Paranoia.

Top Tboat teams are religious about sail care and they typically only use them for a couple of regatta before switching to fresh. If you choose to go down this path, then I expect you will also remove your main battens before rolling up your main each and every day you've sailed. This "prevent" battens taking a set...though I've not seen this at a significant level with sails rolled up for years with battens in. You should also be taking your jib off your roller furler each day and alternating the rolling direction to reduce pre-curves (Top T teams will roll from the top one day, then roll for mt he bottom the next, switching direction each time).

Me, I leave my spinny in the snuffer between outings, while trailering, storing boat etc.. Main (& Jib) battens stay in unless broken (save for Top main batten..can't roll with it in). Jib gets rolled in whatever direction is easiest for that moment.

I feel there's way too much still to be gained by better sailing skills than these anal-retentative practises.

Bravo Mike!

Well, for my two cents:

In the past, I've religiously folded (flaked) my sails. Over time I've noticed the material wears, weakens and tear along the "fold lines".

More recently I ensure the sail is completely dry and I use a stuff sack for "between use" storage. Since this change, I've not experienced the wear, weakening and eventual tearing along the fold lines. That is probably because the fold lines are random, when using the stuff sack.

Wow, look outside, it's Spring and time to get the boat ready for the season....waaa hoooo...!

Andrew
Sent you a pm on the spins.

How about my trailer tires? should i remove them and stuff them in a bag after every use? I hear the UV rays will degrade rubber

I have sunbrella covers for my trailer tires.

Now that takes the cake!!!!

That's the guy I want to buy a used boat from!

SO is the cape actually to keep the UV off your shirt/pants?

I am just kidding... i have just replaced a tire that had cracks though it.... and need to replace the other one. I may spray 303 on them to help protect them but i doubt i will go so far as to get covers for them.

But just yesterday i was thinking about making a cover for my spin/snuff and maybe even the mast (up to the spin bail).

What Dave said.


I know a guy that puts wood(1X6) with a chock at the end of it and puts his trailer on those instead of parking it on the ground. I think the ground is probably worse for a tire than the sun. Heck, the boat covers the tires so there shouldn't be a whole lot of UV exposure.

Super anal people are the ones you want to buy a used boat from that's for sure.

No pun intended for Jake here.

Jake, i think Mike just called you Super Anal... is that your "alter ego's name"? and i thought it was "squeegee man"....

Just remember, I asked "how, not if" .

Yep, don't bother.

Will flaking prevent the panels in a spinnaker stretching - which is what typically ends up degrading their performance?

- I don't think so.

If you like the "Japanese Tea Ceromony" ritual of neatly folding the kite with the help of someone else then power to you.

If you think life is short then leave it in the snuffer bag.

Chris.

Thanks everyone. I'll fiddle with it a little more. If it continues to be a pita. . .

LIFE IS SHORT!

Here's the cover for my SNU on the HT.

Dave

NICE~ are those button snaps along the side of it to secure it?

Dennis has covers available for the Snu now too.
http://www.gobarefootstudio.com/snu_cover.html

Yes to the button snaps, but I like the look of the fasteners on Dennis' version. The snaps have become a bit more difficult with time. Nice fabric, and good protection. I think I paid closer to $120. The guy made tramp cover as well that I'm pleased with.

Dave

Just to add more fuel to the fire.....

Having made sails for 14 years for some of the premire lofts, the consensus on folding kites is that you always fold them in half from head to mid-foot, then fold them toward the foot, and then roll from the middle of the sail toward the leech and luff to avoid crushing the last foot of cloth leading into the tapes. This is the way we did it on the AC boats, TP52s and what we do on our own F18.

Probably 6 to 1/2 dozen in the end since the snuffers kill the cloth of the kites in about 2 regattas.

Good info, thanks.