ironing sails

Apr 6, 2014
82
catalina capri 18 carlyle lake, il
since i have purchased my capri 18 i have been concerned with creases in my jib. the p/o had sent pics of the boat under sail. they showed creases in the jib (probably made while furling it on the cdi). anyway, after returning home from a great day on the water, i wondered if the creases could be eliminated by ironing them out. does anyone have any info on this subject?
 

jimg

.
Jun 5, 2004
175
catalina 27 dana point
Don't do it. I actually tried it many years ago, after washing, on an old sail that came with a boat I bought. It lost any resining/sizing that it had left and became even more soft and useless.
 

RichH

.
Feb 14, 2005
4,773
Tayana 37 cutter; I20/M20 SCOWS Worton Creek, MD
Dont use a laundry iron on sails!!!!! You'll wind up warping the fabric and change its 'flatness'.
'Ironing' of dacron sails can only be done with specialized heated rollers that have specific internal pressure to compensate for the bending of the rollers when pushed together by force (Küster Rollers). Do anything else, and you can permanently deform the sail.

A good non-destructive way to lessen creases in woven dacron polyester sail fabric is to wet the fabric thoroughly with a dock hose, let soak, then go sailing until the sail is dry.