The investment in dollars that you have tied up in sails is
a high percentage of the value of your boat (usually). And, there are really only two things that
wear out the sails fastest. 1) Letting
your sails flog and luff a lot; and 2) Sunlight. Both of these are preventable items and
preventing them will help your sails last a lot longer than if you don’t.
Simply being aware that every time your sail flaps
back-and-forth, it wears on itself.
Kinda like bending a credit card back-and-forth… sooner or later the
card will break. Same thing with your
sails. Sooner or later the sail will
rip.
Sunlight though is really a nasty item. If you don’t cover your sail properly, the
sun will beat down on the fabric and steadily (over time) deteriorate the
material to the point that the sail will have about as much strength as a well
used handkerchief.
Here are a few photos of sailboats that have left their
sails out in the sun for days, weeks, and even months……
No sunbrella on the roller furled jib…
No sunbrella on the roller furled jib…
No mainsail cover.
The mainsail just lies there baking in the sun…
So, if you want your sails to last longer, treat them
properly. Use sun-resistant covers for
your roller furling jibs and cover your mainsail when it is flaked on the boom
with a mainsail cover made of sunbrella (or similar fabric).
BarnacleBillHolcomb@gmail.com
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