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Blue Water Sailing Article { SPECIALSECTION } learning and absorbing the immense filled when we got on course: quickly /LYH,W amount of practical knowledge and accelerating us to 7 knots. After setting insight that comes with building and the preventer and rolling the genoa maintaining offshore quality sails for out wing-and-wing we hit the 9-knot over 35 years. mark and it was obvious that our /HDUQ,W The story actually began about 14 35-mile trip to Port Townsend would hours earlier. It was a Friday after be a sleigh ride. +DQGVRQ6DLO5HSDLUDQG work in mid-October and Jill and I The night was dark and Yahtzee, our hurried home to get the boat off the 1984 Grand Soleil 39, was in her glory 0DLQWHQDQFHZLWK&DURO dock and pointed north. We were surfing towards our date with Carol +DVVHDQGFUHZ registered for Carol Hasse’s Hands On and her crew at Port Townsend Sails. By Andrew Cross Sail Repair Seminar at her loft in Port With eyes, radar and AIS trained on Hudson Marina in Port Townsend, the busy Puget Sound shipping lane Washington and needed to make good we covered the run in just over four hough my home was moored time if we expected to get any rest be- hours, two hours faster than I had in the shadow of Carol fore class started at 8:30 the following anticipated. Hasse’s front door at Port morning. Fortunately for us, the wind Townsend Sails, I didn’t feel was blowing strongly out of the south READY TO LEARN the need to dig out the tape and we like to sail fast. When Jill and I signed up for the recorder for our meeting. As I kicked the engine into reverse weekend sail repair seminar I wasn’t TThe objective wasn’t to delve into and nudged us out of our slip, Jill got quite sure what to expect, but was every nook and cranny of this remark- some tea going and handed up foul excited at the prospect of sailing to able sailor, sailmaker and person’s life. weather gear. Clearing the breakwater historic Port Townsend and meeting Instead, I wanted to be an active par- into Puget Sound we worked together Carol Hasse. Plus, with plans of long ticipant rather than a passive observer. to set the main against the howling distance cruising in our future, I knew My goal was to spend the weekend wind and I cracked a smile as the sail we needed to gain a working knowl- 46 BLUE WATER SAILING s April 2013 { FITTINGOUT } edge of what it takes to maintain and ing before heading off on your own sew leather chafe guard to a grommet repair our own sails offshore. cruising adventures. then seize on a hank. Being able to fly After removing our shoes and climb- a storm jib is of critical importance ing the steps to the sail loft, we found GET HANDSY when sailing offshore in heavy weath- Carol working in her office overlook- To achieve a 5-to-1 student-to- er and that ability depends on the ing the marina. She smiled, introduced instructor ratio, the class was split condition of your hanks, among other herself and we shared hugs and pleas- into two groups that rotated between things. When inspecting your hanks, antries like we had known each other morning and afternoon sessions. My make sure they are all the same size, as for years. The two-day seminar kicked first session each day was with hand- they will wear unevenly if not, check off a half-hour later with brief intro- work. Using palms and needles, we the pistons to ensure they open and ductions from Carol, all 10 students started by learning how to sew in a close smoothly and that they are facing and the other instructors who would ring and grommet along the luff of a the same direction when attached to be helping with the course. practice sail. The advantage of sewn the stay. Next, look for corrosion and Early on, Carol and her team—all on rings is that they have over twice wear around the base of the hank and experienced offshore sailors them- the staying power of a grommet that make sure it is not rubbing a hole in selves—made it abundantly clear is just stamped in. Grommets tend to the sail or chafe guard. that the goal of the weekend was to tear out of sails when they become Sew-on hanks are preferable to the not only to teach us how to care for corroded or when the cloth around bang-on type because they are easier our own canvas, but to help us be- them is old and brittle. Replacing one to remove and install and cause less come more confident, self-sufficient is an important skill to master due to wear to the sail. If you currently have cruisers. the sheer amount of grommets that bang-on hanks on your jib, consider Here are some helpful tips and tricks pepper our sails and also because changing them before heading off- that we learned about maintaining and they are the foundation for installing shore or carry one spare sew-on as a repairing our sails, along with things hardware onto sails. replacement for each bang-on. After that you might want to consider learn- From there, we learned how to inspecting and making any repairs www.bwsailing.com 47 { SPECIALSECTION } to your storm jib, set it up and get it ing all the sails an offshore cruising broken stitches. Check the head, tack flying on a moderate wind day. You boat needs, how to properly set and and clew, run the leech and foot, move shouldn’t need it often, but when trim them and what to look for when through the stitching on the middle of you do, you’ll want to know how completing a thorough sail inspec- the sail including each reef point and it works. tion. She then pulled out sails from all batten pocket. Don’t be afraid to pull Building on that experience, we over the loft to talk about variations at the seams, if they break easily, they were then taught how to attach a in sailcloth and to demonstrate what need to be re-stitched. mainsail slide, make an “easy reef”, makes the features of one sail superior Then survey the sailcloth through- mend a seam and how to properly sew to another. out the entire sail for places that are on leather chafe guard to the edge or As a perk, and because Yahtzee chafed and worn thin. On the main, corner of a sail—all handy and use- was in the marina, Carol invited me look at where it rests against the ful things to know. I was impressed to bring up our storm jib and 70% spreaders and on the genoa, check all with these handwork sessions as jib as a demo for learning how to the places where the sail rubs against everything we learned could be di- properly survey our own sails. While the shrouds and mast. Take a pin and rectly applied to the cruising boat I unfolding the storm jib, she explained stick it through the sail to identify any had sitting in the marina below, and that whether you are sailing around weak points, if it goes through easily with the proper tools, could be done the world or in your home waters, a and the cloth can be torn, it needs anywhere in the world. thorough sail inspection should be to be replaced or patched. Also, pay done once a year. Take your sails off special attention to the UV cover on SURVEY SAYS? the boat and lay them on a clean flat furling headsails as it is meant to wear One of the most helpful sessions of surface. Get a pen and paper and take with time. the seminar was Carol’s class on sail notes as you go, you’ll be surprised at Lastly, check everything on the trim, sail construction, maintenance how much you find. sail that is not sailcloth. Look at the and rigging. She started by explain- To start, look your sails over for any headboard and the rings at the clew 48 BLUE WATER SAILING s April 2013 { FITTINGOUT } and tack for distortion, corrosion and any elongation. Pull on the leech lines and make sure their cleats are secure and functional. Inspect all the grom- mets and slides or hanks for chafe and corrosion. Completing a routine check like this will greatly increase the life of your sails and will make you more familiar with how they are constructed and wear over time. MACHINE WORK One full session was dedicated to machine work and while I was intimidated at first, with the patient tutelage of the instructor, I became much more confident by the end. In the machine work section, we learned about the parts of a marine grade sew- ing machine, how to use it and what are the necessary types of repairs that only a machine can perform. It was here where I learned that stitching has everything to do with future main- tainability of your sails and to always think ahead because making necessary repairs early will greatly extend the life of your sails. During the machine session we learned and practiced how to patch a hole in the middle of a sail, install chafe guard, fix a torn seam, apply a spreader patch, reinforce a corner ring with webbing and how to sew on leech tape over the leech line.
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