What to do with old sails?

[Babylon]

I'm in the process of having new sails made, and wondering what to do with the old ones which are 25yrs old and effectively worn out. I have no room to carry them aboard as spares I'll doubtless never ever need (or awnings that I'll never rig), and I similarly have little space at home to store them pointlessly for years until I eventually move.

So what to do? Throw them out? Recycle - where, how?

 

[sigma38dave]

Put them in your garage and when you sell the boat you can list them on the inventory and the new owner can dispose of them.

We ended up with 3 main sails, one of which had a bolt rope luff so would be a proper PITA to use on a big boat with two of us, straight to the skip for that one!

 

[fredrussell]

Bin them. Clutter free!

 

[finestgreen]

Where to recycle old sails and end of life kit – drop off points across the UK and Europe - Practical Boat Owner

 

[Roberto]

Have you got a sewing machine, or can buy/borrow one? Then weatherclothes, halyard bags, riding V-sail (I made one for a friend too), chafe protections that will last what they will last, boom/mast straps with added webbing. Oh, patches to repair your new sails, one day hopefully in a very distant future
For big dimensions better cut away the stitched areas with a hot knife and stitch the various pieces anew, otherwise they will not lay flat.

 

[flaming]

I'm in the process of having new sails made, and wondering what to do with the old ones which are 25yrs old and effectively worn out. I have no room to carry them aboard as spares I'll doubtless never ever need (or awnings that I'll never rig), and I similarly have little space at home to store them pointlessly for years until I eventually move.

So what to do? Throw them out? Recycle - where, how?

Stick them on ebay / facebook marketplace for next to nothing. There's a busy trade in worn but serviceable sails.

 

[Roberto]

Also, I usually strip off everything. Leech lines are usually aramid or hmpe, good thin ropes; battens and accompanying accessories (for full battens), sliders, sections of genoa boltrope then used to clean/lubricate the light alloy furler profile before hoisting, D-rings, etc etc.

 

[MontyMariner]

weatherclothes, halyard bags, riding V-sail

Stuff sacks, grip bags, cockpit seat covers

 

[sigma38dave]

Stuff sacks, grip bags, cockpit seat covers….

…sails

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Freecycle worked for me.

 

[ylop]

I asked our sailmaker this question (in the hope they would take them and recycle). She suggested keeping them in the loft because if you do manage to put a massive tear in a sail at the start of a 2 week trip its a lot easier to switch back to the old baggy sail than find someone to fix it overnight. If you really couldn't find space in the attick/garage/shed then maybe stick them on ebay/facebook.

 

[pandos]

There is a scheme here where they are sent to Ukraine where they are used for stretchers . NYC Appeal for old sails for stretchers in Ukraine - Royal Irish Yacht Club - Dun Laoghaire, CO, Dublin

 

[Creek]

I used this company. Recycle Your Sail - Sails and Canvas
Well worth a look

 

[Poignard]

Deleted

 

[Babylon]

Where to recycle old sails and end of life kit – drop off points across the UK and Europe - Practical Boat Owner

Great, thanks!

This led me to a local firm conveniently closeby on the Hamble which is a collection point for used sails - OneSails - so that's that problem sorted!

 

[Lucky Duck]

I did the same with my last set but they are advertised as being recyclable.

At the same time I dropped off the current lot for a bit of attention and prayed they didn’t accidentally recycle the wrong ones!

 

[wonkywinch]

Sanders are making our new sails and taking our old ones as they have an active upcycling facility in place.

Sustainability - Sanders Sails

 

[michael_w]

They're excellent for covering piles of firewood.