If is it necessary to rinse the sail, everytime you go out? I live in appartment so a rinse on the lawn back home is not an option.

Will the sail age much quicker, if I let it dry with saltwater on, but make sure its free of sand? I read that the dried salt can also be an abrasive but I f store the sail at the beach, the rolled up sail should not be travelling to far.

Some sail manufacturers (eg/ Ezzy) actually say to not bother washing them with freshwater - but if they were covered with sand I'd get rid of that before rolling it up to avoid scratching.
There are many theories regarding this, eg/ fresh water will mildew, so is bad; salt is a preservative, so is good;
I used to rinse my sails after every sail, but haven't for the past few years and haven't noticed any difference.

this topic was covered here:

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=51634

Personal preference really...

I always wash out my gear after a sesh (unless it's late and then I'll do it on the weekend).

Probably comes from my sailing background, we would always wash the cats down after a day's racing (Windrush 14's not moggies!).

Personally I like to pull out nice clean sails, masts, booms etc to rig up. No sand to get caught in moving parts and no 2-piece masts jammed together.

Dunno why everyone is so down on washing their kit? For me it's part of the post-sailing ritual...hot shower, cold bevvy and wash out the kit on the back lawn. It's a nice time for contemplation after a great sesh.

Pointman said...
...
Dunno why everyone is so down on washing their kit? For me it's part of the post-sailing ritual...hot shower, cold bevvy and wash out the kit on the back lawn. It's a nice time for contemplation after a great sesh.

By that time the sun's gone down and I'm stuffed

close enough question..am trying to build a temporary uncovered shack for storing gear..since the roof isn't that high the sails are stacked would that be a problem later on? am trying to ask permission from the neighbour if she could cut down her tree so i can lift the roof a bit till then...

jp747 said...

close enough question..am trying to build a temporary uncovered shack for storing gear..since the roof isn't that high the sails are stacked would that be a problem later on? am trying to ask permission from the neighbour if she could cut down her tree so i can lift the roof a bit till then...

If they are rolled pretty tight, having the weight of other sails shouldn't be a problem. Perhaps rotate who is on top occassional, then you could rotate your sails too.

After reading all these comments I'm a bit concerned.

In January (6 months ago) I had a pretty bad foot injury and am only really beginning to consider windsurfing again now. In the mean time my gear has been sitting in the garage, unwashed and salty.

Is there anything I should do, particularly regrading the sail, before going out again? It's not going to rip apart as I apply the downhaul I hope.