Sail Washing

Hayden:

We used to have our sails washed and stored every winter but since we are in the Caribbean all we do is spray them down as best we can with fresh water, air dry and store.

I would not use one of the washing machines - think this would be to rough on the cloth.

Bobby

Hayden,

My Dad used to lay the sails out on the freshly hosed off driveway, wet 'em down and scrub them with mild detergent and a brush. After rinsing them off and drying in the sunlight, the sails looked good as new. This was considered "annual two" or A-2 maintenance, right after A-1 scraping and painting.

These days I'd probably put a tarp down first.

Tom

I sent my main and genoa out to a company called sail care in Ford PA. They inspected them put on a new UV protector on the genoa , re- stitched where required and treated them with a re-resining process. They have a name for that process but I do not remember it.
In short the sails look great and I feel I was very well served by this company.
Mark

I agree with Mark, we have used Sailcare in Ford City, PA several times and have been more than pleased with the results. The sails come back clean and are nice and crispy as well. Jerry and the crew do an outstanding job and do it relatively inexpensively. We had our main done this past winter, had a few small repairs done and as I recall it was under $300 including shipping.

The only downside is that the process faded the IP logo, however I did get replacements made from the sailmakers used by the IP factory for $70. The ship's store at the IP factory shows sail logos but they have been out of stock. The replacements are adhesive backed, can be made in any size for any size IP main sail and were very easy to put on.