Cuts & construction
Cross-cut
Panels running side to side, square to the leech — the classic, economical construction.
DutchKruissnitour Dutch loft →
SpanishCorte cruzadoour Spanish loft →
In a cross-cut sail the panels run horizontally, at right angles to the leech. It is the oldest and simplest layout, and there is nothing second-rate about it: it puts the cloth's strongest direction — the fill yarns, running across the roll — along the leech, which is where the load concentrates on a woven sail.
It is also efficient to build. Panels nest economically on the roll, seams are straight, and shape is added through broadseam. Less waste, fewer hours, lower price.
Its limit is that loads on a real sail run corner to corner, not side to side, so a cross-cut sail asks the cloth to work slightly off its best axis. For most cruising boats in woven polyester, that trade is completely sensible. For a big or highly-loaded sail, see radial cut.