Sail Care

Maintain sail shape and extend overall lifespan by following these basic sail care tips.

Boat & Rig

Sharp corners and other points that can tear or chafe your sails. Particular attention should be paid to the pulpit area, spreader ends, rigging screws and mast hardware. Common culprits include rough bolt heads, exposed split pins, meat hoods on wire halyards and sharp points on the swaged ends of wire halyards and lifetimes. Inspect regularly.

Sail Design

Sails are generally designed to cover specific wind ranges, so using a sail above it’s design wind range can significantly reduce it’s life. Avoid motoring with your sails up and unnecessary luffing or flogging.

Overhoising

Excessive luff tension can destroy sail shape by over stretching the sailcloth near the luff. As a guide, only apply enough luff tension to eliminate the horizontal wrinkles in the luff of the sail. Also support the weight of the boom when hoisting the main as this will avoid over stretching the mainsails leech. Make sure that your headsails sheet correctly, this avoids over straining the leech or the foot of the sail. Correctly positioned telltales will assist in determining correct sheeting positions.

Spreader Tip

When trimming the headsail do not trim the sheet in so hard that it can come into contact and distort on the spreader tip. On a gusty day it can be necessary to ease the sheet in lulls to keep the leech away from the spreader tip. Remember to trim back in the puffs as the leech can sag too far from the spreader tip. In tacks, be sure to cast off the leeward sheet early enough so the leech does not hang up on the spreader during the tack. This practice can lead to over stretching the sail near the spreader ends and considerably increase changes of snagging or tearing a sail in the rigging.

Chafe Patches

Applying chafe patches to the sail where they come into contact with spreaders and other areas of impact, such as stanchions, will also extend a sails life. The patch will protect seams from chafe and provide additional localised support to the sailcloth.

Sunlight

Cover the mainsail if it is to be left on the boom with a cover that will breathe enough to permit drying the sail but which will stand up to the ultra-voilet light of the sun. Roller furling sails should also have ultra-violet covers to protect the furled sail from the harmful effects of prolonged exposure to UV rays. In general, minimise exposure to direct sunlight to prolong sail life.

Drying

Inhibit mildew growth by drying sails before leaving them on your boat for any length of time. Simply spread the sails around the main cabin and forepeak so that the air can circulate and dry them between outings. Alternatively take sails off the boat and dry them ashore. We strongly recommend against the practice of hoisting and flogging sails in order to dry them.

Storage

Sails should be stored either rolled or folded in an amply sized breathable bag. Avoid cramming sails into restricted, poorly ventilated areas and discourage crew from sitting or walking on sails as this can cause permanent creases that ruin design shape.

Washing Sails

Periodically, sails should be rinsed with fresh water to remove salt and dirt. Small sails can be washed in the bath, with larger sails on a clean concrete area. For general grime, hand wash using lukewarm water and a mild detergent with gentle scrubbing should be enough. In areas of heavy soiling, neat liquid detergent can be applied and left overnight before washing.

Mildew

Brush the stained area with a dry stiff brush to remove as much growth as possible, then soak the stained area in a solution of freshwater and 1% chlorine for about 2 hours before rinsing with plenty of fresh water, repeat treatment if necessary. Oils/grease can be removed by dabbing the affected area with a cloth soaked in white spirits, acetone or eucalyptus oil.

Rust

Stains can be removed with proprietary products such as Rustiband that is available through most chemists. Take care to follow the manufacturers instructions closely.