This section will answer many of your technical questions. We can help you understand our design program, stress analysis program, laser plotter, Instron, and Sail Shooter. John Fries, Mystic's lead sail designer, will update the site regularly regarding new technology, the latest fabrics, rig tuning, and the finer points of tweaking any sail. If you would like further details on design, you may contact John directly at john@halseylidgardmystic.com or (860) 536-4235

CLOTH TESTING
Selecting a fabric for your sail is a science at Halsey Lidgard Sailmakers. Not only do we have concrete data for every fabric currently in production, we test every lot that rolls in the door before we use it for your sail. The tests analyze the many loading characteristics of stress and strain as our Instron slowly stretches the fabric.

We typically cut three test strips out of a square yard of fabric. These strips are two inches wide and one strip is cut in the warp direction (0°), the second in the fill (90°), and the third in the bias (45°). The Instron has a load cell, which measures several different characteristics of the cloth. We look at the 1% numbers, the crimp, modulus, and yield of each of these strips. These results are indicative of how the cloth will react under the various loads that any given sail will inflict upon it.

The 1% number tells us how much load is necessary to pull the specific fabric 1% of its given length. The crimp tells us the amount the cloth moves when its threads are simply straightening out without actual stretching. The modulus represents elasticity. When comparing two cloth samples, a higher modulus indicates that it will take a greater force to stretch the sail. Finally, the yield tells us the point at which a cloth is at its limits before becoming distorted.

Our in-house software simultaneously monitors all of these characteristics at 2000 points per second as the cloth is pulled. These results supply our designers with the most reliable data in the industry. With these results, our designers can input the most accurate numbers into our Relax 2™ program. This program analyzes the loads and stress points on the physical sail itself. We can minimize the detrimental loads by orienting our panels in a way to maximize the efficiency of any given fabric.

These tests and data benefit you directly. All the homework makes your sail the most efficient, durable, and reliable sail on the market today. That is why Halsey Lidgard sails have an impeccable track record for durability. If you are looking for a sail that won't be "shot" after two regattas, or if you are sailing across the ocean and want your sail to take the punishment it should, give us a call. We will get you where you want to go, efficiently.

Panel orientation is the result of exhaustive modeling on Relax, the only highly- developed stress analysis program specially created to provide the answers needed by the modern sail making industry. Stress analysis is a major step forward in CAD sail making from mould programs. Using state-of-the-art software like Sail Maker™, SailShooter™ and Relax, coupled with high technology testing equipment like the Instron cloth testing machine, Halsey Lidgard designers are able to develop the highest performance sails. The latest generation of high tech plotter/cutters allow designers to reproduce designs as often as needed. After state-of- the-art engineering and extensive testing, fabrics are precisely cut on high-precision computer-driven vacuum-bed plot cutters.

INSTRON™
Our in-house software for testing fabrics is the most sophisticated in the industry. The cloth manufacturers rely on our patented software for the most detailed information about their own products. While there is not an argument that carbon and Kevlar have incredible strength-to-weight ratios, the Instron can tell us about a fabric's efficiency as well as the success of its lamination process by testing the crimp, modulus, and yield on its warp, fill, and bias.

Knowing these characteristics allows us to make the most sophisticated decision in choosing a fabric that is both light in its physical weight, yet strong enough to hold the designed shape over time.

RELAX 2™
Once a particular fabric is selected, the information is downloaded from Instron directly into the Relax 2™ stress analysis program. Relax 2™ conveys the load paths in each sail and highlights the areas of maximum stress. Our job is to reduce these numbers by coupling the most efficient fabrics with a panel layout which is oriented to address these loads. We can virtually fly a sail in various conditions within its design parameters to understand the stresses as the sail goes up and down its range. Relax 2™ also enables us to test sail designs before we actually build the sail. By inputting an accurate mast model with a mainsail and genoa, Relax 2™ can read the shapes, camber, twist, entry and exit angles of both the main and genoa and analyze the air flow between the sails to its greatest efficiency. This information allows our designer to try new ideas and look at several generations of sails before selecting the best combinations.

SAILMAKER™
Sail Maker™, our in-house CAD program, allows our designer to put vertical shape into every seam. Spreading the shape out over all vertical seams enables our designer to control the most detailed aspects of a sail's shape and function. We are able to hone in on camber, cords, twist, entry and exit angles while maintaining the smoothest possible vertical profile. We send these exact panels to the laser plotter which draws and cuts each panel to within .05 millimeters of accuracy. This accuracy translates the physical sail into an exact replica of what we have designed.

SAILSHOOTER™
Once your sail leaves the loft, we can complete our database by taking digital photos of the sail while it is flying on your boat. SailShooter™ allows us to analyze the sail's shape digitally under various conditions within the sail's designed range. If a sail needs to be tweaked or a minor adjustment is needed for a new sail, there is a great amount of concrete data that gives us the benchmark from which to make improvements.