dropcloth sails?

[Pat Mellema]

Has any one tried using the painters dropcloth material for a sail. I was in Lowes the other day and found they have a 12x15 canvas paint drop cloth which is washable and is 8-9 oz cloth. It seems to be a good stout cloth and should work for sails on the weekender. I have run the sail plan and you could get the full sail out of this size piece. I was wondering if anybody has tried this material.

[Paul J]

Pat,

There where a few people to try using painters canvas for sails. The only one I talked to about it was Jim R from NY who said they stretched out badly after a year of use. You would have to hem all the edges and sew them plus sew in corner patches. The main problem I see with that type of canvas is that it is uncoated and is a loose weave material and is prone to stretch. Jim has since sold his weekender and moved up to a C&C 24.

If you are not going to invest in dacron sails then the next best thing would be white polytarp. The polytarp will last a few years. But how long sails last or I should say have a useful life all depends on the quality of the materials, construction of the sails, how they are treated or handled, and how much they are used and in what conditions.

Hope this helps.

[T. Nelson Surbrook]

I was once where you are with trying to save money with the sails. There are a whole bunch of reasons that you don't want to use the drop cloth material. In the long run you are better off getting some real sails. I know they are not cheap but there are some good suppliers who can help you out with this. This is just my opinion based on personal experience. If you want to experiment with sail design, try the poly tarp method. Good luck.

[Jim Stumpf]

I know a fellow who sewed sails for a Weekend Skiff ( from the same folks that designed the six hour canoe) out of painters drops. The complaint that he had was the material was to heavy for light wind sailing.

Jim

Vacationer Rudunyet

[Mike Pennington]

Not to mention sailing in the rain, will that drop cloth soak up the water and hang heavy? In light wind a heavy sail is hard to fill and won't hold its basic shape. No shape, no go!

I bought a set of Ulta Sails over two years ago, the white laminated poly tarp, I am very happy with how well they have worked for me. They are great in light wind, shed water in the rain and the shape doesn't seem to be effected by the wet.

I recently made a furling sail of the blue cheap tarp found anywhere. The material is easy to work with and makes great sails for a small budget. At the cost of thirty or fourty bucks I can have a new set of sails for my Vacationer every year. I have been thinking of making a set just to preserve my good sails for serious events like whooping up on the plastic boats at regadas. :roll:

Someday I will try making a dacron sail just to compare the difference.

[Pat Mellema]

Thank you all for your responses. I was just wondering as I saw these while I was there getting more brushes for installing the glass.

I am actually getting closer to being able to sail. I got the chainplates, the bowsprit and mast cut out this weekend. I put the first coat of varnish on the bowsprit and it looks nice.

[Barry Pyeatt]

A number of years ago, I had a set of nicely made "painters canvas" sails on a small sloop. I used them until the got wet, (about 3 hours) and then changed them out to more modern materials. They are an absolute pain in the forepeak! They don't retain their shape, they are too heavy to begin with and they soak up water in a hurry. Even when treated! :shock:

I would say if you are not going with professionally made sails, then get some white poly tarp and white duct tape and make up a set per the plans. It isn't difficult and they will give you a lot of satisfaction. They are a viable alternative to Dacron for the budget conscious builder. :wink:

You can also order White Poly Tarp sail kits for the Weekender from the net.