Which sailcloth?

[tim3057]

For a 24' cutter rigged wooden boat with tan sails, how can I tell what weight (of Dacron for example) I should use for small sail repairs (leech chafe damage).




<hr width=100% size=1>Wayfarer Woodie done, now I need a new fix..

 

[William_H]

So it is out with ther sewing machine. It sounds like you are like me and would rather do a botchy job myself than let someone else do it (for money). I think you will find that the lighter dacron will suffice especially if you put a patch on both sides. This means you can sew it easily with the family sewing machine. You can hem the edges of the patch or cut with a hot knife. (cut with scissors then run a hot soldering iron down the edge to seal the threads will do it). This means less layers of cloth to sewe through.
Light cloth on the leach will enable you to fold the cloth around the leach then sew on first one side then the other through all layers. I am assuming you have some dye to get the colour right.(or can you buy brown cloth?)You should try dyeing a patch first to ensure it will dye ok. You might find old cloth has less of the filler in the weave so will dye easier. If you cant get the colour right you might consider cutting the sail down by trimming the leach to expose good cloth so no need to use more cloth or to dye. Good luck from one who knows nothing of sail repairs really just does it anyway. Regards will

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[tim3057]

Thanks Will. Yes, DIY is the thing!

<hr width=100% size=1>Wayfarer Woodie done, now I need a new fix..