If your sails have seen better days, you may think that replacing them with new sails is your only option. But think again - high-quality, expert sail repair can make old sails look, feel, and perform like new!
Even sails that have been in service for decades can get a new lease on life with expert sail restoration. But the key to getting the longest life out of your sails is to act fast - keep a close eye on your sails and have repairs done as soon as a problem appears.
Here are two of the most common things to look out for:
Stains - The bad news is that stains on sails are an unsightly but unavoidable consequence of regular use. But the good news is that the right cleaning techniques can reliably eradicate just about any kind of stain, including stubborn rust marks.
Returning stained sails to their original beauty is a job for trained and experienced sail repair professionals, however - no amount of washing or do-it-yourself stain removal will give a badly stained sail that like-new look and feel. But in the right hands, professional sail cleaning using tried and tested sail restoration techniques will eliminate stains and leave your sails looking almost as good as they did the day you bought them .... even if that day was thirty or more years ago.
Mainsail, leech edge - The leech or back edge of the mainsail is often the first part of the sail to show wear and tear. Be on the lookout for these signs of leech edge problems:
- You're having trouble setting or trimming the main.
- It's hard to flatten the back edge of the sail
- Using the leech line only seems to cup the back edge instead of helping to flatten or quite down the back edge.
- You see visible signs of wear along the leech/back edge of the sail. This wear may be visible as tiny holes in the fabric, or in extreme cases tears along the stitching may even be visible.
If you note any of the above, it's likely that aging and use have created a problem that requires professional sail repair. As with all sail problems, the sooner you tackle it, the better the chances of successfully repairing it will be. But even severe cases of wear can be fixed by sail restoration specialists.
