best way to store a sail

mommymoppet

New Member
I should have asked this before storing them away all winter rather than right before they come out, but what is the best way to store a sail? Is folding (but not by the window) or rolling a better choice? And once I put it on the mast, should I leave it there all season or should it be removed each time (and does it need to dry first)?

Thanks for all your insights.
 
ha !! If you search on this topic you will find some food-fights.
But I think everyone will say the sail should be dry before putting it away.

Me - I am pretty cavalier with my sails, but I don't finish very well so don't listen to me. Read the threads and enjoy the fun :)
 
ha !! If you search on this topic you will find some food-fights.
But I think everyone will say the sail should be dry before putting it away.

Me - I am pretty cavalier with my sails, but I don't finish very well so don't listen to me. Read the threads and enjoy the fun :)

Clean, Dry, wrapped around a 4" diameter PVC tube, covered and in a dry space like a garage or in your house under your bed.
 
ha !! If you search on this topic you will find some food-fights.
But I think everyone will say the sail should be dry before putting it away.

Me - I am pretty cavalier with my sails, but I don't finish very well so don't listen to me. Read the threads and enjoy the fun :)

Definitely agree, the most important thing is to keep it dry. At the end of every regatta I rinse the whole sail then let it dry in the sun. Also, if you fold it, make sure you use the same crease every time so most of the sail stays crease-free. but rolling is better for the sail overall I think
 
At the end of every regatta I rinse the whole sail then let it dry in the sun.

Does it make a difference if you're sailing in fresh vs. salt water? How long does the drying take? And do you take your sail off the mast each time or is rolling it around the mast a good way to store it between outings?
 
Does it make a difference if you're sailing in fresh vs. salt water? How long does the drying take? And do you take your sail off the mast each time or is rolling it around the mast a good way to store it between outings?

Fresh vs. salt - no difference, except you want to rinse the saltwater off the sail before storing it. And, let it dry first, otherwise it will mildew.

Sometimes, overnight during a two-day regatta, sails get wrapped around the mast (after removing the battens,) otherwise you want to take the sail off the mast.

I roll mine around a 4" PVC tube. As long as you roll parallel to the seams, you can leave the battens in the sail.
 
So actually I am curious.
IF you have a garage that you are storing your mast/sail in;
IF you have help rolling it so you get it rolled evenly;

What is the harm in keeping the sail on the mast?

In salt water I can see a downside being that you can't very easily rinse out the lower section and so risk corrosion on the vang tang attachment

As to rinsing the sail with fresh water - let me stoke the flames by saying I have heard at least one credible statement that the extra UV exposure is worse for sail than the effect of the salt.
 
So actually I am curious.
IF you have a garage that you are storing your mast/sail in;
IF you have help rolling it so you get it rolled evenly;

What is the harm in keeping the sail on the mast?

In salt water I can see a downside being that you can't very easily rinse out the lower section and so risk corrosion on the vang tang attachment

As to rinsing the sail with fresh water - let me stoke the flames by saying I have heard at least one credible statement that the extra UV exposure is worse for sail than the effect of the salt.

You can choose to store your sail any way you wish. If you do not care about how long it last or the shape it will continue to have then no worries.

UV is very harmful as is salt water. The salt is a corrosive and will damage your window and corrode the clew and tack grommets if left unrinsed over time.

I've been racing boats since 1981. In 83', (sailing with my first pro from Horizon Sails which was bought by Doyle many years ago) I learned to roll sails. Since then I have been in many competitive OD classes such as J24, J22's, Flying Scots, JY 15's, S2 7.9's, Santana 20's and of course the Laser. During this time I have had a lot of exposure to professional sailors and high claiber competitors. ALL of them ROLL their sails. We even rolled the main sail on a Santa Cruz 70, (that was a job!).

One exception would be headsails on large boats. Those are typically flaked in an long zip bag. Since these boats often change headsails while sailing rolling them is not practicle from a use standpoint.

Rolling your sail around your mast over a weekend event is fine, but leaving it that way over long periods of time is not what's best for acheiving maximum sail life/shape over time. A vertical roll is not as friendly to shape preservation as a horizontal roll.

Again, if it's a beater practice sail do what's easy for you, but for me my sails are an investment and until they are in the "beater" stage of their life span they will be horizontialy rolled on a tube.
 
What is the correct way to roll a sail on 4" PVC? Should there be any veritcal folds in the sail before rolling horizontally? The reason I ask is because you could use a shorter PVC pipe by doing this. I have no idea. What length of PVC are being used? Any advice on this process?
 
I roll mine on the 4" PVC, the length is just longer than the length of the foot. In my opinion the trick is to put one rap around at the pipe at the clew end before you attach the tack end to the pipe. By doing this the sail will roll parallel to the seems and original fold lines. I tie each end of the foot to the pipe, but with no tension, a velco strap is placed around the whole thing to prevent it unrolling and then it's stored in breathable sailbag. I've never bothered washing my sail unless it has a heavy coating of salt or has mud on the top, but generally the sail goes away dry.
 
Roll along the leech on a pipe, tied onto the pipe at the clew. If you want you can leave the battens in because it is rolled along the leech
 
Why has nobody picked up on the basic problem with the original question?

"I should have asked this before storing them away all winter ..........."

The winter is the BEST time to sail Lasers! I knew this to be true long before I moved from CT to FL.
 

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