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and superyacht sails . We are proud of the fact that North Sails essentially covers the entire sail buying market . But with that said , when someone says North Sails , my guess is that most sailors immediately think science and speed ; America ’ s Cup , around-the-world record breakers . Incredible innovation that is constantly evolving .”

The business pioneered 3D sailmaking , a manufacturing process that ’ s resulted in two of the business ’ key developments , its 3DL and 3Di sails . They have stood as such revolutionary innovations within the industry that it wasn ’ t until the latter came along that the former had some real competition .

“ We designed 3DL laminated string sails , made up of two plastic films that sandwiched together the structural fibers that were built into the catenary of the sails ,” Ken elaborates . “ This structure could be made of carbon fiber , Kevlar , or polyester bundles within a

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Mylar film . We were the first to utilize a threedimensional mold to produce such an item and given that these were developed in the early 1990s , North Sails truly set the tone for the future of sail technology .

“ However , 3DL ’ s use of Mylar film had its limitations , as it was prone to delamination . The lighter you made the sail , the weaker it became , and the more contact time it had with moisture or UV , the higher the chance of its components de-gluing . So , in the early 2000s , we worked with a new innovative group from Switzerland and developed 3Di

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