I heard that there is no need to wash the sail with fresh water. Can anyone tell me why?
I used to splash fresh water on everything as I don't like the sticky feel of the sea water when it gets dry.
i always wash my sails booms and extensions in fresh water and allow the sail to dry, it keeps my sails looking clear and my booms and extensions from rusting
I always wash my gear . The salt crystals and minerals break down and rot the stiching over time. When salt is left on the sail you will find that in humid conditions the salt crystal absorb water. Thats what that sticky feeling is.
I guess it comes down to your budget and how much you love your gear , the materials that are being used are pretty good these days and are alot harder than what came out in the 80's however salt is still salt.
For the record I was sailing sabots and 125's in the eighties . Not windsurfing Im not that old
i never wash my gear. stopped washing it when water restrictions kicked in and the council removed all of the hose points.
nothing wrong with my gear.
the rotting thing, i thought was from fresh water not salt water.??
Gestalt's right.
There's no need to wash your sails. The salt will prevent mould from forming. Yes, the salt will attract moisture when conditions are damp, but that water will be salty and it will dry out again.
There's only one reason you might want to wash of salt and that is that salt crystals are abrasive and can cut the threads in the stitching over time, but that would take longer than you would care to keep a sail for.
I used to wash my gear after use. If I know I wont be sailing for a while I will wash them off and dry them out for storage reasons only. If Im going out sailing often I just cant be bothered.
Stand the sails up against a wall in there bag and let the water drain off. Also a good idea to stand your boom up clew end down to drain any salt water out that may collect during sailing/crashing.
After never washing my sails, I tried it once, and got mildew on the sail, probably because I never dried it.
Leaving my sails in salt water has done no visible harm, no clouding, no wear, nothing. For a long time, they were all still wet when I went to go sailing again. Always a good thing when you sail that much!
I used to rinse all my gear and hang out to dry after every sail, but now just rinse mast ext, wetsuit and boom, still leave sails out to dry before putting them away, and might only rinse them off if they get dragged through the mud.
Life is too short to be cleaning s$&t
Nackers they are trying to save money by growing new sails, I wonder if they used a rooting powder.
This topic got me thinking so I thought "what does the manufacture recomend" so I wrote a quick note to North and this is the reply.
Hey Greg
Washing your sail in fresh water and drying the sail before packing is the best way to look after your sails.
The question of fresh water V Salt comes into play if you roll your sails up wet.
A rolled sail with fresh water can cause mould.
A rolled sail with salt water will not get mould but can damage the monofilm as the salt crystals & sand can scratch the monofilm.
Regards
Adam
Hey Adam Quinn,
You have a new Message which was sent via NorthWindsurf.com:
Justin & Clive you should wash your gear it only takes 5min keeps them new looking & clean & salt is bad for the stitching.
I wash my sails every time after a sail then roll it up & stand them up they dry out well this way you can hang them up if you have room in your garage or somewhere out of the wind so as not to get blown away or damaged. My sails last for years & look good.
