sail maintenance

[almeyer]

The Captain's thread on sail stretch convinced that maybe I need to give some more thought to sail maintenance. The sail I've got is not super fancy, but it cost real money and I'd rather do what I can to make the sail last as long as possible.
The sail is a standing lug, laced on the yard and loose-footed at the boom. Our sailing season is pretty long (roughly March through November), so the sail stays bent to the sticks most of the time. From my experience with canvas tents, I know about the dangers of putting it up wet, so any time the sail gets salt water on it, I rinse it off with a garden hose, hang it out until I'm certain it's dry, then put it away. The sail rig is normally stored in a canvas bag, which is stored in an enclosed garage, so it's out of the weather.
Is there a recommended method to fold the sail? My efforts so far look pretty sloppy, and I'm concerned that keeping it stored with all sorts of bends and wrinkles probably isn't a good thing. Due to the shape, if I lay the yard on top of the boom and try to fold it that way, I get all kinds of funny creases. Or since I'm keeping the sail stored essentially indoors, am I making much ado about nothing?
Thanks, Al

[Todd Bradshaw]

When possible on a sail like that I'll usually lay the spars together and smooth out the folded-over fabric as much as possible (to lay flat on itself) and then roll it toward the spars in the neatest bundle possible. Any time I can roll a sail, rather than fold it and cover the whole thing with creases, I do. There are some spar and/or batten configurations that are just plain difficult to get down into a neat, small bundle. Sometimes on loose-footed sails it's worth removing the boom so that the sail can be rolled around the yard, but it depends on the individual sail. In any case, whatever produces the fewest folds and wrinkles is probably the best solution.

Rinsing salt off regularly is a good idea. The sails don't even have to get wet to need it, Sailing in salt air alone is enough to deposit salt on the fabric, which can lead to several different problems, so a good rinse and thorough drying on a regular basis is always a good idea. Other major threats to a sail's life are UV exposure (which shouldn't be a problem inside a bag in a garage) excessive flapping (don't let the sail sit there luffing and flapping on the beached boat while you eat lunch, for example) and mice.

The little buggers can really do a number on a nice sail and you just need to do your best to keep the sails in places where there aren't any mice. I only come into contact with a very small percentage of all the sailors in the USA, but even so I see a couple sails each year that have been chewed up. If you factor in all the sailboats in this country, mice must literally be damaging or destroying thousands of sails each year. It certainly wouldn't hurt to have a big hunk of PVC pipe or something like galvanized duct tubing tacked up on the wall with caps on the ends to keep the sail in and the mice out.

Finally, take it easy with chemicals if you're cleaning with more than just soap and water. You probably wouldn't accidentally use something which would eat holes in the fabric, but you might strip off some of the resin or other stuff that's there to help combat mildew or UV. As we've seen, a sail that may have a few stains but still holds it's shape may be far better than one that's as clean and white as a new bedsheet but has been "cleaned" until it holds it's shape about as well as one.

[bamamick]

I agree with Todd; roll it if you can. It's a good idea to rinse it and let it dry as you do, few people go to that kind of trouble.

Mickey Lake

[almeyer]

Thanks for the advice. I took the sail off the boom this evening, and it rolled a lot better. My thought was originally to keep the sail bent to both the yard and the boom to keep rigging time to a minimum, but since the sail is loose footed, that shouldn't be a big issue.
Haven't had any problems with mice yet. We've got mosquitos, termites, red wasps, and yellow jackets, but so far no mice. Perhaps the snakes in the thicket behind us keep the mouse population down.
Good comment too about the salt air. I should know better, since I lived on Galveston Island for a year, but didn't think about it until Todd's comment. I'll rinse the sail more frequently now. The sheet and the dock line typically get a salt water soaking during an outing; they are rinsed in a bucket of fresh water and hung to dry before putting up. You wouldn't think the salt water would hurt a line made out of plastic, but I'm not taking any chances.
Thanks again.
Al

[Todd Bradshaw]

One of the worst problems with the salt depositing on plastic fabric and/or lines is that it offers a foothold for mildew, deep down in the weave. It's a lot easier to rinse the salt off before the job becomes one of trying to scrub mildew stains out.