Cotton Sails.

[White_Belle]

Hi all, I am clearing out my late Father's boating bits and have discovered a brand new suit of cotton sails for a dinghy / small yacht. They appear to never have been used and I would think they probably date from the 20's or 30's when my Great Grandfather was working as a yacht skipper. I have offered them to the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth but they have more than they know what to do with already. Would anyone know of an organisation or museum that would appreciate them? I don't want anything for them, just to find a good home. Thanks in advance.

 

[Daydream believer]

Hi all, I am clearing out my late Father's boating bits and have discovered a brand new suit of cotton sails for a dinghy / small yacht. They appear to never have been used and I would think they probably date from the 20's or 30's when my Great Grandfather was working as a yacht skipper. I have offered them to the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth but they have more than they know what to do with already. Would anyone know of an organisation or museum that would appreciate them? I don't want anything for them, just to find a good home. Thanks in advance.

Being unused they would be best used for coverings, bags, upholstery etc., but I am not sure how you get the message out to the wider world.

 

[White_Belle]

Thanks for your response, in an ideal world I would like them to be kept in one piece as an exhibit or similar

 

[davidej]

They aren't necessarily that old.

My father bought my brother and I a Cadet in the late 1950's. He ordered a set of best Egyptian cotton sails of which he was inordinately proud. That meant we wre always last in the Yacht club races as everyone else by then had gone to Terylene

 

[Quandary]

Problem might be that they are not quite rare or interesting enough? I know you say they are new and that may be unusual but it is not really that long since they were superseded. If you knew what type of boat they belonged to and someone had decided to exhibit one somewhere you might find an outlet or if it is a type known by racing history or geographical origins you might find a sailing club that has an affinity and could use them as wall decoration. Numbers or class symbols on them might help with that.
I know it will sound crazy but for quite a while there has been a 'trend' to cut up sails to make pricey sailing clothing, the fabrics used are a lot less comfy than cotton.

 

[JumbleDuck]

It'll depend critically on the sizes. If they are small then perhaps the Classic and Vintage Dinghy Racing Association (http://www.cvrda.org/) could help. If they are yacht sized then perhaps an appeal through "Classic Boat" (if that hasn't gone all pink trizers and no chins) would produce results. It would like a shame to cut 'em up unless you were absolutely sure nobody wanted them as sails.

 

[lw395]

They aren't necessarily that old.

My father bought my brother and I a Cadet in the late 1950's. He ordered a set of best Egyptian cotton sails of which he was inordinately proud. That meant we wre always last in the Yacht club races as everyone else by then had gone to Terylene

I once looked at a low-numbered 505 as a project. It had several suits of sails including a cotton set, complete with spinnaker. That was a 50s design IIRc.
There are other boat museums, I think finding out what they fit might be key.

 

[Seajet]

Is the ' Classic Dinghy Museum ' or whatever it is / was called still going at Cowes ? I never did manage to get there but wanted to, I have a nasty feeling it has gone now.

There's a dinghy race in Chichester Harbour where vintage models sail with modern versions but I've never been involved.

Your cotton sails must be of interest to someone, obviously the dimensions and / or class are critical - probably mentioning them here is the best you can do, hope they do find a good home; they could be solid gold to somebody.

 

[johnalison]

Old cotton sails would be very interesting, bit outside a museum I can't imagine what anyone would do with them, unless they were a classic boat nutter and wanted to cut them to fit. Cotton sails are a pain to use. The smallest bit of wet or damp and you have to put them in the drying shed. My Firefly came with cottons, and within a year was racing against terylene. Even if they gave us two and a half minutes per hour we would usually lose because they would be planing when we weren't.

 

[White_Belle]

Thanks for your help everyone. I believe that I have now found a home for them

 

[Medway Matt]

If that falls through it might be worth getting in touch with the CVRDA,

www.cvrda.org