subject: How to Maintain Your Folding Sails ? [print this page] How to Maintain Your Folding Sails ? How to Maintain Your Folding Sails ?
Sails are your boat's engine, so keep them "well oiled" and in tune. With proper care, your sails will last longer and retain their designed shape when flying in the wind. In this section, we focus on how to fold, store, and care for your sails.
After using your sail, put it away in a manner that's easy on both the sail and you. Some racers roll their sails (from top to bottom) after a day on the water. Rolling may be easier on the sailcloth, but doing so is a cumbersome task. An easier way is folding the sail.
You can easily roll sails that are fully battened, like most catamaran mainsails, because the battens provide support, like a venetian blind. Rolling these sails is preferable to taking out all the battens and then folding the sail.
You can fold sails from bottom to top with creases horizontal to the foot, like an accordion. Mainsails on larger keelboats can be flaked in this manner right on top of the boom for easy storage.
Follow these easy steps to fold your sails:
1. Pick your spot and stretch the sail out to its full size (if possible). Find a spot that's at least as long and wide as a single fold on which to fold the sail. Grass lawns make great sail folding surfaces; parking lots are bad because they're rough and dirty.
2. Remove the battens from their pockets on the sail. Except for the very short, permanently installed battens sewn onto the leeches of some jibs, remove all the battens so that you can fold the sail into a smaller bundle.
3. Stretch the foot out and, with one person at the tack and one at the clew, begin folding the sail like an accordion, starting at the bottom. Pull against each other just enough to define the crease of the next fold.
4. Work to the top. Each fold should be approximately the same width about 1 foot (30 centimeters) wide for a dinghy sail and 3 feet (1 meter) or more for a 50- foot (15-meter) keelboat sail.
5. Roll up the sail and bag it. When you reach the head of the sail, begin rolling or folding the sail lengthwise into a shape that fits in the sail bag.
