Frank Langer
1984 Ericson 30+, Nanaimo, BC
Hi all and Happy New Year!
I recently took my older sails to North Sails in Richmond, BC to have them checked. My mainsail was built by Hood Sails in 2001 for the previous owner for use in San Francisco Bay, so it is a fairly heavy sail. My 125% genoa was also built by Hood Sails in 2005. Both are Dacron cruising sails. Being retired and living on Vancouver Island, I sail a lot year round so the sails get a lot of use.
I had anticipated that at their age and with a lot of use, there might be extensive UV damage to the sail threads and a number of seams being close to needing re-stitching. To my surprise, the Manager of Sail Care said that both sails looked better than most that they see for repair. He added some minor reinforcement in a couple of areas like batten pockets, re-stitched a bit, recut the headsail a bit, and said that both sails should still last a long time. With the cost of new sails, that was a great Christmas present!
Both sails are slightly soiled, so I asked him if they should be cleaned. He said that they do provide a cleaning service, but said that unless they are really soiled, it is usually better for sails not to clean them, just hose them down periodically to get rid of salt. He also added that laminate sails are more prone to mildew than Dacron because the sails don't "breathe" as well.
I would be interested in how the age and condition of my sails compares to other Ericson owners--if I knew how to start a poll on this I would do so.
I would welcome any comments from others on their sails, maintenance of their sails, etc.
Frank
I recently took my older sails to North Sails in Richmond, BC to have them checked. My mainsail was built by Hood Sails in 2001 for the previous owner for use in San Francisco Bay, so it is a fairly heavy sail. My 125% genoa was also built by Hood Sails in 2005. Both are Dacron cruising sails. Being retired and living on Vancouver Island, I sail a lot year round so the sails get a lot of use.
I had anticipated that at their age and with a lot of use, there might be extensive UV damage to the sail threads and a number of seams being close to needing re-stitching. To my surprise, the Manager of Sail Care said that both sails looked better than most that they see for repair. He added some minor reinforcement in a couple of areas like batten pockets, re-stitched a bit, recut the headsail a bit, and said that both sails should still last a long time. With the cost of new sails, that was a great Christmas present!
Both sails are slightly soiled, so I asked him if they should be cleaned. He said that they do provide a cleaning service, but said that unless they are really soiled, it is usually better for sails not to clean them, just hose them down periodically to get rid of salt. He also added that laminate sails are more prone to mildew than Dacron because the sails don't "breathe" as well.
I would be interested in how the age and condition of my sails compares to other Ericson owners--if I knew how to start a poll on this I would do so.
I would welcome any comments from others on their sails, maintenance of their sails, etc.
Frank
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