Noticed a couple of Pinholes on my Genny

[Manny]

Went sailing last Sunday and when I had the sun behind the genny, I notice two "pinholes" . They were probably about the size of the tip of a ball point pen about four feet from the foot and three and four feet from the leech. Should I be concerned about them ripping or is best to patch them immediately?

Thanks,

Manny

 

[RichH]

If your sail is a medium weight woven dacron, there will be little risk for such a small hole to become larger.
1. its not in a very high stress area.
2. the fiber used in woven dacron has a lot of 'crimp' that will help keep the hole under control.

The easiest repair is to put the teeniest 'dab' of 3M 5200 ('fast cure' 5200 if you can find it) ... just enough to stabilize/glue the ends of the fibers that are torn - thats it, nothing more needed.


Look for the exposed cotter pin, or 'meat-hook' on a shroud, etc. that caused this hole.

 

[Ross]

Manny you should examine them and determine if they are punctures or if they are tears. A sail needle can punch a harmless hole in a piece of fabric but a tear will sever some of the threads and make a weak spot the should be glued.