FIBRES GUIDE
With the development of polyester fibre in the 1950s, the sailcloth industry started down the road of synthetic fibre use and has not turned back. From polyester (Dacron®), the next step was to a family of nylon fibers known as the aramids, including Kevlar®, Twaron® and Technora®. In recent years, the aramids have been challenged by a family of polyethylene fibers including Spectra®, Certran® and Dyneema®, and by the liquid crystal polymer fibres Vectran® and PBO. Most recently, Carbon Fibre, in a family of its own, has emerged as the newest and hottest fibre in the industry.
For a list of terms, please refer to the Fabric Glossary and for a description of how these materials are combined to make sailcloth, please refer to the Fabric Guide.
