A sail is any type of surface intended to move a vessel, vehicle or rotor by being placed in the wind. It is in essence a wing used for propulsion. Sails can be made from various materials and strengthened using specific liquid mixtures.

Source materials[edit | edit source]

Any type of natural material also used to make textile can be used, knowingly: cotton, wool, kashmere, hemp, sisal, silk, kenaf, jute, ramie, linen, lyocell

Doping[edit | edit source]

Doping, or impregnating the textile with a liquid to make it tougher can also be done. Since most sails are intented for outdoor use, it is often a good idea to this this as it increases the life span of the sail.

Throughout history, a variety of dopes has been developed:

• a popular dope for windmill sails was: 10 liter water, combined with 0,75 liter linseed oil, 0,75 liter grease, and 1 kg of bolus.^[1][2]
• cellulose_acetate
• cellulose acetate butyrate
• nitrocellulose
• certain other lacquers, varnishes, resins...

Synthetic dopes are often better in toughening the textile, and thus require only treatment or only a few treatments a year. However, the products can be a lot harder to attain, cost more and are environmentally unfriendly. Due to the latter issue, it is also advisable that the textile is burned when it becomes worn.

External links[edit | edit source]

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_bole
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_fabric_covering
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_dope

References[edit | edit source]