Freezing Dacron

Hi All,

I'm spending the winter in the water, and as such on the Chesapeake, we stand to have some nice sailing days thrown into the middle of the winter mix.

Here's the big question. Even with Sunbrella covers on the headsails and mainsail, I have to think that our sails do get wet at some point, or at least "damp". Is it damaging the dacron fibers to:

1) leave the sail alone and frozen sitting there?

2) does it damage the fibers if there is moisture in them, it's below freezing and you start furling/using the sail?

My concern is that the ice/freezing could somehow expand tear/break fibers or just make it all brittle. Am I worrying for nothing?

I have a 3 week old staysail, and would like to do the right thing from the start to get the most life ouf of it.

Thanks for any thoughts!

winter in the water

From time to time I leave my boat in the water for the winter. We are on a high mtn lake that does infact freeze. My thoughts as to my sails has always been they are much better served in a warm dry place for the winter than in the wet cold and snow.

Hi,

I agree, inside nicely folded is the best place. My dilemma is in an effort to sail all year round, it starts becoming impractical to hank the sails on and off for the occasional sail (especially with a dutchman flaking system on the main - which I do really like). I know if I take them all off, they'll stay off until it's warm(er) again. I've had some neat trips with fresh snow on the river banks. It's nice to keep the options open.

Please keep the thoughts coming. Any and all input is appreciated.

David, I don’t think you should be concerned about the cloth. Most of the new hi-tech fibers like Dacron don’t absorb water.

Having done a lot of Ice climbing and winter camping, our ropes and clothing have gotten soaked while climbing during the day and then frozen solid at night with no damage. I have even had to pour warm water over ropes to uncoil them in the morning. I have rolled up frozen tents that sounded like braking glass; they were so covered with ice. These conditions never caused a problem with the material.

A bigger problem would be damage from mildew or fungus caused by storing wet at warmer temperatures. Mildew doesn’t like the cold. And sails and covers etc. should dry out before it gets warm enough to form mildew or fungus.

Enjoy being out all alone, because you know someone will be watching from shore and saying I wish my boat was still in the water!

Ask Challenge

The people to ask are the sailcloth makers:
Try: US@challengesailcloth.com Chris is a good contact. Of course it depends on what Dacron or laminate you have, but I think we would all agree that any exposure is going to shorten the life of a sail. But the freezing question is best left to the origin. Challenge Sailcloth is one of the top cloth makers in the US.