Worth A Look

We are putting together a couple of different groups of sail comparisons - one is for so-called (by us at least) string sails, and another for what are now thought of as conventional sails, that being paneled construction. One interesting consideration is Cuben Fiber, a fabric that would seem to be thought of as outside of the realm of most people's consideration. Like any smart business man and company, RJ Downs, President of the Cuben Fiber Corporation, contacted us right away, asking to be thrown into the ring, and of course it makes sense to look at what Cuben Fiber is about. As a sidebar, I am constantly amazed how many people in a similar position as Downs, not only fail to show some enthusiasm and aggressiveness by getting our attion with their products or services, but actually don't even bother to respond when we send out queries. Incredible. Regardless, here is what Downs wanted to share about their material. Of course keep in mind that these are his opinions and his statistics, but are interesting enough to pay attention to. -Ed..

I read your piece on sail technology comparisons. Although we are not sailmakers per se we feel we have technology that that is relevant and that merits consideration. We would like to throw our hat into the ring and be part of the shoot out. Contrary to popular misconception Cuben Fiber technology is neither overly expensive nor is it restricted to paneled sails. It has been proven to combine both very high performance and exceptional durability. For example Mega Catamarans such as Playstation, Team Adventure and Geronimo have had Cuben Fiber sails that have went around the world and came back in near new condition despite the fact that sails weighed at least 40% less than competing technologies.

Cuben sails have gone head to head with North 3DL and other competing technologies in the most competitive classes and have won. It is one of the best kept secrets in the industry that in the last America's Cup the last race won by the One World Syndicate over Prada was won using a Cuben Fiber Hybrid Carbon Fiber mainsail and that One World had ordered an extensive inventory of Cuben Fiber working sails to replace their 3DL inventory for use in the final races. The first Cuben fiber main sail they made was decisively faster than their existing fully developed 3DL Code 1 Main. North attempted to build a new 3DL specifically to beat the Cuben main and were unable to so we won the business. Unfortunately One World was eliminated early. Ironically, in a world where the competitive life of an IACC 3DL main is about 16 hours, the material used by One World for their mains was very similar to the material used on Zephyrus V's Quantum Main and Jibs and Z5 has used these sails for two seasons extensive off shore racing including the Pacific Challenge and last years Trans Atlantic race. After two seasons of hard campaigning the Z5 sails are still in excellent condition and exhibit negligible shrinkage or shape change. Zarrafa, another large off shore racer with a Quantum inventory, used the same style of carbon hybrid main for the Trans Atlantic race. In extremely heavy weather and seas they set a near record pace and really gave the sails a work out in the process. When they took the main sail down at the end of the race, the name brand off shore racing jocks on board were left shaking their heads. They expected the main to be completely trashed but it was still in excellent condition. Bull, a Sydney 40, won the Trans Pac overall with a full Cuben Fiber inventory a few seasons ago. We have had similar winning race results world wide in the Farr 40, the Swan Worlds and other very competitive classes.

On the other end of the sailing spectrum we have testimonials from handicapped sailors, elderly sailors as well husband and wife sailing crews who appreciate the very light weight and easy handling of their Cuben cruising sails. It is very gratifying to hear an elderly or handicapped individual relate how sails made from our materials have allowed them to sail independently and enjoyably for the first time in years or in the case of handicapped individuals for the first time ever. I never thought that sail cloth could be part of a life changing experience but several of our customers have claimed it is just that to them. Husbands like the fact that their wives can easily set the jib or the spinnaker and that they can more easily and safely take them down or change them in bad conditions. On Dennis Conner's Toshiba Whitbread 60, which used a largely Cuben Fiber inventory, several members of the crew offered to walk off the boat if the larger head sails were not made using Cuben Fiber. They were so much lighter and easier to handle than any thing else available the crew thought it would be unsafe to use anything else in the Southern Ocean.

Cuben Fiber offers sailmakers the technology to build sails that compete and win at the highest levels of racing. We also offer the talented smaller independent sailmaker a way to compete with the bigger players and win without having to spend a fortune developing technology or having to maintain a high overhead operation. Using Cuben Fiber a young, talented and ambitious sailmaker with access to a fabric cutter, an Ultra Bond gun, sewing machine and a few thousand square feet of loft space can take on North Sails and win. This is not just hyperbole - over the years we have had numerous customers do just that and in the process make the transition from a relatively small Mom and Pop shop to a high end operation working on high profile world class programs using Cuben Fiber.

You don't hear about this much in the states because 80% of our materials are shipped overseas to Europe, the Southern Hemisphere or Asia and much of our production traditionally has gone into racing programs where we are bound by strict confidentiality agreements with the Syndicates. It's really only been in the last year or so that we have had a significant presence in general USA market.From a cost standpoint small independent sail makers can be price competitive and usually under bid the bigger players on projects using Cuben Fiber despite Cuben's reputation for being outrageously expensive unobtainium because of their lower overhead. In reality, Cuben Fibers reputation for high cost is undeserved and is a misconception we have not done enough to dispel. Current Cuben Fiber prices are generally no more than 20% higher than competing materials and some of our newer carbon hybrid styles are actually at cost parity or even lower in cost than the fabric from other manufactures.

Unfortunately my partner and myself are technical specialists not marketers so we probably have not done a great job of getting the word out that Cuben Fiber is now a mainstream technology that is readily available to all at a reasonable price. We also have non-paneled sail technology options that we have offered for many years. We feel that our technology merits consideration and we are keen to be included in your evaluation. If you wish to discuss this or get more information on our technology feel free to give me a call.

Regards,
RJ Downs
President, Cuben Fiber Corp