sail care

gleninst

New Member
I am the new owner of an '69 with a relatively new sail. Unfortunately the previous owner furled the sail by wrapping it around the spars and poked a couple of very minute (pinhead) holes adjacent to the sail clips. Should I put something over these tiny holes? I hate the thoughts of putting rip-stop over them, even a circular patch the size of a quarter would look like !#!#. Thanx. Paul
 
! Oh P-shaw !

There's no reason to live with a bad situation. Pinhead size holes aren't critical though they can fray with time. Over-sewing may look ugly, but how about a couple of dots of color matched sail tape. The stuff is cheap, hardly noticable, lasts years when applied correctly, made just for this sort of repair, and available at most sailboat suppliers. If that's still not appealing you might consider a drop of a urethane seam sealer on each hole. Names like Polycoat or Seam Grip come to mind. Check them out.

http://www.sunfishsailboats.com/sails.php

http://www.questoutfitters.com/miscelaneous2.htm#SEAM SEALER
 
Sure, small hole will fray over time, so won't the rest of the sail! I doubt these holes are truly pin size, otherwise you wouldn't readily see them. Lets say the holes are a bit larger. Get some scrap sailcloth. Cut out a little circle. Hold in place with clear plastic tape. Now you've got a cosmetically pleasing repair.
 
You can usually purchase clear sail tape at any sailing/boating store so you don't have to worry about matching colors. This tape is very effective and cheap. I've used it on my sail, but when you cut it, round the corners so it can't peel. It's very permanent and in your case, if you put one piece on each side, you should avoid future fraying of the holes. Hope I was of some help.
 
Not sure what you mean?

Nick, assuming the clear Sail Tape mentioned is Fluoro-Vinyl Repair Tape made for Sailboard Sails, Hang Gliders, Ultra-lights, and Kite Sails, the material sounds like it will do a complete repair job. The suggestion strikes us as a very good one. We are happy to add it to our own list of options. Thanks for sharing your research Nick.

Al, your suggestion of pasting a sail cloth scrap on with an ambiguous "clear plastic tape" struck us as incomplete. It didn't provide for binding the broken threads and it left the type of tape to be used open to interpretation. If the poster of the original question doesn't have experience in maintaining equipment and asks for help a curmudgeonly response of, “learn to live with it” and the nebulous reference to "clear plastic tape" isn’t (in our humble opinion) providing a newbie with much assistance.

Paradoxically, you have been very thorough with your input about Poly Fiber UV-550 Urethane Varnish in other threads. How do you do that, flip-flop from a highly professional, top-of-the-line material recommendation to a marginal, make-do repair in almost one breath?
 
S.B.B. Your above (previous) message is better left for private emails. It serves no purpose for the users of this forum, except, perhaps for entertainment.

Al Courtines
 
I too miss the Geezer!

As far as the repair....sticky sail tape. It will likely last as long as the sail. If you don't like the color, get a sharpie and color it, they have a rainbow of flavors. Beware, do not misinterpret and get a sharpei as this would undoubtedly do more damage to the sail.
 
Tim - we like your style

using a sharpei might make the sail hard to trim -
 

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You can do wonders on very small holes with super-glue type adhesives. I've used a gel type from Duro on many "pinholes" and rubs.
 

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