4 foot long rip in sail. Tips for repair?

CaptainBob

CaptainBob

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Hi,

Was sailing yesterday when a small hole in a seam rapidly became a 4 foot gaping chasm.

It's along a seam where two separate pieces of cloth are joined by simply overlapping each other by about 1cm, with two lines of what looks like it was running stitch (IIRC from school sewing lessons).

There's no hem on either piece.

I'm planning to just sew them back together by hand with some decent sail thread I have.

Is there anything I should know? Does it _have_ to be "running stitch", or can I use some other stitch which won't "run" like this did when/if a small gap develops again?

Thanks!
 
If you can stand the tedium, a hand repair is better as you can use the existing holes, rather than punch a new set in with a machine. An overlap with no seam is an acceptable method. The edges of the cloth will have been heat sealed to prevent it fraying.
It helps if you can stretch the sail between two fixed points and have one person each side to pass the needle back and forth through the existing holes. It might be worth checking the rest of the stitching - if you've got a 4' tear it could be that the thread has suffered with UV.
 
4 ft is going to be a tedious job and you will have to do it in several short stages . I just zigzag along the seam picking up the old holes and then zig zag all the way back again. The end result will look exactly like the original.
Overlap the remaining good stitches by quite a bit.

Its a warning that the stitching generally is now pretty weak and in need of some serious remedial work.
 
Cheers for the speedy replies. Such terrible weather here on the Tamar at the moment so I'll leave it for now I think (won't be sailing obviously) and get on with it when the wind and sideways rain stops.

The sails are the originals that came with the new boat, so they're 30 years old, so I guess are bound to be a bit tired.

I have a couple of rips in the cloth near the clew of my genoa also which I'll post about separately when I get a decent photo.

Thanks again!
 
There is a special stitch for repairing rips. Dunno if I can find anything on line I may have to scan an old PBO guide if no one comes up with anything.

Self adhesive spinnaker repair tape is briiliant though! Strongly advise using that as a temporary reapair

Been quite a nice day here in the south east but I am sure it will deteriorate later.
 
If the sail is of any reasonable value, take it to a sailmaker, it should only be about £30 (maybe less, I just paid that for a foot long patch in a mylar main) for a repair as good as what you started with. I try to fix everything else myself, but have always found proper sail repairs to be money well spent, unless its getting the last bit of use from a very tired sail.
You might be able to use the original thread holes in this case (if the cloth i intact) though which would mean no harm in trying DIY. Some people advocate double sided tape to hold in place before stitching.
If the cloth is fairly light a heavy domestic machine will zig zag it, I have an old Jones machine made in Poland, great for covers etc.
Good luck.
 
Usually when I do repairs of this length it handstich using the old holes and from both sides in about 12" lengths so giving anto ripe properties.

I would suggest you take the sail home and while enjoying your favourite tipple and some good tv go over the whole sail looking for broken threads and fix with some overstiching.

No SWIMBO here so maybe easier for me to have the genny on the lounge floor once the kids went to bed ..

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
If a seam has opened up a 4ft long gap it sounds like the thread has had it. Which means that all the thread in the sail could be as bad.
Best get a sailmaker to run an eye over it.
 
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An overlap with no seam is an acceptable method.

[/ QUOTE ]
That's meant to say 'an overlap with no hem', ie you don't have to turn the edges over like you would with. say, a pair of curtains. 'Cruising Under Sail' by Eric Hiscock has some photos of sail stitching, but I'm not sure they're all that useful for a modern fabric. There are some useful hints here and a similar ybw thread
 
When a sailmaker has repaired rips for me what they do is:
Cut away frayed edges with a hot knife - this stops the edge running.
Lay sail flat and apply sticky backed repair tape to cover hole with a decent overlap onto 'good' fabric.
Turn sail over and apply tape on this side as well.
Sew round the edge of the tape.
 
[ QUOTE ]
If you do chose to hand sew go buy one of those little awls type devices that have an internal bobbin. They make it possible to stitch just like a machine (well almost) and once used, you'll not go back to regular needle and tread.
JOHN

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi John, cheers for that idea.

Do they enable you to stich in zigzags? Any idea what they're called or where I can view them online? Can they cope with sail cloth thickness etc?

Cheers, sorry for all the questions!
 
Have looked over the rest of the sail and it turns out that all the main seams between the large areas of the sail are falling apart. The thread is rotten.

Take your point that a sailmaker is the best way to go, but I'm very keen to take it on myself, so am going to give it a go.

All of the other sewing looks in good condition so it's just a matter of over-sewing the zigzags between the main sail areas.

I have semi-fixed my existing hole which was 3 foot not 4 as first estimated. Started at 9am. Have just completed a zig there and a zig back. Only 2 more to do, on that seam. Sewing machine time I think! See post above.
 
Hi Captain Bob I have found that I can do a lot of sewing repairs on sails with a domestic sewing machine. I buy a polyester thread specified as for upholstery so it is heavier than dressmaking thread.

The domestic machine has no problem with just 2 layers of cloth. It is at the corners where there are multiple layers. It is a lot quicker than hand sewing. I don't believe that the multiple holes in the cloth from oversewing are a real problem though obviously it reduces the ultimate strength of the cloth.
So just go for it. Holes can be repaired by using patches of old sail cloth. I use a soldering iron to heat seal the cut edges to stop fraying. Definitely if you use sticky back repair tape you need top sew it. Even then I have never had any success with it. olewill
 
[ QUOTE ]
I can do a lot of sewing repairs on sails with a domestic sewing machine.

[/ QUOTE ] I would not dare! /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif Moreover I can still remember how much it cost! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
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