Mylar Sails

[Timm R 25 Oday]

I recieved a letter from Sail Care informing me that they can not clean my mylar genoa.Does anyone have any ideas on doing it yourself?

 

[Alan]

No problem. Lay them out on the lawn, hose them down and let them dry. Then roll them up and store for the winter. Very simple and easy, cheap too!

 

[r.w.landau]

Timm, the plus about SailCare is that they

refurbish dacron sails. Mylar is mylar. Dacron sails are a weaved fabric. Few companies weave the fabric.From the weave process, other companies finish the material. The finishers ( some salmakers etc) extend the process with heat and rosin fill. ( two major companies in the US, Challenger and Bainbridge)The reason older sails feel limp is that not only have they stretched a bit but the rosin that they were filled with( the idea is to make a sail non porous to air) have deteriorated and the rosin is gone or loosened up and the material has become limp. SailCare cleans the sail the air proofs it with rosin to make it a crisp and firmer material like (or almost like) it was when it was new.Each dacron sail material producer does things a bit different. Heat will tighten the weave, and rosin will fill what was not tightened. Mylar does not have those characteristics.Just wash it yourself. Save some bucks.r.w.landau