Sorry for jumping in late as I dont have the original posting.

Stitching is easy to replace and redo. The addition of an adhesive
tape (PECO tape, etc.) between the broadseams and with an extra row of
stitches will solve such weakness cause by UV degeradation of the
thread.
The killer of dacron sails is UV exposure, the 'whiter' the sail the
more rapid the UV degradation. Take a large bladed screw driver and
test especially the corners adjacent to the reinforcement pateches ...
if the screwdriver blade is easily pushed THROUGH the sail cloth .....
time for new sails.

Just about ANY sail has a lifetime of only a 'few hundred hours' if
used hard. Racing sails get the ultimate stress (because the crews
know HOW to overstress a sail .... therefore in my mind would make a
very poor choice for a 'replacment' or recut for cruising. The issue
here is 'creep' or permanent deformation of the fibers due to
'oversstretching' of the structure of the cloth - a trulely
'blown-out' sail. Taped luff sails are essentially 'non-adjustable' and
once blown out cant be easily re-cut back to good shape unless they are
also have their borad seams resewn.

A sail with a boltrope (three strand dacron rope in a sleeve at the
luff) can usually be brought back to decent shape by simply 'adjusting
or easing the rope. What happens in a boltroped sail is that every
time you strain the rope it gets shorter and fatter until the sail
appear very baggy with draft well aft and the leech hooking to windward
..... most times all thats needed to get such a sail back into
serviceable shape is to cut open the heavy stitching that attaches the
rope to the sleeve, let the rope slide down a bit into the sleeve and
reattach rewsew it with waxed sailtwine Such sails usually are
originally 'preloaded' by cutting the rope shorter by about 1 inch for
every 10 ft. of luff length. If you have the exact original dimensions
of the sail, just check the current luff length versus the original
length and reset and resew the bolt rope and the sail will take on
proper shape and begin to have 'new life'. This for woven DACRON
sails with a boltrope NOT for mylar or other laminated sail material.
Why I recommend adjustment of the boltrope is that perhaps 95% of
'cruising' sailors never apply proper halyard tension anyway and in
doing so all the time, the boltrope naturally shrinks to a smaller
length as a natural course. So if your present mainsail has a very
ROUNDED luff shape, seems very full with the draft at or beyond the 50%
length of cord and the leech seems to be hooking up to windward ....
take the sail to a sailmaker to have the boltrope 'eased/adjusted' ...
if this doesnt vastly improve the sails performance, then consider a
used or entirely new sail. The shrinking process of the three strand
rope is the same process that makes docklines shorter and fatter (and
stiffer)... repetetive strain.
..... this is for woven DACRON sails with three strand dacron BOLTROPES
inside a sleeve at the luff.

hope this helps.






In article , DSK
wrote:

wrote:
Last year, I replaced the 22 yr old sails on my 28' S2. Based strictly
on stitching inspection, I think the sails had many more years of use
but I replaced them because I was convinced by other people that
sailing performance would improve. I believe the sailing performance
DID improve but cannot be sure because this si so subjective.

Well, you should be happy that you *think* sailing
performance improved, then.

Seriously, did you know know what your boats pointing angles
were with the old sails? Did you not have a good idea for
what speeds it would attain in given wind conditions &
points of sail? What were you doing all the previous times
you sailed?


... Now I am
skeptical and wonder if sails that are lightly used ( i do not race)
really do become significantly stretched and then do not work well.

Depends on what you mean by "lightly used."

Most resins used in sailcloth (especially pre-1990 or so)
get brittle over time even if the sails sit rolled up on a
shelf. Heat also degrades the cloth. So if the sails were
perfectly rolled & stored, they'd suffer loss of strength &
resiliency. UV is also terrible for sails.

Considering 'light use,' hoisting & furling sails puts a
small amount of wear & tear on the fabric & stitching. Any
time the sail flaps or flogs, that's not good for it either.
Folding the sail breaks down the resin & fibers & weakens
the sail. Dragging the sail across the ground or floor is
terrible for it.... in fact I once saw a man bundle a sail
up in his arms and unintentionally drag a corner of it
across a parking lot. When he went to put it in the back of
his station wagon, several sail panels came apart... the
stitching had been abraded to nothing. I've had my sails
damaged by having stitching catch on dock splinters, it
looked like unraveling a knitted sweater.

Would having the old sails reconditioned by SailCare make them perform
well?


Not really. Their treatment does not restore the strength of
the cloth, and if they don't re-cut the sail then the shape
is not restored. It improves the looks though. And if they
restitch places that need it, like batten pockets, this
might be more cost-effective than taking it to a sail maker.

One method to restore the shape of some sails might be to
detach the bolt rope from the bottom of the luff sleeve. The
bolt rope often shrinks with age and this puckers the sail
into a baggy shape, even if it's not blown out. If the bolt
rope is sewn into a sleeve and the stitched thru to hold it
in place, sever the thru stitching and let the tack slide
down from the end of the bolt rope. You might have to put a
slug on the tack so it will stay in the luff groove.

It is also possible to restore some shape in the sail by
recutting, either at the luff round or one or two
broadseams. If you are geting a sail restitched, ask about this.

Most non-racing sailors are getting shoved around with
crappy sails, and don't know any better. Blown-out sails
affect the boats steering and heeling as well as speed &
pointing.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King