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UV Protection for Roller Furled Genoa

10296 Views 9 Replies 7 Participants Last post by countrygent5201, Oct 19, 2009

countrygent5201

Discussion Starter · Oct 17, 2009

I'm brand new to the site, so please forgive me if I'm asking questions that have been answered a thousand times before. Here's the issue:

I recently purchased an 86 Hunter 28.5 with a 150 genoa installed on a roller furler. The previous owner had a white Dacron strip sewn on for UV protection many years ago. Since the sail had not been unfurled in several years, the strip became extremely dirty and laden with mildew. Last week, I took the sail down for cleaning. I used a mild detergent with a cup of Oxi Clean in three galls of water. The sail cleaned up fairly well with much scrubbing, but the Dacron strip that had been exposed to the weather for years without cleaning did not clean well and became extensively damaged during the cleaning process. In some places where the mildew was especially heavy, the strip virtually disintegrated. All of the actual sail, including what I can see underneath the UV strip, appears to be in very good condition -- especially considering that it's the original sail that came with the boat.

The question is, what to do now. I do not want to leave the torn, worn-out and dirty UV strip on the sail. The options appear to be (1) have a new Dacron strip installed, (2) have a Sunbrella UV strip installed, or (3) cover the sail with a sleeve. I could use some help on which of these options are the most economical. I'm sure either would be effective for my remaining sailing years, so cost is the biggest factor. Anybody had any experience with the sleeves? How do they work? I assume they would require a separate halyard. The boat is rigged with a spinnaker halyard (but no spinnaker), so would this work? What do they cost? Can you buy them pre-made or would it have to be custom made by a canvas shop? What would a Sunbrella strip cost? I'ver heard upwards of $600, which I don't want to spend on a sail this old. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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T37Chef

· #2 · Oct 17, 2009

I have not used the sleeve, nor I have seen one, but the idea makes allot of sense.

I would take it to a local loft and see if they think adding the UV is worth it or not. Or try Sail Care out of Ford City, PA. I have had great experiences with them and highly recommend them. They would tell you straight up if it was worth it or not. They also have their annual cleaning discount going on right now so it may be worth the call. (their cleaning process is a bit more involved than just "cleaning"

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Faster

· #3 · Oct 17, 2009

Sleeves can work, but they require an extra halyard (which you probably have) Another factor with sleeves is that in breezy conditions they can start to flap around and can chafe the exposed stitching of the rolled up sail. Some put elastics every 4 feet or so to discourage that, but then if its windy enough you'll get advance, localized chafe in way of the elastics.

Your best bet is probably to remove the tattered bits and have a new cover installed... or, you can do as we do (furler with no UV cover on the sail) remove the sail and store it below between trips, just as you would with hanked on sails.

Though it's a little more work, but costs nothing and there's no weathering on the sail at the dock.

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sailingfool

· #4 · Oct 17, 2009

I would have the UV cover replaced with a sticky-back UV shield material, which I think is sacrifical dacron, not sure, but the sailmaker will know - the material is lighter and less expensive than sunbrella.

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countrygent5201

Discussion Starter · #5 · Oct 17, 2009

sailingfool said:
I would have the UV cover replaced with a sticky-back UV shield material, which I think is sacrifical dacron, not sure, but the sailmaker will know - the material is lighter and less expensive than sunbrella.

I read a little about this last night but figured that an adhesive strong enough to withstand the rigors of sailing would be impossible to remove or replace. Does this stuff actually work? Is this something I could do myself? Where could I go to learn about installing it? Thanks for all the good advice.

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tager

· #6 · Oct 17, 2009

I would just use the genoa until it fails, then buy a new one. Of course I would not have scrubbed it to death either!

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capttb

· #7 · Oct 18, 2009

IMHO The best would be options 1 and 3, replace the sacrificial Dacron sunband and use a sleeve when docked. I'm convinced Sunbrella sunbands slow you down. In my area a sailmaker would charge about $600 to replace the sunband.

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sailingfool

· #8 · Oct 18, 2009

countrygent5201 said:
I read a little about this last night but figured that an adhesive strong enough to withstand the rigors of sailing would be impossible to remove or replace. Does this stuff actually work? Is this something I could do myself? Where could I go to learn about installing it? Thanks for all the good advice.

As tyhe material degrades due to UV wear, it the adhesive starts to soften also. ends up being not to hard to pull off, after 5=10 years of use. Again, the sailmaker will have all this dowe pat,you should use one.

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CalebD

· #9 · Oct 18, 2009

Sailrite.com has kits to do both the sleeve and protective strips. It is worth a look: http://www.sailrite.com/Categories/Furling-Units-Hardware
Your cheapest option is to just remove the sail when not in use although this somewhat defeats one of the main purposes of having a roller furler - convenience.

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countrygent5201

Discussion Starter · #10 · Oct 19, 2009

This is one of those situations where I've learned just enough about something to thoroughly confuse myself. The self-adhesive strips, such as those sold by Sailrite -- Does the adhesive actually hold the strip in place for actual use, or is it just something to hold the strip in place while it's being sewn on?

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