DESING PANELS
Once all the analytical work is completed and the 3-D mold of the sail is decided upon and the exact material is selected, the sail can now be broken down into small 2-D pieces and cut out. This is accomplished mathematically with geodesics. A geodesic is the shortest distance between two points on a curve surface. Similar to a great circle route when crossing and ocean, the same principals apply to the sail surface. The term mold is used in several sail companies. Currently all sails, if designed utilizing a 3-D design program, are mold shapes. No sail material is molded. All sails today are all constructed with flat plates that are shaped to simulate the 3-D shape. The image to the left illustrates one such panel, the yellow line shows a magnification of the curve used on a panel in a sail.
