As a sailmaker, one of the things I really like about membrane sails is that at some point they fall apart enough that they can’t be repaired. I don’t intend this in an atavistic way as you say to yourself, “of course the sail maker likes sails that don’t last that long!” but everyday I see ancient Dacron sails that should be replaced like the one I wrote about last week. That 40 year old Dacron sail is in terrible shape, but the customer will spend $900 to get another year or two out of it. At a certain point, I can tell a customer that the membrane can no longer be repaired and needs to be replaced.

This S-2 7.9 genoa is at least 15 years old, it was measured at the 2007 National Championships, and is in very poor condition. The leech and foot look like swiss cheese from all the holes in the mylar and the sound of delamination fills the loft every time you move it. I quoted a repair to the customer and gave him an excellent price for a replacement (Ullman makes the top S2 7.9 sails btw). He went with the repair rather than replacement so I got to work.

First step was to pop the stitching on the leech tape and peel one side up. Next I laid down a 10″ wide band of re-inforced mylar patching material along the leech from clew patch to head patch. On top of that I put down a light skin (all out of black insignia) wavy tape. The leech tape got sewn back down and I flipped the sail over. Mylar patches went on the other side of the larger hole and new tell tales finished the job.

Membrane sails can be repaired, sometimes easily so if your older racing sails are starting to show their age, bring them on in and I’d be happy to give you a honest and thorough evaluation.

Sross@ullmansails.com

410-990-9030