Sail Storage

[Vrongel]

Hi all,

Currently my sails are folded up and are in their bags except for the main sail which is wrapped around the boom and not covered and all of them are outside under the carport.
I was wondering if there is a recommended way of storing the sails. Can I fold them, roll them, keep them in the shed where in summer the temperature gets up to 50° or should they be inside in the house? Do I need to ventilate them or hang them up once a month?
In the future (once Lastochka gets restored and refurbished) I am planning to have her under the carport and keep the sails in her as well as other equipment.

Hope this question also helps others out with the storage of their sails

Thanks in advance,
Alex

[Topaz Bill]

Hi Alex, I live in North Queensland so conditions are probably different to Sydney. I stored my two sets of sails in a spare bedroom, and when I unfolded them several months later a rat had moved in, one set was completely destroyed. The otherI had to patch so it now looks like The Coat Of Many Colours. I'd be reluctant to store them in a shed unless they're in a vermin proof container.

Good luck with your project.

Regards, Bill (your English is better than mine).

[Ozzie]

Alex, I’d be interested to hear how others fold their sails . We are moored, ours have been on the boat for over 15 years . The main is dried after use and wrapped around the boom. This goes into its own sausage shaped bag with a draw string end and stored on the cabin sole.

The main jib and storm jib (I call it that in these pages occasionally but it’s actually a no 2 not a true storm jib) are first rolled lengthwise around their wire luff and then the resulting sausage shape is coiled in a large diameter circle and each placed in its own bag. This prevents kinking the wire and putting creases in the sails .

We wash our sails with fresh water and thoroughly dry them every haulout. It’s worth getting any suspect stitching redone before it tears or gets worse. The old “stitch in time saves nine” my grandma said.
Treated well even old sails are quite serviceable if you’re not a racer and will last a long time . There are many on here like us with what appears to be original sails.

Be cautious. Even though the wire bits of your sails are stainless, we have had to deal with rust stains . Some had obvious cause ie one puzzle hank on the jib has had one ss screw replaced in an emergency with a zinc coated mild steel screw which went off and caused extensive rust staining over winter. Sometimes wire rope can not be good quality and bleed some rust into sails and watch the pop rivets in the headboard of your main have not been repaired using rivets with mild steel mandrills . On a nice moist boat all this stuff will rust and make lovely camouflage patterns on your sail.

David’s suggestion re desiccant crystals is a good idea. An old sock filled with kitty litter is water absorbent also and cheap. If you have the big dry shed, hanging sails in the big dry shed is definitely the go.

I’ve just thought of a reason to do a separate thread on sail stains in Technical section.

[Andrew]

Hi Alex,
I store my sails in the boats cabin. The main is rolled around the boom, 2 are bagged and one jib without. Ive got a bagged spare main in a vermin proof sealed sea container with extra roofing above. So far all good.

What's a good idea is to have constant air ventilation in cabin though. I keep a tarp over the boat and hatches partially opened to allow wind to blow through but no rain can get in. Close them in storms. The ventilation prevents mould growth on anything below.

After sailing i hang the sails up, wash all the salt off with hose. Let them dry then fold them properly on a clean cement slab before storage.

If you keep them dry, aired and away from pests thats the aim. A well kept house or shed would also be fine. but i dont do this, incase i drive off without sails (getting old!)

I picked up how to look after boats as a teenager, my Dad was a Master Mariner and he put me into sea scouts. They really drummed boat handling etc into me.

Hope this helps, it certainly made my sails last a long time.