[Rhodes22-list] How to prevent mainsail UV damage?

[Jesse Shumaker]

Hi Michael,

My mainsail had some UV damage prior to when I bought it since some dacron
had been exposed like you mentioned.  I addressed the furling issue by
adding another wrap as others described.

I used some sail tape as a patch between the sunbrella and the dacron on
the foot which helped support the damage in that area.  However, during a
particularly "boisterous" sail in lively conditions during our club regatta
at the end of last season, the dacron started to tear where it meets the
mainsail.  This winter, the local sail repair guy added a patch to extend
the sunbrella a few inches further so the sunbrella section will enter the
mast by a couple inches or so since there was room to spare.

I'll see how the repair holds up when I get the boat back in the water in
May.

Jesse Shumaker
S/V Zephyr

On Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 2:44 PM Michael McKay <mm.bizlist1 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks Patrick, my boat lives in its slip with the mast up all year, so a
> portion of the sail will always get some sun exposure through the slot in
> the mast.  Unfortunately, it’s always the same 1” section of the sail.
>
> The only idea I’ve come up with is a zipped up Sunbrella sleeve to go
> around the mast—I’ve see those used for some roller furling headsails.
> Doing that would require adding a halyard to pull the sleeve up. I’m not
> sure how hard that would be.
>
> Any other suggestions?
>
> On Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 3:27 PM PBR <pbryanriley at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Mike,
> > You don't show a pic of the sail exposure when the outhaul is all the way
> > out (sail in).  It seems to me like you need one more wrap (or two) of
> the
> > outhaul around the mainsail furling tube.  I always have my mast down so
> I
> > would just pull the furler to the bottom and add a wrap.  If your Mast is
> > up you might be able to fish around to add another wrap, not sure.
> > Patrick
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 3:02 PM Mike McKay <mm.bizlist1 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > > I recent acquired Liber, a 2006 R22 recycled in 2018.  The 2018
> mainsail
> > > failed at and near the Sunbrella seam due to UV exposure damage.  My
> > > sailmaker patched in a panel to replace the damaged section, but it is
> > > clear
> > > that sunlight will always hit the sail inside the mast and it will
> become
> > > weaker over time due to UV exposure.   A picture is attached.
> > >
> > > The prior owner told me to detach the clew from the outhaul car and
> wrap
> > it
> > > around the mast when leaving the boat for a while (he got that
> suggestion
> > > from Tino at General Boats) but that would still leave a significant
> > > section
> > > of Dacron constantly exposed through the slot in the mast.
> > >
> > > Any suggestions for how to better protect the main from premature
> > failure?
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > >
> > > Mike McKay
> > > s/v Liber 2006/2018
> > > <http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t998/Sail_damage.jpg>
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Sent from: http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/
> > >
> >
> --
> Michael McKay (mm.bizlist1 at gmail.com)
>