PERFORMANCE IS A QUESTION OF TECHNOLOGY

The world's major sail manufacturers have not changed their basic processes in the last 15 years. Laminate sails are still built using yarns which are impregnated with resin and a scrim on both sides which is then coated in resin to hold the membrane together. It is this resin that breaks down over time as the sail is hoisted, tacked and packed away after racing or cruising. This causes delamination, the two sides of the membrane come apart and the sail loses structural strength as there is nothing to hold the yarns in place. Resin also adds weight to the sail. Often, when sails are new, the impact of added weight can be mitigated by the benefit of added strength. But, as the resin breaks down, strength is reduced while weight remains unchanged. Millenium technology (international patents pending) enables a production of sails without the use of resin, leading to a number of advantages. When yarns are impregnated with resin, the resin sets and the yarns become very hard, with varying levels of tension occurring across the yarn. As the sail moves and the yarns are bent and twisted, they start to break down and the overall strength of the sail is reduced. If resin is removed from the process, the carbon remains soft. Sail movements do not lead to differences in tension across the yarn as the individual fibres that make up the yarn are able to move independently. Removal of superfluous yarns as well as the significant mass of resin present in a laminate sail results in a reduction in overall weight of at least 15-30%. Millenium skins are loaded into a vacuum bag which is pressurized to -0.95 bar - equal to no less than 9 tons per square metre of pressure across the entire sail Ð before being loaded into a computer controlled oven. When pressure and heat are applied to the sail, the two layers of polymer react and fuse together - forming a new layer of material in an irreversible process. This seals the two layers of Mylar¨ together, enveloping the carbon threads. It is important to note that the polymer fuses together and is not merely 'stuck' together, resulting in a film that is soft and flexible. Delamination is simply not an issue there is no resin between the skins to break down over time. Millenium is a major advance from 'mould production' sail technology. Mould production processes have been revealed to have many shortcomings arising from low temperature and a non-uniform heating process acting on only one side of the sail, as well as limiting the size and shape of 'one piece' sails due to the size and design of available moulds.