Have I ruined my sail?

[baldessariclan]

Was putting all the boat stuff away for the winter -- washed (by hand) and dried (outside) the sail, and later in the evening decided to try ironing it a little while watching TV. Kept heat low (just enough for steam), and tested a little area. Wrinkles ironed out and fabric seemed unaffected (no shrinking or brittleness), so proceded to carefully iron the whole sail before loosely folding it up and putting it away.

Now a sailing aquaintance has told be that ironing a dacron sail is a no-no (!!). So my question is, have I ruined my sail by ironing it?!? Note that this is about a 30 year old sail, but in pretty good shape -- no major tears and has held up in some pretty strong blows lately. It's used it for recreational sailing, albeit some be pretty "spirited" recreational sailing at times (i.e. high winds).

So am I still ok, or should I start shopping for another sail?

 

[Webfoot]

Usual method when storing Dacron sails is just to stuff them in the sail bag, don't fold. I'd strongly advise against using a iron or folding. If you got 30 years out of a sail I'd say you've more than got your money's worth. If you are sailing in high winds you need a new sail as a 30 year old sail will blow-out sooner than later.

It is possible to get many years if the sails are lightly used, stored dry and kept out of sunlight. If your sail is blow-out or worn thin I can't say. A new Sunfish recreational sail is one on the least expensive sails you will ever buy. I would recommend you get one so you can see first hand what a new sail should look like.

 

[Wavedancer]

No need for sleepless nights. Just use your sail next season and see if it still 'works' for you. I predict that you won't notice a difference; after all, it's a very old sail....

 

[Zeppo]

Ironing is a no-no but on a thirty year old sail, what the hell. That sail must have massive draft by now, must be a hand full in a blow. The best way to store your sail is to roll it, that way you avoid creating hard folds (non-existent in a 30 yr. old sail) although Dacron is pretty forgiving and doesn't mind being folded and bagged or as said, stuffed into a bag. Being dry is important though. (mildew).

 

[Wayne]

...a sailing aquaintance has told be that ironing a dacron sail is a no-no (!!). So my question is, have I ruined my sail by ironing it?!?

Cool ironing (as in temperature – not donning surfer shorts, a baseball cap in the IQ lowering attitude, and dancing to your iPod tunes) shouldn’t hurt the fabric so long as the heat is below the plastic’s damage threshold. Above that point you’ll see the fabric become brittle and find it cracks easily when sharply creased. Still, applying heat to sail cloth is not a recommended practice. Washing and hanging to dry should relax most wrinkles. So…, all this wrinkling speaks to deeper issues.

There are three key elements to a sail’s usefulness, its cut, its adjustability, and the fabric’s integrity. Barring accident, the fabric’s integrity is the last to go. However, for anything more than down-wind sailing the first two play a critical role. As a sail ages it looses the resin stiffness and little by little stretches until all adjustability is gone. For racing, the upwind competitiveness resides in the first 25% of a sail’s shape-life. For recreational cruising around the lake, so long as the fabric hasn’t begun to shred, a sail is often deemed “good” by its owner.

A sail is constructed out of specially woven, cut, and sewn polyester fabric. In the making of sail cloth, a resin coating is applied in order to lock the weave as an extra precaution against stretching and loosing its wing shape. When this resin coating wears away the fabric will express more and tighter wrinkling than when the coating is in tact.

Sails that have lost their resin coating altogether are subject to rapid deformation making their shape “billow” to the sail’s center, parachute-like, rather than form a wing with the apex of it’s curvature more toward the luff (leading edge), airplane wing fashion. This wing profile is the way the fabric was originally cut and sewn, but stretching over time changes that. The sail also expresses signs of being stretched to the max (blown out) when the head and clew no longer have room on the spars for adjustment. The adjustability is what lets you power-up or depower a sail for different winds on different points of sail.


How stiff is new sailcloth …

In this video clip Karl Deardorff, owner and operator of SLO ( San Luis Obsipo ) Sails, creates the bottom of a sail. Notice the roll of material he’s handling. That stiff crinkly stuff isn’t layout paper…, that’s ~3.8oz sail cloth. The stiffness comes from the resin coating applied to polyester sailcloth in order to lock the weave.

Usual method when storing Dacron sails is just to stuff them in the sail bag, don't fold.

I'm not sure there's a consensus


North Sails Group, LLC
http://www.na.northsails.com/SailCare/SailCareTips/tabid/1927/Default.aspx

Store sails dry and folded
When not in use, your sails should be stored dry, free of salt, and folded in their sailbags. … Most one-design sails will last longer if they are rolled in their sausage bags. ​

The Neil Pryde Sails - Owners Manual

Storing Sails
Very firm finished racing fabric should be rolled whenever possible, as folding will lead to creases which will not come out.​

Doyle Sailmakers

PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE
They [sails] should be folded without any wrinkles and kept at room temperature​

Magnified view of tightly woven Dacron polyester.
© 2009 Doyle Sailmakers, Inc. ​

Vanguard

Sail care
All gear should be rinsed, if sailing in salt water, the sail should be
allowed to dry before it is rolled up. Roll the sail up to the booms and
not around them. If your sail has a window make sure the window is
not creased when you fold or roll the sail.​

Laser Performance

Sail Care:
Rolling your sail is highly recommended. Crumpling a sail will crack the finish of the material which quickly reduces the life of the sail. ​

 

[Wavedancer]

Great post!

Thanks Wayne

 

[baldessariclan]

Ok, thanks for all the input. I just wanted to make sure that I hadn't completely destroyed it.

Yes it is old and "full" -- the leech tends to flap or buzz sometimes, despite keeping outhauls tight, etc. I also keep it rigged pretty high ("recreational-style") so that I can see where I'm going (no window), and that adds to the challenge in high winds. But I do weigh a LOT more than the boat and am also tall enough where I tend to throw the boat around more than vice-versa. It is fun to take it out when the lake's Hobie Cats and similar are running for cover (around 20-25+ Kts -- Kansas has some great wind!).

I do promise that when I buy a new sail, I will never touch it with an iron.