I used to wash and hang my sails to dry, then I stopped, its too much of a hassle. Unless the club has a hose at the launch ramp, the sails stay salty.

I dont believe that washing sails has any benefit when compared to the effort and time to wash them and hang them dry. I dont wash my sails after each sail and they dont smell or get moldy.

The salt in the salt water keeps mold away. Stretching from a windy day, UV, heat, rolling it up, etc, etc, etc do the most damage to a sail. If you dont dry a sail completely after a fresh water rinse it will get moldy.

So, I believe that rolling it up neatly after each sail without rinsing it is the best way to go.


I do wash off the rest of my gear religously, especially the wetsuits, just not the sail.