I BECAME THE PROUD OWNER OF A MID 1980's JY 14 , I HAVE RESTORED THE HULL , AND NOW AM GOING TO TACKLE THE MAST , BOOM , DACRON MAIN SAIL AND JIB , CANVAS MOORING COVER AND THE ROPES , THANKYOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP THIS IS MY 1st THREAD , ELLIOT
How to clean my aluminum mast and sails
- Thread starter ELLIOT
- Start date
........ "AM GOING TO TACKLE THE MAST , BOOM , DACRON MAIN SAIL AND JIB , CANVAS MOORING COVER AND THE ROPES ".....
Hello Elliot & welcome to the SBO forums,
(1) Aluminum mast & boom might benefit from a scrubbing, but the most important concern would be the strength/integrity of the shrouds and stays plus their attachments to the hull.
(2) Some members of this group may shudder at my next suggestion...... We have often cleaned our sails by scrubbing them on the concrete driveway or the deck of our house! Using water, mild soap, and a sprinkle of Barkeepers' Friend has improved the look of many sails. Of course I would not discount the idea of sending the sails to be professionally cleaned and repaired if that is necessary.
(3) The mooring cover would benefit from the same scrubbing treatment. In fact, I would do that first to see how you like the results.
(4) Lines (ropes) can all benefit from a wash cycle in the Maytag. We clean our lines yearly in the washing machine by coiling them and securing them with small string so they do not become too big a "rat's nest" in the spin cycle. Use the gentile cycle and some detergent plus maybe a tiny bit of bleach if there is mold on the lines. Hang the lines outside to thoroughly dry before storing them. Any lines that may need to be replaced due to wear could be saved for other uses like tie downs, mooring lines, etc.
Best Wishes on your project.
Hello Elliot & welcome to the SBO forums,
(1) Aluminum mast & boom might benefit from a scrubbing, but the most important concern would be the strength/integrity of the shrouds and stays plus their attachments to the hull.
(2) Some members of this group may shudder at my next suggestion...... We have often cleaned our sails by scrubbing them on the concrete driveway or the deck of our house! Using water, mild soap, and a sprinkle of Barkeepers' Friend has improved the look of many sails. Of course I would not discount the idea of sending the sails to be professionally cleaned and repaired if that is necessary.
(3) The mooring cover would benefit from the same scrubbing treatment. In fact, I would do that first to see how you like the results.
(4) Lines (ropes) can all benefit from a wash cycle in the Maytag. We clean our lines yearly in the washing machine by coiling them and securing them with small string so they do not become too big a "rat's nest" in the spin cycle. Use the gentile cycle and some detergent plus maybe a tiny bit of bleach if there is mold on the lines. Hang the lines outside to thoroughly dry before storing them. Any lines that may need to be replaced due to wear could be saved for other uses like tie downs, mooring lines, etc.
Best Wishes on your project.
Everything I've read on this has said not to bleach (do not bleach? Bleach thou not?) NYLON sails, not Dacron.
(shrug)
(shrug)
