Sail Coatings

[Sailboat.Sequoyah]

Morning, hearties. Sequoyah's foresail was removed for Hurricane Florence. I have it at my house. When the weather clears, if it ever does, I intend to wash it carefully with a pressure washer, or scrub it with well diluted Dawn, so it will go back onto the headstay furler clean, fresh and with any damaged stitching repaired.

My question is about what to treat it with once it's clean. SailKote appears to be the standard for-the-boaters product. From what I read, it's a finely powdered PTFE in a penetrating, quickly evaporating carrier (alcohol, I'd think). Its maker further says it discourages green algae and mildew, sheds water, salt and dust like a champion, allows your sails to furl more slickly and tightly, and so forth.

Are there other products out there to consider? DuPont make one, as do CRC. Basically, PTFE lubricant is PTFE lubricant, but I'm not sure about that mold fighting property. Does SailKote have a special additive to do that the others lack, is it inherent to the basic material, or what? Anyone happen to know?

Thanks ...

 

[dlochner]

A soft brush and mild detergent would be my choice. Don't use chlorine bleach on the sail, if there are stains, use Oxyclean. I would avoid a pressure washer, too easy to damage the sail.

While you're washing the sail inspect all the stitching and the UV shield. Restitch, replace, or repair as needed.

 

[capta]

Sounds like snake oil to me, but I'll wait till there are a few more posts before I decide. I've never considered or had a sailmaker suggest anything other that a soap and water wash for a dacron sail.

 

[thinwater]

Anything that repels water will greatly reduce mold and algae growth by helping the sail dry faster. This is true of canvas as well. But have not used Sailkote on on a sail, other than the luff tape.

The "professional" sail washes are primarily Oxiclean. Obviously, rust stains require separate treatment with a weak acid cleaner (polyester sails only--not nylon). However, the smart thing is not to get too fixated on white. Also, after treatment with Oxiclean, the sun will further whiten the sail, so don't go for perfect.

 

[justsomeguy]

I wouldn't use Teflon on general principle alone.

 

[Sailboat.Sequoyah]

Good looking sails are a nice touch, but I'm not overly concerned with the cosmetics. I would however like to get the most life, performance and ease of handling I can from them, which given its manufacturers' claims is why I'm interested in SailKote or an equivalent as a finish.

OxyClean appears to be a diluted mixture of H2O2 and NaHCO3. I sometimes use that to clean lines then finish them with diluted white vinegar as a softener, and that does well. Vinegar isn't a lubricant, though, so it wouldn't promote shedding, mold resistance or better furling.

 

[jssailem]

@Sailboat.Sequoyah
Dave and Drew nailed it.
NO pressure washer.
Open space, no sharp objects.
SOFT brush. Soap and water. Oxiclean to help lighten stains.

Your sail has a resin impregnated in the cloth. To harsh and you’ll destroy the resin cloth bond thus destroying the sail.
Your goal is to clean the surface dirt and salts off the fabric.

Lots of water to flush away any soap residue. Hang to let dry

Soap and water is ok. To much oxiclean on grass will kill the grass.

A light coat of Sailkote will help slides and bolt rope move more easily through a clean mast/boom slot or track. But too much will just gum up the works attracting dirt.

 

[Sailboat.Sequoyah]

The aversion to pressure washing, should I assume, is that too much pressure like too much scrubbing would ruin the resin impregnation?

 

[jssailem]

Yes. That would by my experience. There is a reason they they print these warnings At the beginning of the manual,

<<< DANGER >>> <<< DANGER >>> <<< DANGER >>>
HIGH PRESSURE SPRAY CAN CAUSE EXTREMELY SERIOUS INJURY. THE PRESSURE STREAM CAN PIERCE SKIN, DAMAGE EYES, BURST EAR DRUMS. USE EXTREME CAUTION
NEVER TOUCH A LEAKING HOSE, IT CAN PIERCE SKIN. SHUT THE UNIT DOWN BEFORE HANDLING IT.​

If it can do this to skin, imagine what it can do to cloth and the thread (that has been bleached by the sun) of your sails.

Google sail cleaning and you'll find ways and suggestions that include soaking in a swimming pool/bathtub... and soap and water.

 

[Gunni]

Pressure washing your sail would be like hoisting your sail in a gale and letting it flog for an hour.

 

[jssailem]

See your avatar says your from New Bern. How did you do in the hurricane? Hope nothing was lost.

