Please select your home edition
Edition
Stoneways Marine 2021 - LEADERBOARD
Product Feature
Crewsaver Offshore Flare Package
Crewsaver Offshore Flare Package

We talk to Philip Bull about the Rain & Sun's undercover material: Duralite

by Mark Jardine 12 May 2017 13:30 BST 12 May 2017
OK undercover in Duralite © Philip Bull

We recently spoke to Philip Bull of Rain & Sun who make dinghy and small keelboat covers in trailing, flat, overboom and undercover configurations, often innovating with different materials and deep skirts on classes such as the Enterprise, RS400, GP14 and 2000. Most recently they have brought out a new range of undercovers using a material called Duralite.

Mark Jardine: Why does Duralite offer better properties for a dinghy undercover?

Philip Bull: Duralite is UV stable, it doesn't shrink, and it's about three times stronger than the conventional nylon undercovers that people are used to.

Mark: Does this lead to a longer lifespan for their undercover or does it just offer more protection?

Philip: More protection and also a longer lifespan. They're particularly useful to those people who are trailing their boat often and wear undercovers out regularly, or find they are getting old, are shrinking and are an effort to fit.

Mark: This has been a problem with undercovers and I've noticed that after a couple of years use, to get an undercover onto a boat is often a struggle to get it over the edges. Does Duralite just have better stretch characteristics, or does it just not stretch at all?

Philip: It's a completely stable material. If it's made to the right shape in the first place it remains the right shape and will continue to fit a boat in the same way.

Mark: Can you make Duralite undercovers for all the classes you make conventional nylon undercovers for?

Philip: Yes, but we cut them slightly differently. Because the cloth is so stable, they have to fit the boat very well. The old stretchy covers could be pulled around to make up for a deficiency in the cut. They have to be properly tailored and we've sharpened up our undercover patterns for this material.

Mark: One of the problems I've always found towing a boat to an event is: if it's been raining the undercover is soaked by the time you get to the venue. You then need to store this sodden mass during the event, ready for towing back home. How does the Duralite cover react on a rainy day?

Philip: It doesn't absorb water at all. A nylon cover will grow when it's wet and shrink when it dries, whereas Duralite stays the same size.

Mark: This sounds like a real innovation in cover technology that should make towing and getting the cover on and off at event a far easier experience.

Philip: We're looking forward to making many covers in this material!

Find out more at www.rainandsun.co.uk

Related Articles

America's Cup Power Plays
And Growing Sailing Through Learning There's always so much speculation and intrigue in-between each edition of the America's Cup. Everyone wants to know what is happening behind closed doors, inside the teams, and when the Challengers meet with the Defender. Posted today at 5:00 pm
Hyde Sails Flying Fifteen Video Tuning Guide
Ben McGrane explains how to get the most out of your B1 mainsail with B1 or 2H jibs Hyde Sails release new detailed video guide for tuning the Flying 15 for use with the B1 mainsail with B1 or 2H jibs. Posted on 22 May
The appeal of offshore
Is there still appeal? Have we made it too onerous? Why would someone take it up now? I had been pondering. Yes. Marquee events have no issue attracting entrants. Middle Sea, Transpac, Cape to Rio, Fastnet, and Hobart all spring to mind instantly, but what of the ‘lesser' races? Lots of boats in pens (slips) a lot of the time Posted on 18 May
X 195 'Turtle' Launch
The first new X One Design in 18 years! I attended a rare event in the X One Design class: the launch of a new boat. It has been 18 years since the last new X was launched, and X195 has been a project that long in the making. Posted on 17 May
Banger Racing, Back Racing and No Racing
Racing on the cheap, a return to racing for young Aussies, and ILCA struggles We start with racing on the cheap at the Colander Cup, then focus on a return to racing for the Aussies at the Youth Worlds, moving on to a complete lack of racing at the ILCA Worlds, and then looking at how SailGP should be back out on the water. Posted on 14 May
Exposure Marine Fastnet Race Kit Video Review
A set of 3 torches specifically designed for offshore racing crews It's a huge year for offshore sailing, and arguably the biggest event of the summer is the Rolex Fastnet Race. Within an hour of entries opening the Royal Ocean Racing Club had received a record 435 yacht registrations. Posted on 14 May
How Seldén Carbon Masts are made
I took a look around the Seldén Mast factory with Richard Thoroughgood to find out more I took a look around the Seldén Mast factory with Richard Thoroughgood from Seldén to find out a bit more about how the carbon tow reels become the masts that we use when out sailing. Posted on 12 May
For the love of slightly larger, even faster boats
Bring it on. No chicken chutes allowed. Celestial, the newest Cape 31 in Oz is up and racing Thank you. You have let For the love of small, fast boats run before the breeze like a superlight planning hull under way too big a kite, with immense sheep in the paddock, and the Sailing Master grasping the flare gun in his pocket... No chicken chutes. Posted on 4 May
The Allure of Timber
The longevity, and sheer beauty, of boats made of wood In these days of exotic materials, high modulus carbon and ultra lightweight construction, it's possible to overlook the longevity, and sheer beauty, of boats made of wood. Posted on 29 Apr
A look inside the Spirit Yachts yard
A close look at what makes their yachts unique Traditional skills in boatbuilding could be regarded as a lost art from a bygone era. In the world of fibreglass and carbon, the joinery and laminating techniques of wood ribs and cedar strips are a thing of the past. Posted on 28 Apr