String Things

We just got this picture from Danilo at Rox, showing some of the latest sails with their Rox system cloth. Looking very Genesis-like (but hell, what load bearing fiber system doesn't? Genesis, after all started the modern-era trend), this is also something to take a look at at. We'd like to know more and will find out for you. In the meantime, if anyone can fill us in on these sails, please do.

11/12/03

More String

Here is a little more info on Rox Cloth; basically what they do is visually similar to Genesis and D4 with the major difference being that theirs is a cross-linked laminated cloth . That means warp and fill are woven. This may not seem too important at first glance but it makes Rox the only woven directional laminate in production. Another difference is the scrim used in the laminate. Once again it is woven into the load-bearing fibres and is custom built. That means that the scrim angle, density and fibre type can be modified throughout the sail. This creates sails with a dynamic stabilty that may be superior to normal "layed-scrim" type laminates. As far as panel heights are concerned, maximum panel height is 3.2 m (126 ") and there is no maximum width.

Taffeta laminates are becoming more popular for their resistance to chafing and U.V. They can put just about any high-tenacity fibre into Rox Cloth but a large part of their production is in Twaron and Torayca carbon. Depending on the sail and it's intended use polyester, Pen, PBO and Vectran can also be used. They've also been testing a new fibre which they call BTX which will fall somewhere between Twaron and carbon fibre. Interestingly, they don't sell to the public but only to sailmakers who send their design files and fibre layouts. The stuff is woven, laminated, plotted and the unfinished panels are sent to be assembled. Rox Sails Italia Srl is an independent company from Zaoli Sails. Zaoli was the first sailmaker to try their laminate and he's a bit like the guy who bought Remington - he was so impressed he bought a share in the company!

Thanks to Simon Alltree, R & D Rox Sails Italia

11/13/2003