 

[rgranger]

I have had good luck soaking a sail in woolite. I purchased a new garbage can, half filled it with clean water and added a bottle of woolite. I then put a loosely rolled sail in the can and let it soak for a few days. I then laid the sail out on the ground and hosed it off with a garden hose and gently scrubbed with a soft brush on a boom handle. It did a very good job. I can imagine modifying this to use a detergent with some oxyclean or a bottle of peroxide added.

 

[Sailboat.Sequoyah]

Sequoyah came through with nothing but a little bow damage, jssailem. I had her docked stern to the east. When the current hit six knots and the wind 107 MPH both from that direction, my stern lines broke and the cutwater had an intimate encounter with the dock with the waves inside the marina at six feet. By the grace of a pair of friends who braved the tossing docks to secure their boats and mine, the hull was not holed. It's already repaired. Four other boats in my marina were lost. About a hundred sank at a different marina immediately across the Trent River. It was destroyed during the storm.

New Bern is recovering nicely, though it will be at least a year before things are back to something like it was. At least most of the restaurants in the old colonial part of the town where the marina is located have reopened, so you can get a decent meal again. ;-)

 

[jssailem]

Thank you for the info. It was a scary thing to watch on the internet. In person... wOW.

Visited just south of you. Myrtle Beach/Pauley Island SC this past spring. Pretty place to live when not storming.

A couple of us here were active in charting the storm. One of the reasons Phil gave us a new "Weather and Forecasting" forum.

My boat had original sails (1974 vintage) when I bought her. They were on the boat under a molding cover. I used them for a couple of years after cleaning. They were getting thin and developing holes in the cloth. Limp and ragged is what one of my fellow sailors called them. This summer I bought a new sail. Big difference.

 

[Joe Blizzard]

OxyClean appears to be a diluted mixture of H2O2 and NaHCO3.

The active ingredient in OxiClean is sodium percarbonate. There's a version called "OxiClean Free" which is all white instead of blue flecked, and it doesn't have the fragrance of the unfree product. Alternately, you can get near-pure sodium percarbonate on Amazon, but I just buy "Awesome Oxygen Base Cleaner" from Dollar Tree, and it seems to work at least as well as the higher priced stuff.

 

[Sailboat.Sequoyah]

Good advice on cleaning. Thank you all.

No one here has tried the coatings, I gather.

 

[jssailem]

No one here has tried the coatings, I gather.

No... I have used Sailkote on my track and slides. Works great.

 

[Joe]

Good advice on cleaning. Thank you all.

No one here has tried the coatings, I gather.

First of all, the product you're referring to is Sailkote PLUS.... most of us are familiar with Sailkote as a dry, silicone style lubricant commonly used on mainsail bolt ropes and headsail luff tapes. I had to investigate the Sailkote website to learn about the anti mildew product they promote called "SailKote Plus"...

I don't see the advantage of coating a used sail that has been pressure washed and scrubbed with this product.

Couldn't find a price, but it sounds expensive and is designed for application to new sails.... you'd have the treatment applied at the loft...by a professional.
Here's an excerpt from the link:

Currently, there are a number of professional sail and service lofts that are coating cruising and racing sails,

So to answer your question... this product has not been discussed much, if at all, on this board.... that I'm aware of anyway.
There's plenty of simple spray on products for mildew... hey... how about "scotchguard"?

 

[Sailboat.Sequoyah]

Thank you, Joe. Double checking with McLube's descriptions, SailKote is the PTFE suspension, the original product marketed for lubrication applications and sail coating. SailKote PLUS is the same product with a fungicide additive they say keeps mold etc. at bay longer.

It is expensive stuff. Its first market appears to have been performance boats, spreading to the general market from there. I find no reason to believe that only trained professionals should use it, other than recommendations by trained professionals who prefer that be believed. There are less costly PTFE supensions out there, and while I can locate no information making me think they would not work at least almost as well as the SailKote product I would like to talk with sailors who have tried.

I do appreciate all the comments. I'll continue to look for hands-on testimony before putting any of it on my sails.

 

[Sailboat.Sequoyah]

Upshot of this:

Pressure washing works like a charm. Just be careful to keep down the pressure at which the water shoots out. It cleans a sail more quickly, easily and thoroughly than scrubbing. I had no issues with it.

The PTFE coating I used is DuPont's, considerably less expensive than SailKote. DuPont makes the finely powdered Teflon used in all those products, so I decided to try theirs. It did well. The sail is slick as can be, pulls out and rolls up better, and sheds water (and, I hope, salt and dirt) better than before.