I'm new to winsurfing so don't know a lot. Is it ok to roll up my sail for storage while it is partially wet or should I dry it out completely
(Been in sea water)
Planning to use it again in the next few days, hopefully.
hi
you don't really need to wait until it is dry, unless you have a new sail i guess not really, its not going to make any difference to the sail lol
Yeah not really certain of the truth but i read that salt will eventually diminish the transparency of the monofilm if left like that and personally I have found the mast sleeve seems to get weaker and more likely to tear during rigging but this may just be old age (if a year of regular use is old age).
Over summer I leave my gear in my boatshed for convenience so I roll it up still salt water wet but I also sail almost every day. After summer on a non-windy, not too sunny or rainy day i hang up my sail in a tree, hose it down and leave to dry if I don't think I will sail for a week or more. Definately must be dry if fresh water rinsed due to mold.
Conclusion, it's ok to roll up salt-water wet but worth rising and drying of not using for a while. You could also temporarily store your sail rolled up vertical with the luff side down so most of the water drips out. (Do no store clew side down! Will bugger your sail)
I used to always dry my sails out before storing (this is after being in salt water) but just got lazy. Now I never dry them out but just roll them up and store them in the shed. I figure that unless you are really careful, you run the risk of mold forming because you've washed the salt off but the sail isn't completely dry when you store it. I was also getting damage to the sail by it creasing when I was hanging it up to dry. I've noticed some corrosion on the fittings on the boom from doing this but nothing too serious.
i've never had the transparency of film decrease by not washing. I have only ever washed if there is sand on sail. I will leave sail in bag outside under patio to dry as i just dont appreciate too much salt water going into shed.
Its Ok to roll up a wet sail - slat water wet that is.
If you rinse in fresh water the sail should be dried first, as fresh water promotes mold, salt water dosn't.
Yeah roll it up wet. Whatever you do don't dry it in the sun. Its UV that kills sails. Monofilm will just get a bit of salty gunge on it that washes off in the next use. Vinyl panels like the windows in Ezzy sails will get cloudy and milky. This will disappear when it dries.
I always wipe my sails with a towel before de-rigging. Gets rid of any excess water, sand etc. I don't rinse my sails with fresh water.
I rinse my board and all the other gear in fresh water though.
Hope that helps...
Thanks all. I get the general drift. No need to dry off, particularly in the sun. Hit that cold beer just a bit sooner with all your advice.
No bl@@dy wind here today