Catamaran trampolines: net or technical canvas?

Spotlight on LOFTNETS’ exclusive Marine 3S® polyester mesh

More resistant and less elastic than a standard polyester, Marine 3S® polyester by LOFTNETS was named in reference to its technical characteristics: ‘Marine’ refers to its impressive resistance to wind, sun and salt, and 3S to the three Ss: Strong, Soft and Sunproof.

High-tenacity polyester offers a number of benefits, including a lower stretch factor than standard polyester, meaning it will stretch very little when used. Thanks to a special heat-setting process, it can tolerate high UV exposure and is resistant to seawater. LOFTNETS Marine 3S® mesh is available in 15 mm, 20 mm and 30 mm.

Dyneema® braided meshes

Our pre-stretched 50 mm Dyneema® nets are primarily designed for racing catamarans. Four times more resistant than a polyester net of the same diameter, the Dyneema® SK78 will also last two to three times longer.

This material also has a very low stretch factor (-1%) thanks to its polyurethane treatment and a heated pre-stretching process carried out during manufacture. This means your net will remain very taut without needing to be retensioned during its life. We recommend using a Dyneema® tension rope (Ø 4 mm or Ø 6 mm) to maintain these properties during lacing.

Note that this type of net is more expensive than a braided mesh net.

Technical canvas nets for multihulls

The main benefit of trampolines made from technical canvas is the level of comfort they offer. Barefoot, lying, or sitting, technical canvas trampolines are a great place to relax. This enables them to significantly increase the usable space on your boat (by almost 20%) for sailing primarily focused on leisure.

Although they use the same design principle, technical fabrics vary and have different characteristics suited to different uses for each model of multihull.

The material, meshing and openness of meshes are just some of the parameters that will vary from product to product. These fabrics are commonly referred to as mesh fabrics. Technical canvas catamaran nets are bordered by a reinforced edge often composed of plain canvas and a strap. This technique can be used for many different complex shapes and different fastener systems using eyelets, bolt ropes, rods, slats and straps. These canvases also make it possible to have no tension system on one or more sides of the net.

High-resistance mesh: TEC400

This material offers excellent wave permeability, meaning high-level breaking and damage resistance.

Our specifications are based on the ability of a canvas and its fastener system to support the weight of an entire crew. Another notable benefit is that this canvas can be bonded together in order to cover large surface areas.

High-resistance mesh: TEC600

The technical design and dimensions of the materials in this product’s composition make this an ultra-resistant fabric capable of supporting five tons per m². This fabric is ideal for trampolines on large ships from 35-footers to large multihulls. The open mesh helps reduce wave-resistance.

This canvas can also be bonded together in order to cover large surface areas.