I don't dry my sails or wash them after sailing. I Always sail in salt water.

I used to stand the sails upright in the garage.

Now I have a van, I'm storing them flat in the van. They will obviously stay wet longer. Will this damage the sails?

Hi Yuppy
I have a Hiace van like yours
It is my 3rd one. A big problem is rust on the floor from water dripping off the sails and boards.
To combat this I bought water proofing from a tile shop. It is water based.
Lift the mat and paint all the floor and up the side 100mm.
This stops the water getting through to the metal floor.
It Works!!!!!
Terry

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TerryA said..
Hi Yuppy
I have a Hiace van like yours
It is my 3rd one. A big problem is rust on the floor from water dripping off the sails and boards.
To combat this I bought water proofing from a tile shop. It is water based.
Lift the mat and paint all the floor and up the side 100mm.
This stops the water getting through to the metal floor.
It Works!!!!!
Terry

Hey terry

Done that.

What about the sails? Do they get damaged from staying wet?

^^^ agreed I'd worry about the van floor, not the sails!
even better spray on ute bed liner.

Tile stuff is designed to be the last layer after the tiles, to prevent the intermittent maybe damp getting thru. Not really for a puddle on it for days on end.
Can't beat 5mm of set hard plastic (ute liner) :)

If you want to dry it well, make like a hanging potplant hanger thing from Bunnings. Hook one end around the tailgate hook, and put other end in tailagate latch so the tailgate is locked but open about 10 - 15cm.

(Oh too hard, pic forthcoming)

Right here we go sh!t pics but you get the idea. 2mins to make, dries stuff out and cool in summer :) Door locked open!

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Yuppy said..

TerryA said..
Hi Yuppy
I have a Hiace van like yours
It is my 3rd one. A big problem is rust on the floor from water dripping off the sails and boards.
To combat this I bought water proofing from a tile shop. It is water based.
Lift the mat and paint all the floor and up the side 100mm.
This stops the water getting through to the metal floor.
It Works!!!!!
Terry

Hey terry

Done that.

What about the sails? Do they get damaged from staying wet?

No. I'm lazy and never rinse or dry my sails. When I had a van, they were left in there for most of the time. The only problem is the funky salty smell after a while, but the sails were fine.

The only sail I have damaged was when I rinsed it in fresh water and dried it. Lucky I am lazy with the others..

Its not a problem for the sails.

One trick for less rust is to stand the upright for 5 mins before putting them in, sounds dumb but it means 90% of the water drains out.

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albentley said..

One trick is to stand the upright for 5 mins before putting them in, sounds dumb but it means 90% drains out.

Tried also as contraceptive method, didn't work

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Yuppy said..
I don't dry my sails or wash them after sailing. I Always sail in salt water.

I used to stand the sails upright in the garage.

Now I have a van, I'm storing them flat in the van. They will obviously stay wet longer. Will this damage the sails?

Sorry saw the topic title "storing sails in your van" , that's weird I thought..why would anyone want to store their sails in my van??

You are welcome to store as many sails as you like in my van....just can't guarantee they will be returned!

I've had nothing but vans for the last 30 years at least, and I always take the time to have a beer or two after sailing. During that time I leave my sail rigged drying out in the sun and wind, derigging is the last thing I do before leaving, so when I leave, it's almost completely dry. Also I don't use the sail bags, all my sails are rolled up and stacked on each other w/o them, that way any left over moisture can easily dry out pretty fast. Always saltwater, but it never smells, I also don't let any of my W'surfing stuff hit any metal in the van, so no rust either. Plywood with carpet on the floor, where the sails are, and the boards, booms, and masts on racks inside similar to yours. I don't use board bags either, all those bags just get in the way.
Besides, whenever I sell one of my sails, it always looks much better when it's put back in the bag that was only used once.
My sails stay in the van all year long, I've never had a problem. The only thing I don't keep in the van is my wetsuit and booties, there is nothing you can do to keep those from stinking up a van, so once back home, out they go.

