All about sailcloth products

Recycled sailcloth is a fantastically durable material and rich in character. We're often asked the same questions about its suitability in certain applications. So here is a quick run down on what, why, when & how to care for your upcycled Reefer product.

What is sailcloth?

The majority of marine sailcloth is made from Polyethylene terephthalate, (PET), the same material used to make plastic drinks bottles. It's better known as polyester and isn't biodegradable.

'Dacron' and 'Terylene' are both familiar trade names associated with sailcloth, developed as a durable replacement material to the cotton & canvas sails of old.

Sailcloth is impregnated with a number of resins during manufacture to stablize the material mechanically, to waterproof and to guard against mildew and ultra violet light degradation. These resins along with all the metal fittings and other materials sewn onto a sail mean it's not a simple process to recycle it like plastic bottles which often end up as polar fleece. So old sails usually end up destined for landflll. We're doing our best to reduce or at least delay this with our 'upcycling' into new roles.

Sailcloth is woven in different densities for different applications. Kites, spinnakers and paragliders use lightweight 'rip-stop' cloth, dinghy sails, hang glider and microlight wings use lightweight dacron, cruising yacht sails heavier weight cloth and so on.

Sourcing old sails from so many different users means we can usually lay our hands on cloth of the right weight and colour for a bespoke application.

Other materials

These days polyester is still a popular choice for cruising sails but wings, kites, windsurf sails and racing sails have moved on. Weight, dimensional stability, air permeability and longevity are the primary reason why more exotic material are now employed in these roles.

Paragliders, kites and spinnakers are generally made of nylon rather as it is more resistant to U.V degradation. Windsurf sails use monofilms not just so they can see where they are going but also because it it more dimensionally stable. Racing sailors use carbon/kevlar blends, often with custom computer generated load path reinforcement to guard against stretch.

We can recycle them all but it's fair to say monofilm windsurf sails are usually too brittle to resew and paragliders & spinakkers are usually worn out, ending up as pet bed filling.

Limitations

We're often asked if we can make a nautically inspired bespoke item by interior & garden designers. Whilst we're usually happy to assist, old sails do have some limitations which you need to know about for these specialist applications. Don't expect them to be unblemished, old sails carry the scars and stains of their previous role and will often be mildew, rust & oil stained, patched & faded. All give rich character but if you want the item to look brand new we can also manufacture from new sailcloth & awning fabrics.

Shape

Sails aren't flat. Marine sails are created from shaped panels by the sailmaker to deliberately build in 'fullness' - a three dimensional shape which is more aerodynamic and literally catches the wind better than a flat sail. Perimeter 'bolt' ropes and 'tabling' are often gathered to increase the cusp of the sail. Why is this relevant? Because although they look great as garden shade sails, old sails can't be pulled drum tight and will flap in a breeze. The fullness also mean when it does rain, although not waterproof, a shade sail will collect rainwater in its centre and won't shed the water off an edge. So they are a temporary fair weather shade device, not an all weather shelter.

Waterproofing

Old sailcloth isn't waterproof, and often has holes in it!. Not tear holes, but metal grommets and lines of stitching all let water seep through. We can reproof sails to improve water resistance and can often find a sail with a minimum of metalwork but no sail is completely waterproof. They do dry incredibly quickly though.

Weathering

Sailcloth like many fabrics suffers from the effect of ultra-violet light (U.V). When left exposed to the sun for extended periods (months not hours!) the fabric will start to stiffen and most stitching will eventually rot & fail. For that reason we don't recommend permanent outside features, these are much more appropriate from new awning fabric which we can source in a variety of colours. Mildew can affect sailcloth, expecially the adhesive used on the double sided tape used to lay up the original panels. It is almost impossible to remove and should be considered as part of the character of a recycled product.

Fireproofing

If you're thinking of drapes, blinds, curtains or upholstery sailcloth has a very serious limitation. It is very flammable. As such old sailcloth need to be professionally fireproofed and batch certified to be use in any of these applications. This restriction applies to beanbags too and is one reason why we've temporarily dropped our popular beanbags from our product range. Mark just isn't happy with the compromise to aesthetics and costs of fireproofing old sailcloth. If you see a sofa or beanbag elsewhere made of genuine old sailcloth be very suspicious of it's fireproof credentials. Likelyhood is the local trading standards officer will be very interested to talk to whoever made it! Our beanbags will be back, but this issue is our greatest headache, especially when other companies appear less diligent.

Sailcloth care

Our products are really easy to keep clean. Simply hand wash with mild detergent, scrubbing stubborn marks with an old toothbrush. Then rinse and drip dry, which won't take very long.

We don't recommend machine washing as this can lift screen printing and sticky dacron logos.