Sail Damage and How to Prevent It
Quick action is called for when you spot damage to one of your sails. If it’s the headsail, you should change to a different sail so that the tear or delamination doesn’t spread. If it’s the mainsail, you may be able to reef to take the strain off the damaged area. As most yachts carry only one main, which will be reefed and unreefed many times during an offshore voyage or coastal passage, how you handle damage to it is very important.
Where spinnakers are concerned, quick action is definitely called for. In one Sydney-Hobart race when we ran for over 24 hours, we noticed a small hole in our spinnaker.
Before we could drop the kite, the hole had become a tear and then blew out leaving tapes and fabric. In this case the sail was old, probably due for replacement but, perhaps, a more observant crew may have seen the hole sooner.
Spinnakers must also be protected from small wire snags on headsail halyards, the forestay and shrouds — i.e. anything sharp the sail may come in contact with.
Flogging of the mainsail and/or headsail — whether jib or genoa — should be avoided. It is a major cause of weakening and delamination. The moments before the start of a yacht race are filled with the rattling noise of sails whose skippers are desperately trying to lose wind and keep on the correct side of the starting line.
Similar damage may be caused by leech flutter so the leech lines on both the mainsail and the headsail should be adjusted to remove it, but not tightened so much that the leech hooks, which will kill air flow over the sail.
Both the main and the genoa should have spreader patches — extra strong material that protects the sail from damage when it’s against the spreaders. For the genoa this will be when hard on the wind, for the main when running.
The other risk to your genoa is carrying it beyond its maximum recommended wind strength. This, together with over-tightening the halyard or sheet, will stretch the sail out of shape and make it less efficient.
As most of us can’t afford new sails every year or two, caring for our sails is a good way to keep us out on the water.
Copyright © 2009 Bevanda Pty Ltd
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