How To Repair Your Spinnaker Sail

A Sailmaker's Guide to Patching

January 12, 2022

Mother Nature can wreak havoc on fifty-fifty the best sailing gear and equipment. Thankfully, with repair magicians like Quantum's Eric Grigsby hither, you don't need to fret if a nasty storm or big cakewalk amercement your sails. Eric explains what goes into mutual patching repairs and how he makes sails equally proficient as new.

A lot of the repairs y'all'll read about here can be avoided with regular inspections (Catch the wear before it needs a major ready!), but, at some point in your canvass's life, information technology will likely need repair for any number of reasons ranging from a nasty puff to crew error. Some of the nearly common issues I run across, such equally torn or chafed areas, tin can be repaired with patches. The following descriptions will give you a look at the dissimilar types of patches used to repair specific impairment to both cruising and racing sails and make them like new again.

A window patch involves completely removing the torn or damaged expanse and replacing it with new cloth of the aforementioned blazon. Window patches is the more common approach with Dacron fabric and nylon spinnaker cloth than with laminate cloth and are commonly done when there is significant damage. The torn textile is reassembled using masking or insignia tape, and then the damaged area is pinned out flat and sectioned off with double-sided adhesive record. The new cloth is and so positioned with the fibers in the correct orientation, and the quondam cloth cutting out on the opposite side of the sail and the seams stitched. If the window patch is executed as I've explained, it will non bear on canvas shape or strength. However, it is essential to first remove the shape in the sail, pin the area flat, and orient the warp and weft fibers in the right direction in relation to the area you volition be replacing on the sail. Warp fibers run with the length of the whorl; weft fibers are woven perpendicular to the warp yarns. Many cloths besides have bias and scrim yarns in them. It is critical to match up the fibers because they act every bit load paths that accept the strain and shock-loading the canvass is subjected to while underway. The new cloth should be as close as possible to the aforementioned weight, style, and yarn type if a clean repair is to exist made.

LIKE A PUZZLE

A alpine-transport canvas's tear is taped back into identify in preparation for a window patch. The damaged material volition eventually be removed when the new panels are stitched in.

NEW Fabric

The new panels are pinned down over the reassembled harm. Next, information technology will be stitched in place and the damaged portion removed.

A rough-and-tumble patch uses a slice of cloth with agglutinative backing and applies it to the damaged surface area on both sides of the sail then is usually stitched downwardly. This repair is mutual for small holes and tears and is often the preferred method for repairing laminate sails. A small-scale tear or pinhole in a spinnaker can be repaired using an insignia patch applied to both sides. An insignia patch is a lightweight polyester woven cloth with a pressure level-sensitive agglutinative (PSA) backing, which makes it fantabulous for small spinnaker and laminate repairs. The surface is wiped clean of whatsoever dirt or salt before the repair is fabricated. The patch cloth must exist practical flat and rubbed down vigorously to actuate the pressure-sensitive adhesive.

Ouch!

A unproblematic tear is no match for a band-aid patch appropriately applied. Hither the patch is already applied to one side and is beingness prepped for the next pace.

Straight forward fix

The patch is practical to the other side and once cured the sheet is skilful to become.

Laminate sails can vary greatly, and their yarn layout and construction is typically a bit more than sophisticated and delicate than conventional sail cloths due to their Mylar construction. Some laminates have Mylar films on both sides; others accept taffeta films and even Mylar taffeta combinations with everything from carbon to Kevlar yarns. Often the all-time arroyo to repairing large tears on laminate racing sails is Ultrabond (hot gum) band-aid patches with minimal to no sewing required. If the yarns are fully severed, then new cloth of the same or similar style and weight will demand to be applied in order to make a proper repair. The yarns in laminate cloth create the structure of the sail and act as load paths similar to the individual fibers that comprise more traditional fabric like Dacron. A encompass layer of insignia or spectra/Kevlar PSA should be placed over the repair on both sides of the canvass. The patches need to be different sized, with one larger than the other to preclude any hinge points, which is a laminate sheet's worst nightmare. The repaired expanse needs to be left flat to cure before it is ready for use on the water. Smaller tears and damage to the film tin be fabricated using Mylar PSA on both sides, although, just like other adhesive tapes, the sail surface must exist make clean and apartment earlier application.

IT HAPPENS TO THE BEST OF US

Opps...your bowman fell through the tack! No worries, we tin can set up that, too.

Forepart

Nothing a lilliputian band-aid patch and a few stitches can't fix.

Back

Now back to sailing.

CORNER PATCH/BROADSEAM TEARING

Sometimes laminate sails tin brainstorm to break down along swivel points, such equally at the edges of patches, broadseams, and leech belts, where there is a sharp transition from thick to thin cloth. For broadseam tearing, a repair using a triangular type of patch with a laminate structural patch on one side and staggered embrace patches on one or both sides with sewing around the perimeter of the inner patch volition exercise nicely.

For repairing tears around corner patches, information technology is mutual to extend the panels of the patch. This non only covers and reinforces the compromised surface area of sail, only information technology besides moves the hinge point farther into the sail where the fabric withal has integrity. Corner patches should ever be commencement on laminate sails to help prevent the kind of impairment often plant on clew patches.

CHAFE PATCHES

Shroud abrasion is a common sight on batten pockets and can usually be repaired with a little insignia or Dacron record. Spreaders can also cause chafe and puncture holes in sails, so an insignia reinforcement patch should always exist used wherever the sail comes in contact with standing rigging or stanchions. Insignia record is versatile and tin be used effectively and with minimal weight gain on about every cloth type.

LUFF TAPE PATCHES

Luff tape patches are another common patch, in this instance made to a sail's luff tape. Both racing and cruising sails see luff tape wearable at high-load areas such as the caput, batten pocket locations, and reefs. On larger racing yachts, a stiff reinforcing tape is needed to withstand the heavy abrasion they run into on their mainsail luff tape. A material like Hydranet, cut on the bias and sewn on to high abrasion areas, will have a lot of abuse and salvage your luff record from beingness chewed up beyond repair. Spectra and Kevlar cloths are also proficient to utilise for this purpose equally long as they are cut on the bias to ensure that both fibers volition be working. On cruising headsails, the department of luff tape at the head often needs to be repaired due to UV exposure which breaks down the fibers in material over time. The tolerances are then tight on many furling forestays that lighter cloth like insignia needs to exist used for this repair to ensure the boltrope volition even so fit.

A Common WEAR POINT

A nicely placed Kevlar patch makes this luff good as new.

LEECH Breakup

The leech of an upwind sail tin can break down over time, particularly with laminate racing sails. A great mode to strengthen the edge of the leech on lightweight laminate sails is to employ a larger insignia chugalug cut into a moving ridge formation rather than a straight cut. This eliminates whatever future hinge point. Often a recut and wave insignia is all your leech needs to get it flying correctly over again.

Information technology LOOKS A LOT WORSE THAN It IS

Even gnarly damage like this tin be repaired.

Adept TO Get

A few layers of material strategically ultrabonded over the damage and the canvass is set up for employ once again.

With the right tools and know-how, almost whatever repair can exist made to a canvass every bit long as the fabric however has sufficient integrity. Some smaller repairs tin can be fabricated onboard (click here for a guide to mutual onboard sail repairs), while larger repairs volition require the apply of a loft and qualified sailmaker to breathe life back into your sail. For offshore cruisers, I highly recommend having a well-equipped repair kit to make emergency repairs. Click here for an offshore repair kit checklist or telephone call your local Breakthrough loft and they tin help yous assemble the correct kit for your needs.