New sails

hello,
How do you break in a new sail?and what are the advantages of it?

never heard about breaking in a new sail.... why would you get a new one if it's for breaing out...

I heard that you need to do it so that you dont streatch it right of the bat and stuff is that true?

its good to give a new sail two hours or so in 6-8 knots or so of wind, just to get it out of the box and a little bit of stretch before you use in it hiking conditions (or so i've heard). you also probably want to just get it out flat and not flaked for a while.
its kind of like wearhardening a new mast (almost)

kendall

Breaking in a new dacron sail - the objective is to let the weave "tighten" up without drastically changing the shape of the sail. Any woven material that does not have a heavy coating of resin or laminate will show a small amount of change in the weave of the threads when loaded.

The amount of time nec is a bit of quess, but I find my Laser sails need anywhere from 2 -6 hours. During this time I avoid:
Wind over 12 kts
Any cunningham except enough to take out luff wrinkles
Max vang

I also avoid two blocking the mainsheet until at least 2 hours have passed - so basically I spend a lot of time reaching around, sailing upwind with the blocks 8" apart

<<so basically I spend a lot of time reaching around, sailing upwind with the blocks 8" apart>>
Which is pretty darn close to exactly what you should do.
The ideal is to beam reach back and forth in 8-10 knots of breeze.
The amount of load on a sail is not inconsequential. You want to "load it" as symetrically as possible in the beginning. Reaching back and forth does this well.
Also, try to avoid capsizing in this first outing.

Thanks,
Thank you for all of your help.