So, when I was personally involved with Contender almost a decade ago when we first started down the cross-cut laminate road, we quickly realized the seams were pulling apart when using venture tapes. That's why way back then we went to 3M and had them get involved with a better glue for the seams. In order to fully achieve even a test sail, you must glue. You can't evaluate cloth when other things are moving too. We learned this almost a decade ago.

The Flex and Maxx cloths are now getting better (more fill yarns) and I think after the Olympics it will be a cloth to look into. Until then and we get longevity and stretching reports, radials are the way to go in multihull sails. Really, this is all old news on how to build a cross-cut laminate sail.

We all know it's much more cost effective to build a cross-cut sail, the construction process is sound, and the problem still remains the long-term stability of the cloth.

Furthering education,
Bob <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

"The election is over, the talking is done, Your party lost, my party won. So let us be friends, let arguments pass, I’ll hug my elephant, you kiss you’re a $$.”
Liberalism = A brain eating amoeba & a failed political ideology of the 20th century!