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Racing Keelboat and Multihull Sail Care

Best practices for racing keelboat and multihull sail care is quite involved.  Following and understanding the below steps and processes will ensure a longer sail life.  If you have any questions, contact your local Ullman Sails loft.

  • Store mainsails by flaking them neatly onto the boom.
  • Protect the mainsail from UV exposure with a good cover when stored on the boom. Ensure the whole sail is covered without the clew or luff exposed.
  • Don’t remove the boom cover until ready to hoist the mainsail.
  • Headsails should be stored dry, and flaked neatly into their bags.
  • Avoid flaking sails of any material constantly on the same fold line.
  • Store spinnakers dry, loosely packed into their bag or “turtle”.
  • For adjustable battens, release batten tension for storage.
  • Sails should not be stored on deck or the dock unless under UV-protective covers.
  • Do not crush sails stored below by walking on them.
  • On windy days it is best practice to hoist sails out of the full wind strength if possible.
  • Tension the leechlines sufficiently to stop the edge of the sail fluttering.
  • Don’t over-tension a sail’s luff. Consider adjusting headsail luff tension in the pre-start rather than reaching back and forth with the luff fully tensioned.
  • Use sails within their designed wind range.
  • Practice mainsail reefing so that it can be readily accomplished rather than allowing the sail to flog.
  • For slab-reefing mainsails, ensure that the reefed body of the sail is adequately secured. Don’t conduct a “flutter and impact” test with an unsecured body of a reefed mainsail.

Based on your sail’s materials you may want to take additional steps to properly care for your sail.  Click below for sail care suggestions based on sail material: