Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
I did not have a good experience with them. About 10 yrs ago I sent my 135 to them to get cleaned. What I got back was a clean sail but with the UV cover damaged. It appeared to me that in their cleaning or drying process they use heat or heating dryers. Anyway it looked like the adhesive on the UV cover softened and puckered. I guess this is why they caution you about numbers and letters that are on your sail. This was my experience and I'm sure many people have had good results but I didn't. I would use a local sail loft. Most do cleaning and reconditioning and you can avoid the boxing and shipping headache. Easier to talk with someone local rather than across the country.
Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688 Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound
We each have our own ideas and aesthetic standards. My inclination is that any aggressive cleaning shortens a sail's life. I also believe exposure of sails to the sun bleaches out many stains naturally. My practice has always been to clean dirt from a sail with a little dish soap and, if necessary, a soft bristle brush, like a paint brush. If there's still a little stain, I trust it will fade in time. I don't expect sails to look sparkling white when inspected closely. If they look presentable from 30-40 ft, I'm happy, especially if they still work well after 20+ years.
Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind" previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22 Past Commodore
I’ve gone both ways on sail cleaning. First, I washed down my patio and laid my sails out for cleaning with a soft brush on a long aluminum pole. Cleaned it with a squirt of Dawn and a few ounces of Clorox in about 2 gallons of water. Then I hung the sails from my deck and rinsed and rinsed with a spray head (not a power washer) until there were no more suds. The sails sparkled for the season. I later learned that Clorox is NOGO for Dacron sailcloth, so scratch the Clorox. The next time I brought my sails to a master repairer named Gene Sutton, who worked at my local sailmaker, namely Nielspryde sails of Stratford CT. Gene was (now retired) an expert sail maker and repairer from WAY back in the day. They did a great job and Gene also repaired the UV strip on my furling Genoa sail. I wish he were still local in Stratford however I learned that he retired to South Carolina somewhere. Meanwhile, Nielspryde is still with us and doing sail cleaning and repairs, at least they were 2 years ago.
Bruce Ross Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032 Port Captain — Milford, CT
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.