^^^ Hey MB, not sure if you're aware of Victorian climate and weather, but when we leave our sails rigged whilst we have an 'after sesh' beer during our windy season - it gets more wet!

I always dry my sail out as much as I can while packing up at the beach then put the sail on top of my boards they don't drip much but when I get home I always wash all my gear & hang it all up to dry if you leave your gear wet in a van it smells bad as your in the same room also I leave my side sliding door open to dry things out as its parked in my garage at nights. Washing my gear only takes 5 to 10min & keeps my gear looking good. Also at the back door you will have a anodized metal step strip that rusts no matter what so I have changed it with a cheap plastic strip I got at mitre10 then used some good stainless screws.

Hi Mark. The waterproofing I mean goes under the tiles. It is used inset areas ie in showers. Much cheaper than a liner

Hi Yuppy.
I never dry my sails out fully and i store them in my van 24/7. no problems with the sails so far.
As Mastbender points out, Its always good practice to take a 6 pack with you for after sailing. this way you can have a beer while your sail drys out.
Bit hard to do in the winter when you are dodging the rain and packing up quickly to stay warm, but always a good end to the day in summer.

Hi, Yuppy,

In summer, leave the sail rigged and let dry. Naturally, you’ve used 303 Protectant (available from Autobarn) as an anti-UV aid, and naturally, you’ve applied it at the start of March and at the start of September.

In winter, de-rig the sail first thing, roll it into its bag, then stand the sail on its luff end to leak as much water as possible. After everything else is placed in the van, place the luff end of the sail into a thick plastic bag (ex JB HiFi or Harris Scarfe), then fit the sail across the back of the van (or lengthways in the van) at an angle, so that water continues to drain into the plastic bag. At home, remove sail and drain/dry in your garage.

If you leave the wet sails in your van, the atmosphere will be salty and you can expect rust to form. You might consider fitting a Muller vent and a rotary vent available from this Dandenong outlet at very good prices: www.uesint.com/ If you cut the metal roof, make sure you seal the cut metal edges to prevent rust.

I agree with Glynn Merritt re the rear step and SS screws. If you have a look at vans that are a number of years old, you’ll probably find they have rust on the rear step AND in the sliding door step. One drop of unfound salt water in these areas and you’re in trouble.

Hope this helps.

Too much work!!

The van has a paint on bitumen waterproof membrane. Ain't no water getting through to the floor.

I love beer so good idea having a beer before de rigging.

I bought the van for convenience. Washing and drying sails is just silly.

The beauty of an old van is I don't care if it smells or rusts a bits.

Seems no damage is going to occur to the sails.

Good tip about ditching the sail bags. The less work the more time sailing.

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Yuppy said..
Too much work!!

The van has a paint on bitumen waterproof membrane. Ain't no water getting through to the floor.

I love beer so good idea having a beer before de rigging.

I bought the van for convenience. Washing and drying sails is just silly.

The beauty of an old van is I don't care if it smells or rusts a bits.

Seems no damage is going to occur to the sails.

Good tip about ditching the sail bags. The less work the more time sailing.

As has been written, sails will be fine - they are made of plastic.

However, *do* use the sail bags... sail are made of plastic (didn't I just write that ?) so they will rub against other stuff such as boomgrip, definitely scratching them more than sand blasting, and possibly even putting a hole in them [ lets say that personal experience is annoying ].

There was a post here a couple of years back (I've been here too long) that suggested some large (200mmdia?) UPVC pipes from Reece Plumbing or the like - cut to the length of your longest sail (in its bag & plus a bit), glue on ends, then cut in half lengthwise - one length will give you waterproof cradles for 2 sails. They can be fixed to a rack in the back of the van, or made removable.

Not ideal for long-term storage if the sails are wet - but it will save any moisture from dripping below whilst in transit.

Like this, 125mm pvc pipe