Sail Conditioning/ Cleaning

[Jon Elliott]

I'm looking for recommendations for a good sail shop that can clean and make minor repairs to my H27 sails. If it matters, I live in Cincinnati but sail out of Rock Hall Maryland on the Chester River. I Currently have the sails with me in Cincinnati so they'll need to be shipped or driven to any shop recommendations. Thanks and have a happy New Year!

 

[Joe]

https://sailcare.com/site/ I've never used them, but sailcare has been recommended by other forum members.

 

[TimFromLI]

When I bought my boat it had sat unused for about a year and a half. It was stored with the main still on the boom. There were mud wasp nest and all sorts of stains on the main especially at the creases from when it was flaked on the boom. I used sailcare and the sail came back looking like new. They did some minor repairs as well. Plan on spending about $1 per square foot, plus you will need to pay extra to have any numbers sewn on or they won't guarantee it they will still be there after the cleaning. Allow at least 6 weeks to get it back.

 

[Jon Elliott]

https://sailcare.com/site/ I've never used them, but sailcare has been recommended by other forum members.

I’m going to look into SailCare then. This is not the first time I’ve heard them mentioned, so thank you.

 

[Jon Elliott]

When I bought my boat it had sat unused for about a year and a half. It was stored with the main still on the boom. There were mud wasp nest and all sorts of stains on the main especially at the creases from when it was flaked on the boom. I used sailcare and the sail came back looking like new. They did some minor repairs as well. Plan on spending about $1 per square foot, plus you will need to pay extra to have any numbers sewn on or they won't guarantee it they will still be there after the cleaning. Allow at least 6 weeks to get it back.

Great advice! Mine are in decent shape but have some chafing marks and definitely need cleaning. One of many projects on my list this winter. Thank you

 

[DrJudyB]

There are zillions of lofts who will professionally wash and repair sails. I’d recommend shipping it to the nearest local loft that offers cleaning and repair services. They will use professional strength cleaning solutions and a large soak tub. It’s pretty expensive to ship a mainsail across

While cleaning and repairing is definitely a good thing, putting new resin on stretched out sails isn’t, IMO. It’s more expensive than what most lofts offer, and while it makes the sails look like new and white, they are still just old and white. recoating the cloth with resin does nothing to restore the shape to like new. The only thing that will restore shape is recutting the sail. Adding extra resin adds additional UV resistance, but does nothing to restore the strength of the fibers in the cloth if they are already weakened and stretched out.

Judy B
Sailmaker

 

[Jon Elliott]

Thank you, Judy! This is really great information. Since the sails are currently with me in Cincinnati, I’m thinking the closest shop may be in Cleveland at best so I’m open to shipping to a close, reputable one. You bring up some excellent points that I need to consider. Admittedly, there’s a lot I don’t know about the construction or life cycle of a sail so I’m putting some added effort into the search. Thank you for replying!

 

[sail sfbay]

https://sailcare.com/site/ I've never used them, but sailcare has been recommended by other forum members.

Ditto Sailcar.......... I used them for for Hunter 386 for cleaning and repair. I also used V A C U W A S H for cleaning and sailkote treatment to improve furling my main sails.

 

[Jon Elliott]

Just a follow up to my original post. I ended up sending my sail to Sail Care and while the pandemic did shut the shop down for a bit, I just got it back and I couldn’t be happier so far. It’s not on the boat yet but from what I can see, it looks Brand new again! New sun strip was attached, along with webbing for the head, tack and clew. New telltales and a detailed cleaning. I can’t believe how nice it looks. They also included two recent copies of Good Old Boat. Thanks for the recommendation, I couldn’t be happier. I’ll post pictures and a recommendation once they’re on the boat. Thank you all for your help and suggestions!

 

[Sailgunner]

How old are your sails? Sometimes the best thing to do is bite the bullet a buy new.

 

[Jon Elliott]

How old are your sails? Sometimes the best thing to do is bite the bullet a buy new.

The age of the sails are unknown. I got the boat from a gentleman who’d been living on it for two years and didn’t sail it much so the sails sat in the V-berth. Prior to that, he bought it from a woman who’s husbands (deceased) was the original owner but the boat had been in long storage in a warehouse of sorts. I’ve had the boat now for 4 seasons and the sails have held up well, aside from some needed cleaning and minor updating. A slip neighbor of mine with boat building experience felt that they still had a lot of life in them so I decided to just invest a little into cleaning them up for now.

 

[Jon Elliott]

When I bought my boat it had sat unused for about a year and a half. It was stored with the main still on the boom. There were mud wasp nest and all sorts of stains on the main especially at the creases from when it was flaked on the boom. I used sailcare and the sail came back looking like new. They did some minor repairs as well. Plan on spending about $1 per square foot, plus you will need to pay extra to have any numbers sewn on or they won't guarantee it they will still be there after the cleaning. Allow at least 6 weeks to get it back.

you were absolutely spot on with Sail Care. They came back looking like new. The turn around time was a disappointment but couldn’t be avoided. Just bad luck on my part. Still, I’m glad I did it