wrinkled sails

[islands 15]

Greetings,
I'm a new member and have a question that I've never seen addressed. I have an Islands 15, which I recently aquired. The boat has sat for the past 12 years unused. Needs a good scrubbing and replacement of running rigging, but that's about it. The sails have been stored properly in their bag, but here's the question: Do I need to be concerned at all about the fact that they are extremely wrinkled, after so long a time in storage. The boat is a 1987 and I know it's history. It has seen very, very little use in its lifetime. The sails are like new, and I plan to get the boat out often this summer. Maybe a stupid question, but as I said, I've never seen this addressed in all the reading and sailing research I've done. Thanks to all in advance.
Sean.

[LordNelson]

If you're concerned about the condition of the sails, a quick trip to a local sail loft will reassure you. It might make sense to have someone give them a once-over anyway.

[kefroeschner]

If you have the room on your living room floor, just spread them out a bit at a time and iron them.

Sounds crazy but it worked great for me with badly wrinkled El Toro (dinghy) sails. Use a not too hot setting on the iron -- i.e."synthetics."

When done they were like new and she sailed like a witch!

kefroeschner
ORION

[ghij084]

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[deltaboy12000]

I would never iron a sail. The material (dacron) reacts by shrinking when heat is applied. This may cause extream problems. The sail being wrinkled is not a problem other than looks when it is not hanked. But, once you hank it, it will smooth out.

You can check the stiching by picking at a small area with your thumb nail. If the stiching breaks the sails are at the end of their life. If the thread feels very stiff this will also let you know the sails are near the end of their life. But, read on...

If you want them to look good and feel better you can try to order sail cleaning detergent. You usually add it to a bucket and water it down place the sail in and let it sit for 24 hours. Then, take it out of the wash lay it flat and rinse it, and let it dry...

Good luck!