There’s nothing better than enjoying a boat trip in Costa del Sol, feeling the sea breeze on your face. To make the experience the most pleasant possible, here we give you some tips related to the perfect caring of your ship’s sails. Remember a good maintenance of the sails will always improve not only appearance, but also efficiency and useful life.
It is said that sails have an average life of 10 years, although this time can be extended, specially depending on the sun exposure, which is without a doubt, the most harmful factor.
The useful life of a sail lies in several factors: the material it is made of, the conditions of the waters where it sails, the hour of the day, the time of the year, the friction with other elements on the boat, et cetera.
Keys to a well maintained sail
- Urgently fix any rip. Analysing the cuts will let you restore the sail and make it last.
- Wash the sails with fresh water at least once a season. A basic wash with PH neutral soap and a subsequent rinse, will prevent sea salt from speeding up the deterioration process and help get rid of fungal growth.
- Avoid unfurling the sails when they are still wet, since this loosens the folds and stitches.
- Avoid the sun as much as possible. The molecular structure of polyester is exponentially degraded by ultraviolet radiation. This causes much more severe damages than strain or strong gales.
- If you’re not sailing for a long time, fold up the sails. Although this seems obvious, lots of people leave their sails in the outdoors for the whole winter. Sails not only ought to have their sun covers but also be kept in their bags.
- Use the sufficient tension of the halyard according to the strength of the wind, always getting rid of horizontal creases without overdoing it, as we could deform the sails.
And for visitors coming by boat, don’t forget in Costa del Sol you have seven marinas to dock.
