How to Care for Your Sails

Flogging and leech flutter can prematurely degrade a sail's performance. Minimize motoring into the wind with flapping sails. If rigging on land, avoid leaving the sails flapping in the wind before you launch. For larger boats after hoisting sails, bear away and trim your sails quickly after hoisting so the sails fill rather than flog. Anytime you can reduce your sail from flogging and flapping, it prolongs the life and performance

Adjust your leech line to eliminate leech flutter. Use just enough tension to stop the flutter. The tension setting will change as breeze increases and as you adjust your jib sheet. Don't over-tension and especially don't leave it tensioned after heavy air days; if the leech becomes hooked, it's a clear sign to ease it off. Proper jib car placement also helps prevent leech flogging.

Some race and cruising sails are designed for specific wind ranges, if you're not sure ask your sailmaker. Using sails outside their wind range reduces their lifespan and performance. So for example a larger light air sail can easily get damaged (and probabl won't be faster) in heavy air. It's fine to use sails that have a higher wind range in lighter winds, the wear comes from using light air sails in heavy air. In general sails take more of a beating in heavy air conditions

Ease the outhaul when leaving the boat to prevent permanent foot stretching. Releasing batten tension also reduces distortion at the batten ends. This is especially critical during winter storage.

UV rays are one of your sail's worst enemies. If you store your mainsail on the boom, keep it covered when unused. Consider UV covers for all sails in long-term storage. Only expose your sails to the sun when you're sailing or if you need to dry them (just be sure to reduce the total exposure)

Rinse sails with fresh water and dry thoroughly before storing to prevent mildew and color bleeding in spinnakers. Rinse fittings with fresh water to help prevent corrosion. Store dry sails in a well-ventilated location. Dry sails are just as important as clean sails because moisture breeds mold issues. Always store your sails in a dry environment, it's ok if the environment is warm or cold, avoid extreme heat.

Roll your sails when possible to avoid repeatedly bending your sail or reinforcing creases. Vary your storage folds each season and consider always rolling sails instead. Your sails will last longer and perform better than if they have folds, flaking is better than folding but not as good as rolling, rolling is the best method

Regularly rinse sail bag zippers or lubricate them with silicone spray. Well-maintained bags protect your sails from damage. Check bags for mold and mildew seasonally, especially after winter storage.