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<TD style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #3399ff" vAlign=top align=left colSpan=3><STRONG><A class="" href="http://www.hoodaustralia.com.au/index.cfm?paraID=15" target=_parent>Vektron®</A> Dacron® Nylon</STRONG></TD>
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<TD style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt" vAlign=center align=left colSpan=3 height=40>A short history</TD>
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<P><STRONG></STRONG></P>Hood was the first to use polyester yarn (Dacron®) sailcloth back in 1950 and today Dacron® is still used to produce 90 percent of all sails.
<P>The history of Hood coincides with the history of modern sailcloths.<BR>Hood was the first to realise that to produce high quality sails meant starting from a high quality textile…. </P>
<P>Hood launched the transformation of polyester yarn (Dacron®) into a cloth woven for making sails in the early '50s and this marked the beginning of Hood Textiles. <BR><BR></P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top align=middle width="30%"><IMG height=153 alt='Ted Hood and "The Professor"' src="http://www.hoodaustralia.com.au/editimages/Untitled-2.gif" width=200 border=0></TD></TR>
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<P>Hood continued to innovate in the field of materials with the introduction of Kevlar sailcloth in 1972, Mylar laminates in 1977, as well as being the first to use Spectra in 1983.<BR><BR>Many sailors know the story of how Ted Hood, a young and ambitious yachtsman, started out by repairing and then improving sails for the yachtsmen of Marblehead. </P>
<P>While doing this he realised that many sails didn't retain their shape simply because the textiles available on the market were not strong and stable enough to maintain their intended form.</P>
<P>Ted Hood's father, Stedman Hood, affectionately known as "the Professor", was a chemist who worked on polyester at Monsanto Chemical. <BR><BR>Both of them thought single-strand polyester was strong enough to make a yarn that could then be woven more tightly than cotton. </P>
<P>This tight-weaving technique went on to become the secret of Hood Textiles' success.</P>
<P>So Hood purchased looms to weave his own cloth, producing the first sailcloth made from Dacron®. <BR>This material represented a significant improvement over materials existing at the time.</P>
<P>The most important difference between Hood sails and those of other sailmakers is the sailcloth. </P>
<P>Hood sailcloth is more tightly woven. without resin, which only adds weight and… temporary stability, but not additional stretch resistance. <BR></P></TD></TR>
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