Sail Care and Winter Storage: Rinse, Dry, Inspect, Fold and Store

These cost nothing and save the most:

• Don't let sails flog. North Sails advises trimming promptly after hoisting and not motoring into the wind with sails flapping.
• Adjust the leech line just enough to stop the trailing edge from fluttering.
• Release tension when you leave. North Sails suggests easing the jib and main halyards and the outhaul so the luff and foot don't stretch permanently, and easing batten tension too.
• Use sails in their wind range. Ask your sailmaker if you don't know it.

Roller-furling headsails have a strip of sun-resistant fabric sewn along the leech and foot. It only protects the sail if it ends up on the outside:

• Roll the sail all the way in so no white cloth shows. UK Sailmakers shows that a sail left partly unrolled exposes bare cloth to the sun.
• Keep a little tension on the sheet while furling so it rolls tight and smooth.
• Finish with a few wraps of the sheets around the rolled sail so wind can't pull it open. UK Sailmakers recommends three wraps.
• Make sure it's rolled the right way. UK Sailmakers sees sun damage on sails that were furled backwards, usually when the UV strip is the same color as the sail.

If the mainsail lives on the boom, cover it whenever you're not sailing. Quantum Sails stresses that the cover must fit properly, with no sail edges peeking out at the ends. Add extra sail ties before you leave so the sail can't work loose and flog in a blow.

Salt crystals attract moisture and grind at the fibers. North Sails recommends rinsing sails with fresh water before storing them, and rinsing fittings to slow corrosion. With the sail spread on a clean surface (or hoisted on a calm day), spray gently with a hose. For dirt, use mild soap and a soft brush, then rinse well. Don't scrub hard and never use a pressure washer.

This matters as much as the rinse. North Sails puts it plainly: wet sails create mold. Let the sail dry fully on a calm, dry day, hoisted at the dock or spread on a clean lawn or tarp, turning it so both sides dry. Pay attention to thick corners, batten pockets and the folds of the luff. Never bag a sail that is even slightly damp.

Spread it out and go over it panel by panel, both sides. Photograph anything you find. Look for:

• Stitching: North Sails notes UV can quickly damage some threads. Quantum suggests a simple test: pluck a few stitches with an awl. Good thread stretches; sun-rotted thread snaps easily.
• The UV strip: faded, worn or brittle covers no longer protect well. Quantum adds a key check: look at the sail cloth on the side opposite the cover. Any color change there means the cover needs replacing soon.
• Chafe: worn spots where the sail touches spreaders, shrouds or lifelines. Doyle Sails also points to the topping lift rubbing the mainsail leech (clip it forward to the mast when you don't need it), stanchions and the pulpit along the foot, and uncovered cotter pins and spreader ends. Tape or cap anything sharp aloft, and ask your loft to add chafe patches where the sail keeps touching.
• Small holes and tears, especially in light nylon downwind sails. North Sails suggests checking them a few times a season.
• Battens: North Sails says splintered battens should be replaced, or at least taped so they don't cut the sail.
• Hardware: luff slides, headboard, rings and webbing at the corners must be firmly attached.

Follow North Sails' advice, and when in doubt ask your loft:

• Mildew on polyester, Dyneema/Spectra or Vectran sails: a mild household bleach and water solution with a soft cloth, then a thorough rinse. Never use bleach on nylon, aramid or laminated sails. Sailmakers don't all agree here: Doyle Sails says not to use bleach or bleach-based products on any sail, and suggests warm water with regular laundry detergent and a soft brush, plus a mildew treatment that is sprayed on. If your sail came from a particular loft, follow that loft's advice.
• Oil or grease: scrub gently with Simple Green and a soft brush, then wash with mild soap and rinse off all the cleaner.
• Rust: take it to a sailmaker. Some stains never come out completely. A faint stain doesn't hurt the sail; harsh scrubbing does.

A small tear caught early is a cheap fix. North Sails recommends patching minor tears as soon as possible with self-adhesive sail repair tape and warns against duct tape. (Duct tape doesn't hold well on sailcloth and leaves a sticky residue the sailmaker has to clean off.) Clean and dry the area, round the corners of the patch and press it down firmly, ideally on both sides. Leave it to a sailmaker if:

• A seam is opening or the thread fails the pluck test over a long stretch
• A tear is in a high-load area (corners, leech, near reef points or the luff)
• The UV strip needs restitching or replacing

North Sails suggests spraying the luff tape or slides with a dry, McLube-style lubricant so the sail goes up and down the track easily. Rinse sail bag zippers or give them a little silicone spray so they don't seize with salt.

If the boat is hauled or laid up, remove the sails rather than leaving them on the furler or boom. Pick a calm, dry day. Unroll or lower each sail under control with a helper, remove battens if your sailmaker recommends it, and coil and label the sheets and halyard ends you disconnect.

Flake the sail in loose folds parallel to the foot, like an accordion, with a helper at each end. Change where the folds fall each time: North Sails warns that folding on the same lines turns small creases into permanent ones. Laminated and many high-tech sails are better rolled than folded; ask your sailmaker what suits your sails. Slide the folded or rolled sail into a clean, dry bag and label it.

North Sails recommends storing dry sails in a well-ventilated place. In general, that means somewhere dry, cool and dark, out of direct sun and away from big temperature swings, and up on a shelf so mice and other critters can't nest in them. Many sail lofts offer washing, inspection and climate-controlled winter storage if you don't have a good spot.

North Sails and Quantum both recommend a professional inspection at least once a year. Drop the sails off in the fall so repairs are done before spring. Keep a log in BoatMend: the date of each inspection and repair, plus photos. Quantum suggests photographing each sail from the same spot (looking up from about the middle of the foot) so you and your sailmaker can track how its shape ages.