Sail covers

[barryhall]

I am in process of getting some new sail covers made (shouldn't have left them in a black bin bag that leaked for the winter!) The originals are canvas I intended to use the same but have been advise by supplier that he normally uses a waterproof plastic material and gave me a sample which certainly looks tough enough but I was under impression that something breathable would be better and looking around nearby boats they all seem to use a breathable fabric. Any advice on which way to go gratefully accepted.

Barry

 

[alan17]

Breathable is certainly best but breathability of materials that claim to be waterproof and breathable very dramatically.
When my cover was last valeted I had ventilation grids sewn in to the lower edge. This certainly helped combat the mildew problem.

 

[alan17]

In my last post "very" should read "vary"!!!

 

[PetiteFleur]

The usual material is an Acrylic canvas, either with or without a waterproof coating on the inside. Any maker will show you samples, it looks just like canvas but available in many colours. A fully water proof type as offered will probably be PVC or Polyester type with a shiny finish on a canvas backing.

 

[dockmaster]

If it is shiny it will probably suffer badly with uv degredation.