Sail Repair

[Dell Anne]

DIY sail repair. I was in a hurry.... how many sailing stories with bad endings start like that? Trying to get my boat on the trailer before the rain started and skipped the step of putting my furler cover on and ripped my Genny. The tear is a 90 degree angle and about 2 inches on each side. What are the acceptable methods and materials to repair this type of damage. I have access to professional sewing and equipment (the Admiral is very handy). Thanks for your input......_/)

[Richard O'Brien]

So you guys are finally getting some rain down there , huh?

Here's where most seem to go for advice >http://www.sailrite.com/<

Sail repair tape never lasts very long, so If you can find some 3/4 oz. dacron to back up the tears my sail repair shop just sews them up with a patch, and many cross stitches?

[Craig LaForce]

I had a guy repair mine when I ripped it.
He had extra sailcloth, cut a patch, and stitched it with some sort of super thread made of kevlar or something like that. but if that is not available I would use polyester thread. His sewing table was about 30 feet long X 15 feet wide. Mainly he did canvas work. Great guy. He had a boat at the same marina and did a lot of bimini canvas work.

[Chip Hindes]

Zig zag, not ceoss stitch

If you have time and access, by all means have it done professionally. It's not that expensive and will be best in the long run.

I suppose if the first mate has access to a good sewing machine, you could buy the repair stuff from Sailrite and do it yourself. Be careful though. We have built two sail cover kits from Sailrite, and though the price was theoretically right, we have also broken the sewing machine twice. It's a good older Singer, not a junker.

We always carry adhesive sail repair tape. For small tears such as you describe we've used this stuff and it has lasted several seasons until we could get somewhere to have a professional repair done.

[Moe]

As your sail ages, it's good to use lighter weight Dacron for the patches so it doesn't wind up stronger than the rest of the sail around it. Try to align the weave of the patch with that of the sail as well.

[bastonjock]

ive bought a sail repair kit,it contains a sailmakers palm,beeswax,various needles and some wax coated thread.

[Ivan Awfulitch]

I had a few small tears on the sails on my old Mac 17. I had the sail repaired cleaned and reconditioned by Sail Care in Pittsburgh. They did a great job and were very fair.
http://www.sailcare.com

[Dell Anne]

Thanks everyone for your reply. Your input is very helpful. I have ordered the material to make repairs. The admiral has access to sewing equipment in a local awning shop so, we should be good to go in no time.

[Night Sailor]

Tears like that are a cinch to repair with the right equipment. I"m sure the awning shop will have what works well. Bonded dacron thread, UV treated in size 62 or 92 in a zigzag stitch is good. A patch here and there just shows the world you are a veteran sailor!

BTW, I"ve done a sail repair with the precoated self-adhesive dacron sail repair tape while on a cruise and it lasted two weeks in FL sun without changing shape. Winds did not exceed 15 knots, and the tear was in the top third of the 150% foresail. (Previous boat, not on this X)