Hi! Anyone tried repairing the stitching on a sail without sending it back to the pros. My misses is pretty good with a needle. Any idea what thread to use. I thought of fishing line. All ideas welcomed. Mark, Neath.

I haven't tried it myself, but I have had my sails repaired by a cobbler in town and it seemed to work really well. It was easier to get the sails to him than to a specialist sail repairer and best of all it only cost £3.50!!

It could be an option. What needs repairing on it? Fishing line sounds like a good option to me.

Al.

Normal monofilament fishing line will almost certainly be too slippery for a sail repair to hold. It doesn't knot well. Some sort of polyester thread would probably be the solution. Yacht chandlers have sail repair thread but you could probably get the same thing for less elsewhere if you knew what it was made of. Just try an internet search for sail repair thread and check out what it is made of then get the equivalent from your local shoe repairer. Blue Chip (www.windsurfer.co.uk) have all sorts of stuff for repairing windsurf kit, though the prices tend to be high as it is a small market. They will tell you what to use if you email them.

I have repaired a number of sails using believe it or not dental floss. It is damn strong, knots well and fits through fairly fine needles. As long as the repair is not too big you will get a repair that will last for ages. There is fair amount of stretch in dental floss so keep the stitches on the small side. Dont go bigger than the origional stitch holes. I have also repaired summer wetsuits with the stuff.

Thanks for the replies and ideas. Bought some marine thread and needles £5.75 from rat rigs and some sail repair tape £4. Awaiting my girl to make good.