Anyone know of a place to buy Spinnaker fabric by the yard? Looking for the kind that's ready to be made into a tarp, i.e. Jay Ham's 'Five Yards To SuperUltraLight' article. I've checked all the places I know of but no dice. Any leads would be sweet. Thanks

Edited by powell1nj on 12/02/2010 17:17:39 MST.

Saw some on thru-hiker.com while looking for something else yesterday.

Actually, thru-hiker has been out-of-stock for over a year.
I wish I could find some. I have been making needlessly heavy tarps this year :(

Yeah, it's very strange. Must be a major shortage. I'm assuming this is why Gossamer Gear doesn't have any of its gear made with spinnaker. Maybe some will turn up...

http://www.seattlefabrics.com/marine.html#Spinnaker Cloth
jdm
Thanks for the update, Michael!

Edited by jamesdmarco on 12/07/2010 04:19:57 MST.

The Seattle Fabric stuff isn't waterproof.
"Spinnaker" is a very nebulous term for fabrics.
You really have to know what you are getting.

Though I am not a huge spinnaker fan, I finally found a spinnaker that I like. It's a nylon based spinnaker that has a silicone coating for added strength, tear resistance, water absorption and durability. Problem is that it weighs 1.1oz which is only .4oz lighter then most silnylons. I don't think the weight reduction is worth the extra price, do you?

I have 5 yards of Spinntex from the thru-hiker site, and it's been sitting around not being made into anything. If anyone is interested in it, I might be willing to let it go.

Message me here, and I'll get back to you.

Peter

Are we having another spinnaker crisis like two years ago? Is that why Gossamer Gear shelters are out of stock?

Sailrite also sells spinnaker fabric (and a variety of other marine fabrics and hardware).

I understand that the kind of spinnaker fabric used for tents and tarps is silicone-impregnated and therefore different from what is used in sails.

I bought several yards of Spinnaker Fabric from Seattle Fabrics

$12.50 per yard - polyester - DWR (not silicone) coating

It was 62 inches wide, not 54 like they said

It weighed 1.1 ounces per square yard, not 0.75, but maybe that was a sail makers yard or whatever

I constructed a tarp on my patio for several days of rain and it stayed totally dry underneath.

They don't recommend it for tents because of the loudness. In 20 MPH wind it was fairly noisy. I think I'll turn a straight ridge into a catenary ridge and it will help.

http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/fabric.php
has a description of the Spinntex that Mountain Laurel Designs uses. I've been told that Gossamer Gear uses the same kind. It's also the same kind that Thru-Hiker carried. It turns out that the reason GG shelters are out of stock is slow production (sewing) rather than a fabric crisis (source: GG's Facebook page).

I have a Spinntex tent (Gossamer Gear Squall Classic, 2009 model) and have had no trouble with noise. It is rather rattly when you set it up, but once it's pitched tight (easy to do), it's no problem even in a high wind. I did find, though, that the claims that spinntex doesn't stretch as much as silnylon when wet are greatly exaggerated! I have not tested to find out whether the stretching is in the fabric or the guylines, but the tent certainly sags when it starts to rain! Since you can reach the line tensioners from inside your sleeping bag (just unzip the screen door a little and reach out), this is not, IMHO, any kind of a big deal.