Sail laundering

I had mine done at Dolphin in W. Mersea. Done in house. Genoa was about £66 + VAT two years ago.

I sent my 8 year old main back to Crusader last year as it needed a repair. They collect from round the East coast. The cost of the whole thing, including a very thorough repair and laundry and courier back to me was £160 incl VAT. Almost too cheap!
 
Another for Dolphin/Gowen in West Mersea. I drop my main and genny off there every year for cleaning and check over, they then store the sails until I need them again in March/April
 
Many years ago I sent a Dacron sail to be cleaned and they knocked the stuffing out of it completely and I had to replace it. I imagine that modern sails are more resistant, and washing wouldn't make a laminate porous. I baulk at the cost of having sails cleaned, and although I had this done after the first years, I now only do spot cleaning at home and send them off when work is needed,
 
I usually send mine for laundering and valeting every year, I service my engine every year so why not my sails which are the primary motive power on my boat.
They charge according to weight, my main and genoa come to about 20kg total and the bill is usually just under the £200 mark including any small repairs.
By the time I have replaced all the fuel/oil filters, wasting anodes antifreeze and engine oil on the engine the total cost is about £80 for a years service, so considering the small amount of use the engine gets in comparison to the sails I think it’s worth the expense of laundering and valeting the sails.
 
I had mine done by Dolphin many years ago. Thoroughly unimpressed. They looked no different to when they went in. In fact, a complete waste of money.
MoodySabre said:
I had mine done at Dolphin in W. Mersea. Done in house. Genoa was about £66 + VAT two years ago.

I sent my 8 year old main back to Crusader last year as it needed a repair. They collect from round the East coast. The cost of the whole thing, including a very thorough repair and laundry and courier back to me was £160 incl VAT. Almost too cheap!
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Tradewinds said:
I had mine done by Dolphin many years ago. Thoroughly unimpressed. They looked no different to when they went in. In fact, a complete waste of money.
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For me, not Dolphin but Tiptop (it would seem), came back looking pretty similar (still grubby) and certainly not much cleaner, just folded nicely and smelling a little bit of bleach.
Plan B was to line my trailer with polythene, fill it with water and Vanish whitener, then leave to soak for a day or two then hose off and hang to dry. Seemed to get a better result than valeting. Needs dry weather though, and ignores any chafe repairs.
 
Habebty said:
For me, not Dolphin but Tiptop (it would seem), came back looking pretty similar (still grubby) and certainly not much cleaner, just folded nicely and smelling a little bit of bleach.
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My canvasman says they utilise Milton on a large scale.

I had my Sunbrella sprayhood, bimini and various panels cleaned by Tiptop (via Suffolk Sails) - they also re-treated them with Fabsil Gold. They were covered in industrial grime and green mildew (despite using Patio Magic). I have to say the Sunbrella fabric looked like new when it came back.

Unfortunately my UV damaged sprayhood clear windows faired less well with the cleaning, turning brown in various places - so they will be replaced this winter. Other, newer clear PVC windows in the side panels came out perfect.
 
For sooty/greasy marks on a furling genoa (hydrocarbon washout in rain from port operations, I suspect) I found professional laundering disappointingly ineffective. On the basis of a forum recommendation I tried home laundering with Biotex detergent and warm water - placing the loosely folded sail in a large pressure-washed wheelie bin, agitating frequently, topping up with hot water occasionally and hand brushing remaining marks where the dirt had been ‘loosened’ before rinsing and drying in the garden. I was very pleased with the result and have used it subsequently for general sail cleaning. Biotex details and cleaning scope here: https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/bio-tex/069012-35007-35008
 
John 32i said:
Dropped ours off at One Sails Levington, yesterday - first time for us, will report back:encouragement:
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Used them last year they only rinse the sails which is what I wanted having had a bad experience with another company, then inspected and did a minor repair. They store them for you as well. Very professional and I was very pleased with the service.
 
See Seashoreman's link in his post - One Sails is an agent for TipTop. One Sails, like the other sailmakers, do any minor repairs once the sail's been cleaned.
davidwf said:
Used them last year they only rinse the sails which is what I wanted having had a bad experience with another company, then inspected and did a minor repair. They store them for you as well. Very professional and I was very pleased with the service.
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davidwf said:
Used them last year they only rinse the sails which is what I wanted having had a bad experience with another company, then inspected and did a minor repair. They store them for you as well. Very professional and I was very pleased with the service.
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Heaven forbid it should ever happen but supposing the sail loft bunt down and your sails were destroyed. Would your insurance cover your loss?
 
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