Vektor2™ represents the development of more than twenty years of experience in the construction of sails from a grid of continuous yarn on an adhesive film. This technology shares components and techniques used in the manufacturing of the M3™ sails and this permits the production of sails with an optimum cost / performance relationship for both cruising and racing sails.

Whereas in M3™ the structural grid, under pressure and temperature, is fused to the layers of Mylar that form the laminates, in Vektor2™ the grid is applied with reinforced fibre tape at high pressure to the film that constitutes the sail, in turn reinforced with the secondary grid at high pressure. Unlike how it is done for similar products in the market the reinforced tape of Vektor2 is not made up of more yarns in line but of a single yarn.

This permits the complete utilization of the structural capacity of the fibres used in the grid with wide freedom of lay-out and complete control of the shape-holding in all the areas of the sail on the strength of the wide microdistribution and independence of each structural element. General parameters of the sail being equal (particularly the weight) a better structure is achieved for the efficient distribution of the loads.

The very latest innovation introduced exclusively by OneSails is the use of Dyneema as the fibre for the structural grid, that guarantees characteristics distinctly superior to the aramid fibres both in terms of durability and of performance. With greater stretch resistance and strength, together with a significantly reduced weight. As well as Dyneema, Vektor2™ sails are available with the structural grid in Carbon when maximum performance is required and also in Fiberglass and Pentex. These last products represent an optimum price / performance relationship and allows access to continuous yarn technology (a one piece sail) at competitive prices and conditions with respect to sails constructed with traditional panel technology.

The major manufacturers have not changed their basic process in the last 20 years. Laminate sails are still built using yarns which are impregnated with resin and a scrim on both sides which is coated in resin to hold the membrane together. It is this resin that breaks down over time as the sail is hoisted, tacked and folded after racing or cruising. This causes delamination, the two sides of the membrane come apart and the sail loses structural strength as there is nothing to support the yarns in place. The resin also adds weight to the sail, initially this weight can be offset by the extra strength but as the resin breaks down the weight remains for less strength.

The M3™ technology doesn’t need resin in the production of the sails and this has a number of advantages. When the yarns are impregnated with the resin and it sets, the yarns will become very hard in tension. As the sail moves and the yarns are bent and twisted, they will start to breakdown and the overall strength of the structure will be reduced. If the resin is removed, the yarns will remain soft, this means as the sail moves there is no difference in tension across the strand as the individual fibers that make up the strand can move independently. Removal of the extra yarns plus the significant mass of the resin in a laminate sail, results in a reduction in overall weight of at least 15-30%.

The M3™ skins are loaded into a vacuum bag which is pressurized to -0.95 bar, this equates to no less than 9 tons per square meter across the entire sail. The entire skin and bag is then loaded into a computer controlled oven. When the pressure and heat are applied to the sail the two layers of polymer react and fuse together to form a new layer of material in an irreversible process. This seals the two layers of Mylar together and encapsulates the structural threads. It is important to note that the polymer ‘fuses’ together and is not merely ‘stuck’ together, the resulting film is soft and flexible, delamination is not an issue anymore as there is no resin between the skins to break down over time. M3™ is a major advance from ‘mould production’ sail technology, which has demonstrated many limitations arising from: low temperature and a non uniform heating process acting on only one side of the sail (the main cause of delamination) and being physically limited in both size and shape of the ‘one piece’ sails because of the size and design of the mould.