i reckon it depends where you sail.

when sailing in the surf i tend to get a lot of sand on the gear and that needs to be washed off.

sailing brisbane type flat water spots which is my main choice tends to leave the gear free of sand so i don't wash.

main thing here is to make sure the kit is dry before packing it up.

one downside with not washing is the salt residue on the sail which scratches mono and wears the stiching.

yep....Crystalising salt in the boom cleat and mast extension cleat

always worth a quick rinse if you know ur not going to be sailing for ages...

demons_taipan11 said...

easy answer... sail everyday!!! then the salt doesnt have time to kick in!!!

I bought a 240L wheelie bin and connected it to the downpipe - this is my rinsing tub. My neighbours used to give me suss looks when I would pull out the hose....
An alternative to the wheelie bin is a food grade container - they sell em cheap in the trading post.
I rinse everthing - takes bloody ages

Not... unless you can do it when it is all rigged up OR is absolutely necessary to get sand/dirt out... I don't see the point in unpacking and washing and either putting away wet, or hanging up to dry. Surely the extra UV or moisture as well as extra handing (especially while not rigged) is more harmful to sails than a little dirt...

I had a guy lose his retro plastic board in the wind while washing it a couple of season back, it tumbled a few times before coming to rest and putting a hole in my carbon board[}:)] Perhaps this was the start of anti-wash for me

Wash - please explain!

I wash the board, boom, mast foot and extension. Basically anything with moving parts. Washing the board isn't really necessary, but I don't want salt water dripping from my board when it's put away on the rack and is still a bit wet. I only wash the sail out if it's full of sand, otherwise just stand it up to drain and dry.

The case for washing:
Salt crystals and sand scratch monofilm. Saltwater takes longer to dry than fresh, and contains organic matter that will smell bad if left wet and warm for any length of time (probably the same can be said for river water?). My luff tubes seem to shrink slightly when dried with salt still in them which means that they stretch out again when re-wet (so, downhaul needs to be adjusted as soon as the luff gets wet). A nicely washed sail probably has better resale value than one that has got 'murky' from all the little salt scratches on the film.

The case for not washing:
Salt prevents mould and mildew. Laziness. Washing involves more handling of the sail, and can introduce more creases. It's another thing to wash, and is tricky to do both sides by yourself without crinkling the sail. If you're going out sailing again tomorrow, there's not really much point because it'll still be wet anyway. I stand the sail to drain, and dry, so there's not much chance of stinky organic stuff going on. If you've had a decent sail, you're probably too knackered anyway..

We don't have water restrictions here though..

only wash your sail when you cant see through the monofilm anymore or going to sell it, basically everything that has stitching, wash as minimal as possible, the chemicals in tap water these days will rott stitching way faster than salt water will. try not to store your gear wet, stuff like wetsuits footstraps sails..

Bails said...



Also I broke an alley boom once and I could see the evidence of salt corrosion on the break. Aluminium should always be washed because it corrodes.

The booms often break at the extension clip pin holes.
This is because the pins are always stainless steel and the boom is aluminium which sets up an electrical cell and the ally disolves to protect the stainless steel pins. This means that when the boom finally breaks the pins will still be in mint condition. Great!
Unclip the boom extension pins when not in use, particularly if stored for a long time, like over winter.
If you store your boom with the clips in place, check out the corrosion around the holes that the pins were in and compare it to the others and you will see what I mean.
I never wash any of my gear and it still lasts years.

Never have washed a sail and if you sail as often a we do in wa the monofilm will be stuffed way before the stitching will rot out.

I've just bought some cleaner for my boat clears its called Plexus Its $22 a can from BCF.
will try it on my sail window to see if it can make them clear again.
Will post the results

My gear was thoroughly rinsed at southpassage on saturday.Thats good enough for me

firiebob said...

Hey Gazza, years ago a mate bought a well used s/h sail, we gave it the old armarol treatment and it came up trumps
My idea was cos the sail drys out through UV, the armarol would preserve it, never found out how it went, I left town and have never hit one of my sails with it

Some one will come and tell us we're stupid, welome mate

I've used armourall on my sails before to protect against uv but if the damage is done it,s useless.
I did that a few seasons ago as a test and i don't think it made any difference to the life of the sail.One thing i do remember though was the water beading of the sail.A bit like rain-ex.Worked like that for a week or so then back to salty sails.

hey bob, i seem to remember u had a unique way of preserving your sails - with monofilm tape. counted up to 60 patches on one sail if i recall. : )

Before rigging, whenever possible I rinse the mast where the 2 halves join. It only takes a few grains of sand in there to get it stuck.

I never rinse anything else, even if I've derigged on the sand and rolled up my wet sail with sand all over both sides. This is my one small concession to hardness.

OK, if I won't be sailing for a while I'll rinse the metal bits...but I'm usually sailing pretty often these days.

Yep it's you, can't believe you're 35 Junior

Your work emails were bouncing, thought you got married and a picket fence