Abstract: The luff area of a sail is stabilized by arranging the directional stability of the sail material to help support the load on the luff area of the sail between the head and the tack. Different sail constructions utilize triangular or trapezoidal panels along the luff area of the sail so that the line of maximum directional stability of the material in each panel is arranged to counteract the lines of stress appearing in the sail between the vicinity of the head and the vicinity of the tack when under load and properly tensioned. A similar technique can be used to stabilize the foot area of the sail.