Dacron Sailcloth - Woven Polyester 

Dacron sailcoth is a woven polyester. In the past the majority of woven polyester sailcloth was made with yarns from well known US company Dupont. The name of the yarns used was Dacron, and later an improved version was Dacron 52. Dupont Dacron yarns were so widely used in sailcloth that the name stuck and all woven polyester sailcloth is now generally referred to as "Dacron".  15 years ago Dupont stopped production of dacron yarns so sailcloth companies were forced to search for new yarn suppliers. In the past when most companies used Dupont Dacron, the quality of woven polyester was more consistent. Today it is more opaque with  quality and price varying more than ever before, and a lot of new dacron now produced in Asia.  Without extensive testing it is very hard to tell the good from the bad. 

From our own in house testing we recommend Dimension Polyant and Fibercon Dacron's as currently the most suitable woven polyester sailcloth for blue water long distance cruising.