David Norris Posted January 5, 2024 Posted January 5, 2024 Hi Do the finger patches on DF95 sails serve a purpose other than for boat identification or for aesthetics? Conversely, do they have an adverse effect on the way the sail cambers? Does anyone sail without finger patches on theirs? Regards David
Mike Ure Posted February 7, 2024 Posted February 7, 2024 Patches (reinforcements) are used to spread the point loads at the corners of a sail out on to the body of a sail. Finger patches are one way of doing this. The head of a sail is flat. Tack and clew have minute amounts of camber. On yacht sails finger patches were used in hand sewn cotton sails. Tapering reinforcements and fan patches were used on polyester sails . Sails are now made up of continuous fibres that follow catenary lines and therefore concentrate in the corners providing reinforcement that spreads evenly throughout the sail. The lightest reinforcement that takes the load with no detection in the sail is the best. Fashion is very popular in sailmaking as well as clothing. Mike
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