Composite headsail construction represents state of the art in the manufacture of performance cruising sails. Generically they can be categorized as “oriented” constructions, in that in contrast to woven headsails, their construction techniques allow the material’s fibers to be more nearly aligned with sail loads. They provide lower stretch and greater strength, improving both initial performance and long term shape retention. They can be built for any size boat, but becoming increasingly effective as size, (and loadings), increase. Composite sails offer a short handed crew the advantage of light weight  and ease of handling. They are a particularly good choice for roller furling applications, where one sail is used in a wide range of conditions without the structural support of battens. They can utilize virtually any fiber or combination of fibers, but typically include polyester, Pentex, Vectran, Spectra, or Carbon.