Sail Tear

[Wilyum]

I'll be heading to the local seamstress to have this tear repaired and I am just wondering what the best way to fix this would be? Sew a patch on? Stitch the torn edge back to the seam? Although a very experienced seamstress, I doubt she has much experience repairing sails.

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[Bellinghamster]

Looks like sailcloth fatigue from the leech fluttering. You can have it patched but it'll likely tear around the perimeter of the patch if you can't reduce the fluttering.

You can't just move the edge inward to have enough to overlap and stitch over - it'll mess up the tensioning of the edge and sailcloth and cause a funky sail shape.

Get some sailcloth of similar weight. Overlap the existing seams across the left and top (in the photo), over the split and a couple inches into "good" sailcloth and stitch it with UV resistant polyester thread, at least V92 (thread weight) trying to use similar stitch pitch and width. Best to radius the bottom to "ease" from the left seam into the sailcloth and not create a sudden stress corner. Not many seamstresses (sp?) will have the right thread or a machine capable of sewing with it unless they regularly do heavier work on canvas or jeans.

You can order all the supplies you'll need from Sailrite, or many canvas shops will carry outdoor thread and some sailmaker will give away scraps of cloth.

FYI - a great book on sailmaking and repair is "the Sailmaker's Apprentice".

[JPA Cate]

Indeed, I was wondering IF there is any good cloth left there. How to test for that, get hold #2 pencil, and sharpen it. If you can easily drive the pencil into the cloth, the cloth has had it. If not, then the repair discussed above will work fine.

Ann

[Wilyum]

Originally Posted by Bellinghamster

Looks like sailcloth fatigue from the leech fluttering. You can have it patched but it'll likely tear around the perimeter of the patch if you can't reduce the fluttering.

You can't just move the edge inward to have enough to overlap and stitch over - it'll mess up the tensioning of the edge and sailcloth and cause a funky sail shape.

Get some sailcloth of similar weight. Overlap the existing seams across the left and top (in the photo), over the split and a couple inches into "good" sailcloth and stitch it with UV resistant polyester thread, at least V92 (thread weight) trying to use similar stitch pitch and width. Best to radius the bottom to "ease" from the left seam into the sailcloth and not create a sudden stress corner. Not many seamstresses (sp?) will have the right thread or a machine capable of sewing with it unless they regularly do heavier work on canvas or jeans.

You can order all the supplies you'll need from Sailrite, or many canvas shops will carry outdoor thread and some sailmaker will give away scraps of cloth.

FYI - a great book on sailmaking and repair is "the Sailmaker's Apprentice".

Would it be better to wrap a long enough patch around the leech covering both sides of the tear?

[Wilyum]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Indeed, I was wondering IF there is any good cloth left there. How to test for that, get hold #2 pencil, and sharpen it. If you can easily drive the pencil into the cloth, the cloth has had it. If not, then the repair discussed above will work fine.

Ann

Ouch im sure it would go through, its a thin sail off a small CL14.

[fgd3]

It's easily repaired with a herringbone stitch. Sew down through the fabric on one side, up through the gap, down through the fabric on the other side. Keep the stitches close together and it will draw the edges together with no overlap. Adding a patch that wraps around the leech and covers the repair on both sides is a good idea. In the end, though, you will need to replace the sail. When the sail cloth starts to fail like that there is very little life left in the fabric.

[Benz]

I would stick a patch of self-adhesive sail-repair tape on each side. That way you get maximum surface area holding all that ancient sailcloth together. From the looks of it, the repair tape will outlast the sail....

[chrisr]

nothing to see here. bit of sticky-back and it'll be right for years...

cheers,

[Tetepare]

Yes, try sail tape. Go across the rip first, then an oversized piece (both sides) parallel to the rip. It's amazing how well sail tape works.

[sgrimm]

I agree with Bellinghamster. We had a similar tear on our Genoa. We patched the one rip using sail tape, sewed around outside edge of tape and then cut out the rip. It was solid. But another three rips appeared next sail. We repaired those. Two more rips. Repaired those... It was a losing battle.

Here's our patch job:
https://www.foghornlullaby.com/2020/...ing-the-sails/

[marcjsmith]

Originally Posted by sgrimm

Here's our patch job:
https://www.foghornlullaby.com/2020/...ing-the-sails/

does the singer have a walking foot?

[JPA Cate]

We've had seams let go, and hand sewn them rather than remove the sail. We've used sticky backed sail cloth too, and it does do a good job. But I think that sail is past its "use before" date. Of course, you can still use the tape type of answer, and it might last out the summer for you, and give you a chance to contemplate how you want to go forward.

Ann

[chrisr]

point of interest some may not be aware of : the glue used on sticky back is heat activated. therefore it is necessary to vigorously rub the patch once it's on, to generate this heat

we usually use the shiny side of the backing paper...rub vigorously until it's too hot for your fingers tips

makes all the difference !

nb : there are some super repair films around which have kevlar or carbon ribbon impregnated (we've always got a few square meters onboard for those 'emergencies').

in most cases this stuff will be stronger then the original sail cloth and i've seen it make incredible repairs

cheers,

(ps : don't forget to radius the corners of the patch !)