I'm curious as to what others consider to be normal sail life for the various materials available now. My dacron main and genoa were bought mid '03 and have done about 60 races, plus almost double that many daysails. They still look pretty good to me. The genoa is roller furled and I roll the main and stow it below every time. I'm sure both sails have lost some performance, and it is probably hard to tell because it has been so gradual. Of course good racing performance is different from good cruising performance, but the boat still seems to go pretty well and is reasonably competitive racing.
Sail Life
- Thread starter Bob7291
- Start date
- Status
Bob, That is a big question...
How long are you going to expose it to the sun and what weight material are you using in what wind speeds? Are you racing or are you cruising? It all matters. I bought a 26 year old sail that was in wonderful shape because it was never used. r.w.landau
How long are you going to expose it to the sun and what weight material are you using in what wind speeds? Are you racing or are you cruising? It all matters. I bought a 26 year old sail that was in wonderful shape because it was never used. r.w.landau
re : Sail Life
Bob, Not an expert here, but highly competitive racers would have relegated these to practice status a couple of years ago. Serious cruisers would feel like they were just getting them broken in, with about 10 more good years left in them.The racer/cruisers that I've sailed with use the old set for practice and cruising and save the new sails for racing.The really serious racers that I know seem to change out one sail a year. (Main this year,jib next, genoa the next, etc, etc.) I'm just now replacing the original main on my Columbia 8.7 and it's 30 years old. I can still get hull speed, but the fabric is obviously brittle in places, and the seams are all starting to separate due to UV exposure, and salt absorption. I can't do a daysail with out first doing some sail repair. The mainsail on my Columbia Sabre was close to 40 years old when I replaced it,primarily because it was stretched to the point that I couldn't flatten it in a stiff breeze. I am obviously not a racer.
Bob, Not an expert here, but highly competitive racers would have relegated these to practice status a couple of years ago. Serious cruisers would feel like they were just getting them broken in, with about 10 more good years left in them.The racer/cruisers that I've sailed with use the old set for practice and cruising and save the new sails for racing.The really serious racers that I know seem to change out one sail a year. (Main this year,jib next, genoa the next, etc, etc.) I'm just now replacing the original main on my Columbia 8.7 and it's 30 years old. I can still get hull speed, but the fabric is obviously brittle in places, and the seams are all starting to separate due to UV exposure, and salt absorption. I can't do a daysail with out first doing some sail repair. The mainsail on my Columbia Sabre was close to 40 years old when I replaced it,primarily because it was stretched to the point that I couldn't flatten it in a stiff breeze. I am obviously not a racer.
- Status