Fixing the Sail

So with the mice invading the shed yet again, I had discovered they had gnawed a big hole in the middle of the sail. The sail is old but entirely usable as a sunshade, ideally without the massive hole in the middle! With some advice from my dad, a seasoned sailor, I ordered some white spinnaker repair tape. It had taken several days for it to arrive, but it finally arrived today! The sail had spent the last couple of days drying on the washing line after being washed in the bath, in a desperate attempt to remove the smell of mouse from it!

Unrolling the sail on the dining room floor, I set to work. First, I cut several strips of tape to cover the hole on one side of the sail. Turning it over, and temporarily disappearing into it much to the terror of a passing cat, I repeated the process on the other side. Pleased with the result, on impulse I decided to use the remaining tape on sealing the unhemmed edge of the sail.

The sail is from a small day sailing boat and has clearly been cut in half go make two smaller sunshades. Unfortunately, they didn’t take the time to hem the cut side. Sailcloth is a very tough fabric but if it isn’t hemmed, it will fray over time. Cuttings small sections of tape, I ‘hemmed’ the edge. Satisfied with the result, I spent a few minutes pondering the ridiculous situation I was in – diligently mending a sail whilst living miles and miles away from the sea…