I know that 3DL sails are not known for their ability to last a long time in the sun. The sail is all about shape and it certainly did a wonderful job of retaining that shape through a lot of sailing! We are very pleased that they lasted as long as they did, most people don't get the time out of them that we did. Three Bermuda races, 8 Maine cruses, tons of local sailing add up to about 2000 miles in a typical year on our boat (there was one year we had a litter of puppies to tend to so that year the boat mostly sat). None the less the main is always up. I think we use the boat pretty hard.
The sail was just beginning to delaminate and the worst of the uv damage was in the areas of the sail that flaked on top. Even so, the sail spent so much time up and in the sun that even the sail numbers and draft stripes where evenly faded to a very light blue.

As for Sunbrella lasting in the sun, our cover is beginning to look a little beat up but other than a few places that need patching it looks great. I did note that when you look at the sky through the fabric you see lots of little holes, even after cleaning and 303 treatment. Same thing with our Bimini and dodger. I am guessing that this is what North is referring to. As a 3DL is known to be sensitive to sunlight and expensive it seems that the cost of a sail cover every 3 years probably pays dividends....

As to whether the sail is worth the money??? I have purchased and used up a couple of sails in the past 20 years of sailing. By far the best in terms of cost vs shape vs time has been the North 3DL. Once you sail a boat with good sails you get used to the performance and at least I find that I like it. If we sailed less or if we lived in a tropical environment I would probably re-think the decision but for our use nothing has ever come close to lasting with great shape this long. The fact that we now an almost new replacement at a fraction of the cost thrills me!!!

We will change the cover sooner next time.

Bruce