Appendices -- Useful Supplemental Information

SAILBAGS

Dabbler Sails are always supplied with a sailbag, at no extra cost. We routinely supply nylon “bag cloth” drawstring bags, designed to hold sails during transportation and storage. They are NOT for protecting sails from the UV radiation in sunlight. Long exposure to sunlight will damage the nylon, and eventually the sails inside.

Sails should be flaked and rolled or folded neatly for long storage in bags. Stuffing is OK until a clean surface is available for proper folding, but sails stored “stuffed” into bags are likely to develop permanent wrinkles. Nylon bag cloth doesn’t “breathe” so sails should be dry and salt-free before being bagged for storage. Bagged sails should be stored where rodents are unlikely to find them -- mice, rats, and squirrels seem to love chewed-up Dacron as a nest material!

Highway speeds can cause flutter damage to sailbags (and the sails in them) if cartopped or carried in a trailered boat. If the bagged sails won’t fit in the vehicle, they should be wrapped tightly with line to prevent flutter.

Small-craft rigs often invite long bags -- sausage bags. Very convenient for storing and carrying a lugs’l, sprits’l, or gaff sail rolled up on yard/gaff/boom. Rolling is easier on sailcloth than folding, and saves the time-consuming nuisance of lacing and unlacing every time the boat is used. We can make a long bag for appropriate sails whenever the spars are relatively short -- ten feet or less, for an addititonal charge. We can also make long bags for smaller Bermudan sails -- particularly appropriate when they have partial or full battens -- saves pulling the battens to flake and fold up. If the intention is to store the sail outdoors -- in an open boat, for example -- the bag should be made of a dark-colored acrylic fabric such as Sunbrella. That costs a lot more than bag cloth, and will entail an additional charge.