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How to Replace Sails on a Small Sailboat

Sailboats use wind to move across the water. As wind moves across the sails, it creates lift, which propels the boat forward. Larger sailboats may have multiple sails, but smaller sailboats may only have one. Regardless, sails must be kept in good condition in order to be effective. If a sail rips, tears, loses its shape or is worn from age, it's time to replace it with a new one.

Instructions

Main Sail
- 1
  Stretch the sail out on a flat surface. Grass is best so that the sail doesn't get scratched or torn on the ground. Look for the right angle; this corner of the sail is called the tack because it will go through the wind first. The other two corners of the sail are called the head and the clew. The head will end up at the top of the mast. The clew will end up on the boom.
- 2
  Insert the clew into the groove located on the boom, which is the horizontal bar sticking out of the mast. Push the sail into the groove so the entire foot, or bottom edge of the sail, is in place.
- 3
  Attach the clew to the outhaul. The outhaul is a line located on the end of the boom. It is responsible for adjusting the tautness of the foot, or bottom edge of the sail.
- 4
  Insert the head, or the tip of the sail, into the luff groove. The luff grove is a track located on the mast.
- 5
  Shackle the head to the main sail halyard and raise the main sail. A halyard is a line used to raise and lower a sail. Once the sail is fully raised, secure the halyard so that the main sail stays up. Different boats have different methods for securing halyards.
Jib
- 6
  Stretch the sail out on a flat surface. Grass is best so that the sail doesn't get scratched or torn on the ground. Look for the right angle; on a jib, this corner is called the clew. The other two corners of the sail are called the head and the tack. The head will go up the mast. The tack will end up at the bow of the boat.
- 7
  Attach the tack to the tack hook. Alternatively, you can attach it to a shackle on the deck of the boat.
- 8
  Attach the jib sheets to the clew. The sheets are the lines used to trim or ease the jib.
- 9
  Attach the luff to the forestay using hanks. The forestay is a cable that supports the mast. The hanks are the snaps attached to the sail. Depending on the design of the boat, you may need to feed the lufftape into the foil. The foil is a groove located on the forestay. Some small boats do not require this step at all.
- 10
  Attach the jib head to the jib halyard. Pull the sail up and secure the halyard.
- 11
  Feed the sheets through the fairlead on each side of the boat back to the cockpit. The fairleads route the sheets from the jib to the winch or pulley used to trim the jib. The cockpit is where the captain of the boat sits. Tie a figure 8 knot at the end of the sheets to prevent them from slipping back through the fairlead.
- 12
  Lead the sheet around the winch, if applicable, and raise the jib. The winch is the device used to assist you when pulling lines. Some small boats use pulleys instead of winches.

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