New vid, how to repair a windsurfing sail with x-ply

manuel · Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Posts: 1158

A few steps involving prep work, holding the sail down, pre-taping, etc.
Also include long-term results after use in the waves.

alap · Joined: 17 Dec 2007 Posts: 156

great vid, thank you

manuel · Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Posts: 1158

Sure thing!

I should have included the culprit white water in the video Smile

...
I tried the throw your gear and pray technique !

boardsurfr · Joined: 23 Aug 2001 Posts: 1266

Nice video. In the US, I'd use laminate sail repair tape, though. You can get 10 yards for about $30 from Sailrite. I once brought to sail that I had taped with it to a professional sail repair shop to have the panel replaced, and was told there was no need - the tape would outlast the rest of the sail. That seems to be true - the only time I ever had problems was when I taped only one side on the beach, and forgot to tape the other side later.

One suggestion by the sail repair pro was to round the corners of the tape before taping it on.

lturkevich · Joined: 11 May 2000 Posts: 68

Nice video indeed. Glad to see it highlights how prep is key.

I first used Chinook Sail Repair Tape to fix a 2 inch hole in a sail back in 2009 when the wind pushed the sail into a BBQ grill. Just redid the repair yesterday with the same roll of tape when the old tape fell off in the water last week (held for 9 years so I'm not complaining).

Cleaned the old adhesive with mineral spirits and scraped off any remaining residue w/ fingernail before applying the new tape.

The adhesive on the Chinook Sail Repair Tape is incredibly sticky stuff - be sure to use sharp scissors to round the edges.

skyking1231 · Joined: 10 Jul 2000 Posts: 280

a little tip when using tape. avoid corners with the tape. example. if you are repairing a hole, it is better to use a cicular piece rather than a square piece with sharp corners. the corners is where it start to peel off (if it starts). so i just round off the corners a bit.

U2U2U2 · Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2018 10:43 am Post subject:

Same post but some insight not on here.
https://www.windsurf.co.uk/forums/topic/new-vid-how-to-repair-a-windsurfing-sail-with-x-ply/

A test being conducted on sail tape also

manuel · Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Posts: 1158

I went through lots of research before going with this tape.
Budget-wise I don't think anything can beat it. Look at the reviews!

Pros are: easy to work with, can stretch to accommodate alignment issues for example, uv-resistant, waterproof, thick, super sticky (but not so much!) and inexpensive!

There's no need to round the corners with this tape because it's flexible. So when the corner is hit, it'll "bend" and not peel off, it's thick enough that the top surface bends and the bottom sticks if I make sense at all.

Honestly, when repairing a sail, all I'm trying to achieve is something that doesn't look too bad (it's ok if it shows imperfections in the shape), keeps transparency, and lasts long enough to cope with some amount of stress.

If the amount of damage is too difficult to "recover" with tape then I send it in for repair (multiple panels, torn luff, etc.).

The manager of ION Club Cabarete, who has seen his share of ripped sails, loves it. Must mean something Very Happy

!

manuel · Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Posts: 1158

Update: repair identical after many more sessions. The sail itself however is looking tired. Broken stabilizers, small cracks everywhere (patched with my favorite tape!).

Water did find its way in. Probably where the sail cut reaches the stitched material near the luff. But it doesn't affect anything other than stays wet. So next time I will put some silicone there or something.