edgar baby, you don't have a clew. you really should go sailing sometime. it
is loads of fun, AND you will learn something about the sport. try it, dood.

From: "Edgar"
Date: 12/20/2004 5:12 PM Eastern Standard Time
Message-id:


I don't think so. If a well maintained sail tears it tends to be at sea
in
very bad weather and if you can wait till you get back to the dock to let
it
dry you need a sailmaker to make a proper repair not repair tape.

How often would you find a sailmaker while at sea in very bad weather?

I kept he tape ashore for repairing the likes of chair seats etc. On board
my sail repair kit was a large piece of sailcloth, needles, twine and a palm
for urgent repairs, but my sails were serviced by their makers every year
and i never had to use it in any serious manner.

The trick is to have an adequate sail inventory which will allow you
to take the sail below, rinse and dry the effected area, repair and
then put it back into service if required.

Fully agree about the inventory, but as to rinsing and drying the affected
area on board during or after bad conditions i can only say that you have
probably got a better chance of doing this in your climate in Oz than where
i sail.

The great advantage of sail tape, applied to both sides of a tear is
that it will hold the cloth togetherexactly as it should be while it's
stitched thru for a perfect fix either at the time or later when that
sail is no longer in urgent use.

I can see that this could be useful if you can get the tape to stick...