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Article selected from our quarterly magazine dedicated to the largest
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NORTH SAILS AND PERINI NAVI
North Sails started producing sails for Perini Navi in 1990 in
order to fit out the 40-metre "Marisa", now known by the name
"Principessa Vai Via". On that occasion, to meet the client's
requests, the company introduced a new fabric called Spectra,
today held to be one of the best solutions for sails to be used on
super-yachts. Since it started the production of Spectra, North
Sails has managed to develop and improve it, resulting in the
current version, combined with carbon fibres, to satisfy the needs
of super-yachts over 50 metres in length. For the sails to be used
on board its boats, Perini Navi requires a series of specific
characteristics, such as high resistance levels and limited
weight. The sails must also be resistant to the stress imposed by
the automatic hoisting and lowering systems on board. The material
used to make the sails must retain as much as possible its
original shape, in other words it must not be subject to
deformation as it is fundamental that the surfaces to the wind
keep their profile in order to constantly express their maximum power.
For further information about North Sails and its products, please visit the website www.northsails.com with links to the North Sails offices all over the world. In Italy you can contact North Sails Italia; via Pontevecchio 42; 16042 Carasco (Ge); tel. +39 0185 35261; fax +39 0185 350481; e-mail: info@it.northsails.com. |
As far as duration is concerned, Perini Navi has imposed a
standard calling for a minimum of four years with heavy use or
25,000 sailing miles. On Perini Navi pleasure boats everything
must be perfect, from technical to aesthetic details. To meet the
specific requests made by the boatyard, North Sails has had to
focus on the quality of the material used; this was the reason
behind their choosing Spectra and Spectra Carbon fabrics. To date
North Sails has used over 40,000 square metres of fabric for the
Italian boatyard, without ever encountering a problem caused by
the material or by the production process. This fact is definitely
added value for owners and masters alike, who can count on the
work carried out by a company able to develop avant-garde
technological fabrics and a processing system on a par with these
extreme requirements. In order to guarantee the sails' resistance
to wear and tear, North Sails coats them on both sides with a film
called "Tedlar", capable of blocking UV rays 100%, considerably
lengthening the fabric's life. To give an example, the super-yacht
built by Perini Navi called "Independence", which was the first
boat to adopt sails treated with "Tedlar", sailed for over 50,000
miles and for six seasons with no damage to the canvas. The
construction philosophy of Perini Navi is subject to a constant
evolution, expressed by the boatyard's desire to ensure high
levels of performance on its boats. It is no coincidence that the
displacement of yachts built by the Italian boatyard has reduced
over time, their sail area is more powerful and is entrusted to
carbon fibre masts and booms. These changes have brought about
parallel adjustment in the production of sails, such as for
example, the introduction of full batten spankers on these boats,
using carbon battens with the necessary qualities for profile and
mechanical resistance.
Perini Navi also used 3DL sails made by North Sails at their
factory in Minden, in Nevada (USA), but developed at North Sails
Italia. Advanced technology is used in the design of these sails,
such as computer simulation of the sail load, permitting
visualisation and optimisation of the sail surface response to all
the vibrations it will be subject to. This technology enables a
three dimensional vision of the sail, allowing optimisation of its
profile and consequent wind response, also taking into
consideration the expected strain of mast and boom. Furthermore,
three dimension moulds are used in the production of 3DL sails,
with layout of the fibres based on the load lines, rendering them
non-deformable whatever the conditions. "Perseus", a sports yacht
built by Perini Navi with aluminium mast and carbon boom, reached
Auckland during the last edition of the America's Cup and then
took part in the Millennium Cup attaining good results, which were
also due to the performance of its sails aloft by North Sails.
One of the most innovative projects by Perini Navi is "Squall",
designed by architect Ed Dubois, 52 metres long and equipped with
a 57-metre mast. The contained weights on this yacht play a
decisive role. For the sails to be used on "Squall", North Sails
used Norlam Gatorback Carbon Spectra fabric, capable of ensuring
the resistance necessary where they are subject to greater load
and of ensuring a constantly optimum profile; all this in
compliance with the weight limits and duration imposed by the
boatyard. North Sails 3DL sails can also be found on board all the
Wally boats, such as, for example, "Tiketitan", a Wally 88
presented over two years ago that still today can be admired for
her numerous innovative style and functional solutions, and which
never fails to achieve good results in the most important
regattas. North Sails obviously dedicate particular attention to
the super-yacht sector; for this reason it created seven years ago
the North Sails Super-yacht Group, a work group that brings
together new ideas for offering the best answers to the needs of
large boats. The group is made up of naval, industrial and
engineering architects, expert in technological fabrics,
scientists and fluid mechanics specialists, designers and
engineers involved in the day to day development and production of
the best sails for large yachts. The group can be reached at
www.northsuperyacht.com, a website packed with information about
the world of sailing super-yachts.
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