{"id":14694,"date":"2018-06-18T12:08:06","date_gmt":"2018-06-18T16:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/raritaneng.com\/?p=14694"},"modified":"2018-06-18T12:08:06","modified_gmt":"2018-06-18T16:08:06","slug":"marine-hot-water-heaters-dept-blog-finding-new-uses-for-old-sails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raritaneng.com\/blog\/marine-hot-water-heaters-dept-blog-finding-new-uses-for-old-sails\/","title":{"rendered":"Marine Hot Water Heaters Dept Blog: Finding New Uses For Old Sails"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"recycling<\/a><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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Don’t Be So Quick To Trash Your Old Sails<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Raritan Engineering Company your marine hot water heaters<\/a> specialists would like to share with you these topics we thought would be of interest to you this month regarding finding new uses for old sails.<\/p>\n

Your marine hot water heaters experts talk about how upcycling is a bit of a buzzword these days, but the concept is nothing new to the cruising sailor. While ­traditional recycling involves breaking down used ­products to create new raw materials (think old water bottles made into a new fleece vest), upcycling refers to the creative reuse of an item without so much processing (more along the lines of a table made from an old door). <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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After we trialed our new main to make sure it fit properly, I looked for a spot to store the old one, planning to keep the damaged sail as an emergency backup. All I found was the settee in the main saloon. Keeping it as a spare was not an option. <\/p>\n

Sails, like all equipment, eventually need to be replaced, but major damage doesn’t have to take the wind out of your sails forever. With a little imagination, not only can you get a return on your investment, but, more important, you can save most of the material from ending up in the landfill. <\/p>\n

Made for the Shade<\/h4>\n

A boom tent is a basic ­rectangle, an easy project to start with. Here’s how I went about it:<\/p>\n

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  1. To determine the width of the boom tent, I measured the distance between the center of the boom and the bottom wire on the lifelines and multiplied by two. <\/li>\n
  2. Starting from the tack, I measured the needed length along the luff of the sail. By incorporating the grommets that were at regular intervals along the luff (and removing the slugs), I already had strong points on one side of the boom tent to use for tie-downs.<\/li>\n
  3. I measured the width of the tent out from the luff and marked a dot every foot or so. By connecting the dots with a straight edge, I had a cut mark for the other side of the tent.<\/li>\n
  4. After double-­checking my measurements, I made the cut and hemmed the raw edge. This particular sail had a fairly flat cut, so I simply used the foot of the sail as the other short end, with the added bonus that the large grommet at the tack worked as a strong tie-down point.<\/li>\n
  5. I now had three edges of my big rectangle complete. The clew had too much reinforcement to do much with (quite heavy and near impossible to sew), so I cut it off, effectively squaring off the fourth side.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Playing the Angles<\/h4>\n

    Breathe New Life Into Your Sails<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    The awning for the foredeck was more of a triangle than a rectangle, but the theory was all the same. I planned to use the spinnaker pole as the support, and I needed tie-downs at the two outboard edges, as well as one fore and one aft on the centerline.<\/p>\n

    Check out our marine water heaters selection<\/a> here at Raritan Engineering, where we always take care of your marine sanitation supply needs.<\/p>\n

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    1. Instead of working from a straight edge, this time I measured out from the center, drawing a capital I that was as tall as I wanted my awning long. <\/li>\n
    2. I measured and drew the top and bottom lines to the correct lengths, and then connected the four corners to create the outline of the awning.<\/li>\n
    3. Since this was a much smaller piece of material, the tie-down attachments didn’t need to be quite as robust; a loop of strong webbing, well sewn at the corners, would be good enough.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n
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      Bug Off<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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      We had been sleeping with a standard off-the-shelf mosquito net draped over the V-berth, but it wasn’t quite the right size. No matter how much tape I used to stick it up, the net came falling down after a few nights of tossing and turning. Instead of surrounding us with netting, I wanted to build a wall that enclosed the whole V-berth.<\/p>\n

      While the sewing machine was hot, I whipped up a storage bag for the dinghy, both for the offseason and to protect it when we store it on passage, rolled up and strapped down with ratchet straps.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      Tools For the Job<\/h4>\n