close the NS loft in Cape Town but these molded sails are not made in South Africa. They would be made in the NY loft.
4. They seem to be great sails and the shape of them is amazing .... I am just not sure they are worth the additional spend relative to regular dacron or spectra.
5. The other thing is the weight difference to consider in the various sail cloths (more of an issue for a cat probably) but if you are short handed the weight differences between dacron and spectra is material (no pun intended!!) Get NS to run the numbers for you. I am not sure how this translates into the 3Di as I have only run the numbers for spectra, norlam and plain dacron.

Hope this helps in your decision.

[TheOffice]

I got quotes from North. The 3di Nordac was only 5% more than their dacron. I ended up going with a different loft.

There is only a 1 year warranty on the sails. I can't afford to be a guinea pig.

[Lambretta]

Originally Posted by TheOffice

I got quotes from North. The 3di Nordac was only 5% more than their dacron. I ended up going with a different loft.

There is only a 1 year warranty on the sails. I can't afford to be a guinea pig.

That is amazing ......... I actually re checked the quotes ....... was 2.5 times the price on my side ...... 5% more than plain dacron .... for a moulded sail I am sure they made a hash of that ?

Good choice not to be a guinea pig what loft did you end up going with?

[Silver_Surfer]

Originally Posted by Lambretta

I contributed on the the thread on Sailing Anarchy ........ there is some good advice on that thread (nothing to do with me )

I have recently signed for a new build on a 50ft cat and have investigated the 3Di sails pretty extensively and some of these points may prove helpful.

1. Ideally you dont want to be the first yacht design (or class) to have these sails made as they are moulded sails and if the cut is not perfect it can cause issues with the fit of the sail (the main especially) as it is not a simple alteration after the fact.
2. The cost multiple is in the region of 2.5 times that of the base dacron sail equivalent. I think the Spectra sails are a better all round bet for cruising (IMHO)
3. The biggest they are making these sails for at the moment is for cruisers up to approx 40ft (so your yacht fits inside that parameter. ) I am not sure how far you are from the two NS lofts that make these sails .... one in the USA and one in Sri Lanka .... if far from these lofts the time delay of getting things sorted after the fact is not an overnight process .... This is a big deal for me ...... I am close the NS loft in Cape Town but these molded sails are not made in South Africa. They would be made in the NY loft.
4. They seem to be great sails and the shape of them is amazing .... I am just not sure they are worth the additional spend relative to regular dacron or spectra.
5. The other thing is the weight difference to consider in the various sail cloths (more of an issue for a cat probably) but if you are short handed the weight differences between dacron and spectra is material (no pun intended!!) Get NS to run the numbers for you. I am not sure how this translates into the 3Di as I have only run the numbers for spectra, norlam and plain dacron.

Hope this helps in your decision.

Thx for your input. It helps immensely I'm still getting details ironed out like full-size battens for mainsail and cut of Genoa. currently have a higher clew as opposed to original deck sweeper
I'm drawn to the 3Di sails for their construction as a one piece molded sail and I see the only drop off is the question to longevity

[rgleason]

I hope you are right. I had 3DL Marathon for 13 years, still have the 90% jib. Great shape entire time. Genoa delaminated. They got mold and reqiured sailcoat and cleaning a lot.
Re 3Di, mold will not be a problem. I was concerned about the flexing of the sail at the joints between the flat strands, causing premature failure. I looked at them seriously as I wanted shapeholding, but decided I was more of a cruiser now with emphasis on longevity. Sails can be recut several times if necessary. So I went with Hood vectran dacron.
But I really want 3di to prove itself.

[Kestrahl]

I helped install some 3di nordac sails on a 36ft fractional rig today so here are my thoughts.

The sail weights were 29kg Mainsail and 25kg Genoa. So maybe equivalent to 7-8oz dacron. The material is very stiff just like the normal 3di and stiffer than hydra-net or cruising laminate. It gives the feeling the shape will hold better than other polyester sails. I'm not sure how much they cost, if the same as other polyester based sails then great but you wouldn't compare it to a dyneema based sail. The finish on the sails was more race/cruise i.e. dacron tapes on the furling genoa leech and foot instead UV material, lightweight batten fastening on the main without webbing etc. In this case it would seem the sails are geared more for the local cruise/race customer than the true bluewater cruiser.

[Lambretta]

Originally Posted by Kestrahl

I helped install some 3di nordac sails on a 36ft fractional rig today so here are my thoughts.

The sail weights were 29kg Mainsail and 25kg Genoa. So maybe equivalent to 7-8oz dacron. The material is very stiff just like the normal 3di and stiffer than hydra-net or cruising laminate. It gives the feeling the shape will hold better than other polyester sails. I'm not sure how much they cost, if the same as other polyester based sails then great but you wouldn't compare it to a dyneema based sail. The finish on the sails was more race/cruise i.e. dacron tapes on the furling genoa leech and foot instead UV material, lightweight batten fastening on the main without webbing etc. In this case it would seem the sails are geared more for the local cruise/race customer than the true bluewater cruiser.

Great info and I agree with your comments
thanks for posting

[FlightPlan]

"In this case it would seem the sails are geared more for the local cruise/race customer than the true bluewater cruiser"


I checked into this when I replaced my sails, and North advised me that it would not be prudent on a bluewater boat. I used to club race and was always on the leading edge of sail technology, even had a 1/2 ounce mylar spinnaker. If I was to race again, I would be hot to trot for it. Racing sails do not have a long life and that makes them even more expensive than just front end cost.