Are 30 year old sails worth anything??

[JBP-PA]

AFAIK, skin on frame boats normally use a heat shrink material like polyester or shinks when dry material like nylon (which is then waterproofed). Walrus skin is traditional, but hard to find .

That said, old sailcloth could work fine, but you'd have to work harder to get it tight. Old sailcloth might be the perfect material for building a cheap prototype or to develop your skinning skills.

Skin on Frame Boatbuilding: An Overview

A lot of potential would-be boat builders ask us, "What’s the best boat for a beginner to build?” There are a lot of ways to answer that, and I’d argue that the #1 factor is, “What boat would you get the most enjoyment out of owning?” But setting that key consideration aside for a moment, a...

duckworks.com

 

[JBP-PA]

While using the right material for important projects can be essential, for many projects using exactly the right material is unimportant. As you said, for covering your firewood, do you really want to buy Sunbrella? I make log carriers for camping out of any old material that is strong enough. They take a beating.

Using sailcloth for some projects can simply be fun too. Having satchel bags made from sailcloth is unique and who really cares if it's UV resistant. Some of us enjoy spending time just making stuff, and if we give most of that away to people who might use them, then that is grand.

 

[Ward H]

Last winter we decided to make our old sails into some tote bags. We had lots of fun and felt good not to just dump them in the trash.
Several of our friends had old sails laying around and offered them to us in exchange for a bag made from their sails. What started out as a side hobby to sailing has tuned into a small Etsy store and keeps us busy in the off season and the summer heat waves.
Anybody who wants to up cycle an old sail in exchange for a nice tote beach bag from it, just let me know.

PS I went from sail and canvas repairs to making wallets. Takes up a lot less room. LOL