Caring for your sails

They’re arguably the most important feature on a yacht, yet sails are often the most overlooked items on the maintenance list.

Whether cruising or competitive, sails are expensive to replace. Fortunately there are many things you can do to help minimise sail damage, keep them looking pristine, increase the interval between servicing and extend their overall life.

Two main factors affect your sails: general wear and tear from use, and damage from exposure to the elements. Let’s start with usage.

Most wear and damage occurs when the sails are flogging. When a sail flogs the fabric is subjected to incredible violence – the leech in particular. Over time, this breaks down and weakens the sailcloth and consequently, it’s more easily ripped or torn. This is why the vast majority of rips occur in the leech and clew areas.

Headsails usually wear out faster than Mainsails. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, the mainsail is attached along two of its edges so it has more support and stability. Headsails are only attached along one edge. So when hoisting or unfurling or tacking, headsails flog more fiercely than mainsails.

Second – and more importantly – headsails tend to be bashed mercilessly against the rig, whereas mainsails generally don’t come into contact with anything on the boat. Combined, these two issues mean genoas deteriorate far more quickly than mainsails.

MINIMISE FLOGGING

Doing everything you can to minimise flogging pays dividends by extending the life of your sails. Strategies include: unfurling – slow down and hold the boat head-to-wind (some race boats actually reverse while hoisting head-towind to really reduce the apparent wind – try it, it works!)

know your drill and have everything ready to go with ropes flaked and ready to run freely before you start the process. You don’t want the sail stuck halfway in with a line jammed and the sail being beaten to death.

leech can stretch and wreck the leech sailcloth in a single afternoon. The result is degraded sailcloth, a “hooked”

changes, you may need to adjust the leech line tension. As soon as the leech starts to flutter, get down and make an adjustment, don’t let it “helicopter” all the way home

CHAFE

A major enemy of the sail fabric. Sails chafe when they come into contact with other solid surfaces – whether it’s the mast, shrouds, lifelines, reefing lines or the pulpit. Chafe is worst where the contact is regular and constant.

Key areas to inspect regularly include the webbings on the sail

fraying means that attachment point has been weakened and the

“good” time and failure can lead to a real “situation”.

With the rising popularity of roller-furlers in the 1970s, sails

happier on the rig so long as they’re under a good sail cover. A thorough check of the mainsail cover each Spring is a must.

Check there are no frayed edges, tears, broken zips or fasteners, and ensure the cover goes all the way over the head of the sail and past the clew ring. More often than not, mainsail failures at the head and the clew are caused by UV breakdown of the webbings, because those parts of the sail have been poking out of the cover on the mooring.

Removing the mainsail for winter is more of a challenge than a furling genoa, but is well worth the effort if you can manage it.

WASHING THE SAILS

Having the sails off the rig is a great opportunity to wash them. Regular washing of sails is highly recommended – it gets rid of salt build-up and general airborne dirt (you’d be surprised at how much there is!) and helps cut down algae and mildew infestation.

Some sailmakers offer washing services. For Diyers, always check with your sailmaker prior to using any chemicals and cleaning agents on your own sails. You need a big, clean area for sail washing – the back lawn or driveway is not recommended as algae and mould microbes are transferred to the sail from the ground. You’re simply giving them a helping hand to start living on your sails.

Spending time and a little maintenance money on your sails each year undoubtedly pays off in the long run. Your sails will look great, last longer, perform better and, most importantly, they will be safer and more seaworthy. B