It seems there are two issues here.  One, do you put a sail cover on the sail, and two, do you unbend the sail when laying the boat up?  

I have no experience with snow - saw it once far away on the top of Mt Lewis in NZ - so cannot say what damage extreme cold and wetness can do to a synthetic sail (not much I would have thought?), though I suspect ultraviolet degradation may still be an issue (depleted ozone near the poles?).  Perhaps it is more a question of keeping the sail clean and dry, which is fair enough - but like Annie I am tempted not to have a cover.  Arion's Oddyssey 111 sail has been exposed to the intense tropical sun for the last 8 months and the sailcloth itself seems to be entirely unaffected.  Birdshit is another matter, in particular since my sail is black!  I am a bit concerned though about the black nylon webbing used for boltropes and sheetlet attachment loops, which have faded to grey in some places.  I also wonder how the Goretex type stitching will withstand ultraviolet degradation, even though it is used for sunshades and is supposed to have a 10 year guarantee.  One side of me wants to cover the sail and protect it and one side says let it be and see how it fares in the interest of science.  I will probably compromise, make a simple cover that I put on when spending long periods moored in a safe port but leave it off when I am making coastal passages where I get underway every day or three, especially since I then tend to lie in open roadsteads much of the time.

Taking the sail off when you lay the boat up every year seems like a lot of work to me.  I took my sail off 5 times in 2 months last year during teething troubles and I am not too keen to do it again any time soon!  I'd only take it off if I needed to repair it.  Even if there was the likelihood of hurricane strength winds I would just lower the furled bundle to the deck and lash it down rather than unbend it.  To that end (given that I have weathered 5 cyclones in the last decade)  I have made my topping lifts and mast lift adjustable even though I usually just leave the sail sitting in its lifts.

Hi,

I did burn some holes with a solder iron, but I figure that in a tropical rainshower/ storm, anything will be unadequate. Arne made a cover for broremann that does not have a bottom. Any amount of water will escape from that.

Ketil

It seems more are concerned with UV damage than water...a question Ketil:  I like your sail covers/catchers.  Are there drain ports for water to escape out the bottom?  We have hurricanes here and there and our thunderstorms seem to get water into my sail covers, although mine are low-tech tarps from Home Depot and bungee cords.... picture here

Ketil's article, complete with photos, is in Newsletter 53, August 2009, pages 18 & 19.  Found this via David's Index in the 'JRA Magazines and Newsletters' section, then doing a 'Find On This Page' search for "Ketil".  The newsletter can then be downloaded from the website.  As I keep pdf copies of the newletters on my netbook, and on my home computer, I can look things up immediately.  Of course bandwidth is not an issue for me yet!

Hi,

There is a desciption and photos in one of the Newsletters a few years back, but it is rather simple: make a sailcatcher, hanging from the Lazy jacks. To get it behave right I used large and long sailbattens sewn in at the upper edges. To protect your sail you have to make a cover. In front of the mast it is like a bag to be put over the sailbattens and sail. I made an opening for the mast lift, rear of the mast I made it to go around the sail, with the opening downwards. I use welcro to shut and fasten the cover to the sailcatcher. The rest of the cover is more like a lid to lay over the sailcatcher, with an opening for the Halyard. The Halyard opening is raised so I can shut it and make it almost watertight. I do not fancy getting wet when hoisting the sail, but the main thing is sun protection. I made the sailcatcher first, to see that it really worked the way I wanted. I had the uppersides welcroed and ready for the "lid". Second I took the no. 1 genoa and made a template for the cover, (you can use a plastic piece, of course). It is a bit of fiddeling and cutting, but as you say, doing it right, you only have to do it once. Having made a lot of bits and bobs in my life, I say that you only have to make it right the last time. Dont talk about how many times you made it wrong, it a bit depressing.

Good luck

Ketil