Sail body and method for making

A sail body comprising:

• first and second skin layers, each said skin layer comprising an outer film at an outer, film side and reinforcement elements at an inner, reinforcement side, said reinforcement sides abutting, said skin layers adhered to one another to form a molded sail body with a three-dimensional contour;
• said first and second skin layers each comprising skin components having edges, the skin components of the first skin layer joined to one another along their edges to create joined edges, the skin components of the second skin layer joined to one another along their edges to create joined edges;
• said outer film of at least one said skin layer being imperforate;
• said reinforcement elements of at least one said skin component comprising a first set of generally parallel reinforcement elements and a second set of generally parallel reinforcement elements oriented transversely to said first set of generally parallel reinforcement elements;
• said sail body having expected load lines, said first set of generally parallel reinforcement elements being generally aligned with said expected load lines;
• and
• the joined edges of said first skin layer being offset from the joined edges of said second skin layer.

A method for making a sail body comprising:

• creating a set of first skin components and a set of second skin components, said skin components each having edges;
• joining the set of first skin components along edges thereof to create a first skin layer with joined edges;
• joining the set of second skin components along edges thereof to create a second skin layer with joined edges, each said skin layer comprising an outer side, and inner side, an outer film at the outer side, and reinforcement elements;
• laminating said first and second skin layers with the inner sides abutting to create a sail body;
• and
• offsetting, prior to the laminating step, the joined edges of the first and second skin layers of the sail body so that reinforcement elements of the first and second skin layers cross over the joined edges of the second and first skin layers, respectively.

A method for making a sail body comprising:

• forming reinforced film by laminating a length of film, a web of reinforcement elements and an uncured adhesive;
• severing the reinforced film to create sets of first and second skin components, the skin components each having edges;
• joining the set of first skin components along their edges to create a first skin layer with joined edges;
• joining the set of second skin components along their edges to create a second skin layer with joined edges, each said skin layer comprising an outer side, an inner side, an outer film at the outer side, and reinforcement elements at the inner side;
• laminating said first and second skin layers in a three-dimensional mold using heat and pressure with the inner sides abutting to create a three-dimensional sail body;
• said joining steps being carried out by temporarily securing said sets of first and second skin components along their respective edges to permit shifting of the skin components during said laminating step;
• and
• offsetting, prior to the adhering step, the joined edges of the first and second skin layers of the sail body so that reinforcement elements of the first and second skin layers cross over the joined edges of the second and first skin layers, respectively.