sailcloth=sacrificial cloth

[witzgall]

After I spent $600.00 replacing the sacrificial sunbrella on our furling headsail, I pulled the second headsail out of the bag. It is almost in perfect shape, and almos tthe same size as the other. Why was the owner using the old bag of a sail?

Anyways, the sacrifical cloth is just another layer of sailcloth. A guy on my pier told me that there needs to be some sort of coating on that cloth, or the UV will shine right through. Both are white.

Is this true, and if so, what should it be coated/sprayed with?

Chris

[AnchorageGuy]

Chris, Don't know that the UV will reach the sail itself unless it is really degraded, but the sacrificial strip will deteriorate quickly compared to Sunbrella or some other type. The other sail may be a different size which is why the previous owner did not use it. There really is no spray to put on the material that will last very long.

[Pblais]

Anyways, the sacrifical cloth is just another layer of sailcloth. A guy on my pier told me that there needs to be some sort of coating on that cloth, or the UV will shine right through. Both are white.

Our sails have an extra layer of sail cloth and is as noted they do fail but not sooner sooner. Sunbrella isn't all that resistant to UV either. Nothing is! It may be cheaper by the yard but not by the foot. You pay to have a sun strip sewn by the foot and the cost of the fabric is cheap compared. I paid $700 about 3 years ago on a 33 ft boat to add Sunbrella. It's not highly resistant and probably lasts as long as something else. I have failure on the jib I have now as it is old. I know for certain Sunbrella would not last this long either.

You can add anything you like. Some times the colored Sunbrella looks better. When you consider how much it costs looks do matter. The pictures look better with a colored sun strip color coordinated with the boat colors. Ask the Admiral!

[AnchorageGuy]

We get 5 to 7 years on our sacrificial strip and that is in the Caribbean and south Floriduh. A sailcloth strip typically last for maybe 2 to 3 years in my experience. That is UV damage and not chafe, etc.

[over40pirate]

Sunbrella is very resistant to UV. Sail cloth is not. They make a UV protected dacron, for sacrificial covers. but Sunbrella lasts longer. My Sunbrella, genny strip has lasted over 8 years and is in good shape. I resewed it 1 time. Not sure about UV damage, but some Sunbrella colors fad bad, such as the light blue color, and red.

[Ex-Calif]

We have our furling genny in to the seamstress as we speak. The UV strip separated from the sail at the leech. More correctly the thread failed. They are going to charge us about $200 to run new stitching (ouch). The sail material and the sewing on the sail itself is fine. The blue panel really protected the thread used in the body of the sail. So we hope to get another season or two out of it.

Your second sail may not have the UV strip because the UV strip is heavier and the previous owner used that sail for regattas or races where the performance matters.

Our current sail is pretty heavy. During the northeast monsoon we get sustained 15-20 knots and lot's of 25 days. It's a good sail for that.

We are planning to have a second genny made of lighter dacron for the southwest monsoon. The winds are a lot lighter now and the heavy genny hangs like a bag in less than 6 knots.

One of our "competitors" has a really nice light air genny that is only slightly heavier than spinaker cloth.

Maybe there something like that going on with your sails...

I wouldn't leave that sail on permanently without a UV strip.

[witzgall]

It was really odd, the second owner, the guy we bought from, described the sail in the bag as being larger of the two. What I found, after laying them both on the grass, is they are very close in size. It was marked as a 135% sail, made for the boat. The original sail is then perhaps a 140, certainly not any bigger than that.

It is a cruising sail, with all of the trademarks of such. It is in such better shape that I am just a bit shocked that he did not say something to that effect when we bought the boat. I know it was not built for him, but the original owner. Very strange.


Thanks all of the input, we will jsut ahve to keep an eye on the sailcloth on the foot and leech.

Chris

Chris

[bstreep]

Just to point out - you CAN request that your canvasmaker/sailmaker use UV resistant thread. The Admiral uses it, and it works well and is only slightly harder to sew with. It IS a lot more expensive. But, it has an unlimited life.

[over40pirate]

Before using the UV resistant thread, (Tenara, aka Gortex) I would research it a bit. I was told that it's not good for sails, because it isn't very abrasion resistant. I use it on my canvas on my boat. Some canvas shops offer it as an option. Others don't, most likly because a lot of their work is from repairs.
It costs more than 10x the cost of UV Dacron thread.

[Chief Engineer]

My Sailmaker, who is in his 80's now and still working, doesn't charge Annapolis prices like that. Whew!!!!!

[FrankZ]

Originally Posted by Chief Engineer

My Sailmaker, who is in his 80's now and still working, doesn't charge Annapolis prices like that. Whew!!!!!

You don't use Mr. Boycott do you?

[Chief Engineer]

If I answer tha question.........

Originally Posted by FrankZ

You don't use Mr. Boycott do you?

[bstreep]

Yes, it DOES cost 10x as much. BUT, it lasts forever. Generally, it doesn't make sense for sails, as the sailcloth ages quickly in the sun. For Sunbrella though - whether on a sail (the UV cover) or as canvas, it DOES make sense.