Technology
North Sails Performance… making history by looking ahead
North Sails Performance clothing delivers ‘3DL technology for humans’ (and some of the world’s fastest humans at that)
‘Our first year has been an outstanding one for us,’ says North Sails Performance director, Nigel Musto. ‘We’ve been delighted that several of the world’s top sailors, on board some of the most exciting boats – like the Gitana Team – have chosen to wear our kit. In particular the performance of 4DL, our “4-layer durable laminate” reinforcement, was way beyond even our own expectations and the feedback has been superb.’ In the competitive world of offshore clothing it would be easy to dismiss such enthusiasm as being the talk of the trade. But Nigel Musto’s hands-on approach and considerable racing and clothing experience is well known. When he talks of a breakthrough it’s worth taking note. But to understand why the new approach is so effective it’s important to understand a few background matters.
‘When we started the North Sails Performance project in 2018 we set out to solve several issues that the marine clothing industry has never been able to resolve. One was the problem of leaking knees and seats. Historically, when creating a robust garment that’s resistant to being torn or damaged by the anti-slip surface
68 SEAHORSE
on decks, and other snagging points around the boat, it’s been common to put a Cordura patch over the top of the Gore-Tex fabric and then sew that patch into the side seams, but there are several problems with that.’ ‘The Cordura patch is heavy and it holds a lot of water when it’s wet, which makes it even heavier. It also creates a pocket between the patch and the Gore-Tex fabric and when that pocket fills with water it never dries out. Then, when you warm the water in that pocket you get reverse breathability which is why your knees and seat always feel damp.’ ‘Another problem is that when you sew the Cordura into the side seams you create a very thick seam. The result is that when you waterproof tape this seam there’s a significant risk of failure because you’re asking a lot of the pressure rollers on the PTFE tape machine when they are a forced to go over this very thick seam. If the membrane in the tape cracks, you’ll have a leakage.’ ‘With all this in mind we believed that the only sensible solution was to use a completely non-absorbent fabric as the patch and to apply it in a way that eliminates the pocket and the thick side seams. ‘The logical route was to try and
Above: the North Sails Performance team has
spent the last four years developing and testing a new concept in reinforce- ment – 4DL – that solves the perennial problem with conventional foul weather gear of leak- ing seat and knees. It’s said to be 30 per cent lighter than the norm when dry, with even more signifi- cant weight savings in wet
conditions
laminate something to the outside because with a laminated patch, you don’t need to go to the side seams. A laminated patch also means that there are no pockets and using a material that is totally non-absorbent means there is no weight gain when the garment gets wet. With all this in mind we went on the search for the ideal fabric and a solution as to how to laminate it to the outside.’ Nigel is tight lipped about the material itself, but when it came to the lamination, the expertise is close to home and not available to the opposition. ‘As many will appreciate from the North Technology Group’s pioneering work with 3DL and laminated sails, we have a considerable number of experts in this field which was very useful in both finding the right material and then having the knowledge to create the perfect laminate.’
Two years of rigorous testing then followed resulting in some impressive feedback including a serious thumbs up from Imoca 60 sailor Kévin Escoffier.
‘I tested the same North Sails smock and trousers over 40,000 miles of hard sailing including the Transat Jacque Vabre, Le Defi Azimut, Vendée Atlantique – and the
GITANA SA/BENOÎT STICHELBAUT
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