Cleaning sails

[olddawgsrule]

I just bought my first sailboat and spent the first 2 hrs of ownership cleaning the inside and out. Look pretty good now!
Next step is the sails.
They're not stained, just dirty and dull.
Like the boat, they picked up some debris from the trees.
Sails are Dacron and I've read through a few posts so far.

I will check in my area for a commercial dry cleaner and may go that route before putting it away.
But for now, I was just headed towards mild dish soap and a soft brush.

Not sure I like those ideas of vinegar or Lestoil..
But you tell me!

 

[SolingSailor]

Hi Olddawgsrule,

First, congratulations, and welcome to our fraternity of sailors.

Cleaning sails is a little controversial. It kind of depends on the type of sailcloth, and how you will use your sails.
First, a little mild detergent, a soft brush, and a garden hose will show the true condition of the sails. Beyond that, the sails' performance will not be improved by further cleaning. The performance may actually be degraded, depending on how resinated the sails were when new. Racing sails are lightweight, and depend on resin to hold their shape. The resin will be washed out by aggressive cleaning. Cruising sails on the other hand, are made of heavier cloth, and don't use as much, or any, resin. But nice clean sails sure look good!
So my two cents would be to clean minimally at first, get to know your new boat and sails, ask a sailmaker, and then take his advice.

On my boat, which is a racing boat, I only rinse the sails with a hose.

 

[White90GT]

How often should sails be cleaned on a hobie cat? My thoughts were anytime the sail gets saltwater on it, but if freshwater saioing, only when it looks dirty. I used dish soap and a soft automotive cleaning brush.

 

[olddawgsrule]

Thank you Gent's! Looks like I'm going with a light cleaning.
The sail bag has some mold spotting on it and that I'm not as worried about.
Thankfully the sails were not in it..

 

[joetheis]

At the end of the season I stretch a tarp on the grass, lay out my sails, hose them, spray "Simple Green" on them, take a broom and go at it! (bare foot).
Then I hose, flip and repeat.
I either set up the sails on the boat (on the trailer in the driveway Make sure it's a calm day, almost "sailed down the street one time!), or on the clothes line to dry.
Roll up nicey nice and store in my spare room in the house, (warm and no mice)!
I sail in fresh water 100% of the time.
Joe
Never shows the work you HAVE to do to a sailboat in the movies! Just the hot chick and the guy healed nicely the sun setting in the back ground!

 

[PeterB26]

Unless you are trying to maintain brand new racing sails a little mild detergent and a soft brush won't hurt them at all. Dacron racing sails (and probably many new dacron non-racing sails) have sizing on them to make them a little crisp-er and a little more "air tight." It is because of this sizing that a lot of sailors are under the impression you should not wash your sails. After a season or two of use the sizing has pretty much gone out of them anyway and really competitive sailors won't use them anymore. (BTW newer fancier racing sails out of various modern film-like materials are entierly different.)

As for daily use sails you can lay the sail out on a lawn and go after it with a garden hose, a mild detergent like Joy for dishes or something like Simple Green diluted in a bucket, and a soft brush. Stubborn stains like rust stains will respond to stuff like "Iron Out" cleaner carefully applied in the right spots, but often the rust is an indication of something else that needs attention. Stuff shouldn't be rusty on a sailboat!
Let the sail dry completely (both sides) and fold neatly or roll up to store. Mice love to camp for the winter in a neatly folded sail and they will make a mess, so don't put them where mice can get at them.

 

[GA_Boater]

Guys - This thread is a year old, let it sleep. Thanks.