Egyptian cotton Comet mainsail, eBay

[rbgarr]

http://tinyurl.com/arm4e5

[bamamick]

Interesting. Who would buy it? A Comet fanatic? I guess that I just can't afford to be too sentimental about stuff like that.

I do something that may surprise you though: I burn my old sails once they are shot and if no one wants them. I try to burn anything boat-related. That just seems to be a more dignified way of dealing with it rather than it winding up in a public dump somewhere. Over the years I have donated sails to a restaurant and to a children's playground to be used as awnings, and I have given many sails away to younger guys who can't afford them new, but from time to time I just have to make some room and I have burned a few. Just the idea of something that has been sailing with me, out and free in the open air, being sent to a dump just doesn't seem right. So I burn them.

What were we talking about again? :)

Mickey Lake

[Todd Bradshaw]

I buy sails like that once in a while. The hardware bits, like the slides, headboards and other stuff are usually worth more than the asking price. If they are old enough, these cotton sails can also often be a good source of information for anyone interested in the fine points of traditional sail construction. I'll sometimes cut the corners and/or other reinforced, hardware-intensive or hand-sewn sections off and save them as examples of how stuff used to be done for future reference. Sometimes it's nice to have a good example handy when you're working on a specific type of detail on a new sail.

There used to be a couple of companies that bought old Dacron sails and made cool windbreakers out of them. They would bleach them to clean and soften the fabric and utilize the sections with sail numbers, labels, fancy-work and class insignias to make interesting, one-of-a-kind sailing jackets. I've seen a few up close and thought they were pretty neat.

[bamamick]

Yep, and of course, at one time it was all the rage to have a sailcloth duffle bag with you at regattas. Of course, now they make them out of new cloth, but they are still pretty popular. I have one somewhere.

Interesting points about using the old sails as teaching/learning tools. Very interesting.

Mickey Lake

[Pernicious Atavist]

10.2' Foot. 17.6' Luff. 19.9' Leech...what's that--about 85'? Wonder if it could be cut down for the canoe? Maybe it's too heavy....

[Todd Bradshaw]

It's probably not too heavy, but cutting sails down is nowhere near as easy (or as successful) as it might seem at first glance. It's a royal pain in the butt if you intend to do it right and it's often amazing how early in the project you start wondering whether or not it was a bad idea from the outset? You would be better off to start from scratch and build a cotton sail if that's what you want.

[outofthenorm]

I'm bidding :D

[rbgarr]

I'm bidding :D

Good. That removes the temptation for me. I would have used it for a removable deck awning on the house.

What does it look like shipping charges would be to you? The calculator quoted some $20 for me.

[outofthenorm]

About $27 US by USPS. High, but bearable.

- Norm

[Russ Manheimer]

Todd,

I took all of the hanks, slides and such off Sjogin's cotton Main and Jib when she was re-canvased in the late 80's. Still have the cotton sails up in the attic. I take then out for an airing now and then.

Still looking for a match to this type of jib hank:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/41/80418200_5eaac70286.jpg
Anyone care to part/swap with one of these gems?

Russ

[Liam English]

Burning old sails: Bad Idea. Modern sails are made mostly of petroleum products. Don't need the combustion products of such a conflagration added to the air I breathe, thank you. Cutting them up and making something else of them sounds like a better alternative.
Burning flags made of today's materials is also a bad idea, of course. Surely we can find a way of showing respect for an old sail or an old flag that adds to our legacy in a positive way instead of compounding the negative elements of our consumer culture.

The alternative uses mentioned above sound really good.

[Jay Greer]

Hey, there is enough material there to make a few cool shirts and hats.
Jay

[Anthony Zucker]

Bamamick;

There is a shop on Mt Desert that makes sailbags out of old sails. They will give you a bag for a couple sails. We did it and the bag is fine. I cant find their name.