Sail repair question

Moderator: GreenLake

Sail repair question

Postby GreenLake » Sun Nov 08, 2020 2:04 pm

@Acornrunner asked:

My wife spotted a one inch tear on the sail, about six inches from the foot. How do I mend it? What type of thread?


First a disclaimer: I'm not a sailmaker, nor do I play one on TV. All I can do is tell you what I'd attempt for a repair.

Which direction is the tear? If it is parallel to the foot, tension on the sail should be aligned and therefore not have a tendency to widen the tear. You may be fine with some sail repair tape.

If the tear is across (vertical) there would be some tension on it, and you'd reinforce the patch by stitching the tape. You'd want to use some polyester thread, to match the material your sail is made from. If you can't source good thread, you can unlay a length of polyester rope and pick apart one of the strands in it until you have something that is down to the thickness of thread (one or two doze fibers). That'll work in a pinch.

Sailmakers use something they call a "palm" that has a thimble built in that is convenient in pushing the needle through. They also have needles designed to push through sail cloth. For a small repair you can probably make do with a simple oversized needle and figure out your own way to push it through.

The deeper question is whether this tear is an indication that your sails are reaching the end of their life span. I would still do the repair, not least because it's good practice, but be aware that sails are consumables.

Finally, while you are at it, esp, if your sails are older, check the stitching everywhere, and if any is wearing out, redo it.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: Sail repair question

Postby Acornrunner » Sun Nov 08, 2020 6:21 pm

clean one inch vertical tear, looks like former owner wrapped the boom with the sail and then leaned it on something, or sat something on it. I had not noticed it on earlier outings, guess I was busy with the business of sailing. The rest looks pretty good, but I certainly will check it more closely this week.

I want to nip this in the bud before it becomes a real problem

Thx.
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Re: Sail repair question

Postby GreenLake » Sun Nov 08, 2020 10:31 pm

I'd attempt a repair with some sail repair tape, perhaps on both sides? And then stitching on either side, to make sure that any tension cannot lead to the tear being pulled open. Given that it's only 1", I'd think that would do it. But inspect your sail carefully for any other kinds of damage. Now, I don't wrap my sail around the boom: I roll the sail and then keep it next to the boom (however, more often than not, the boom will flip over so it's tucked into the sail cloth). I do rest it on two soft supports on the bench, which is easy to do on a DS1, and never had an issue with the sail tearing or wearing through, even though the boom occasionally sits on a layer of sail cloth. That's why I suggested to be vigilant, in case this is an early warning of, for example, sun damage to the fabric.
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