Installing a Sacrificial Sail Cover Made With Sunbrella®

Are you interested in learning how to install a sacrificial sun cover to your sail? You’re in luck! Our three-part how-to series will show you how to install your own sacrificial sail sun cover using high-quality Sunbrella^® Marine Grade Fabric. Our all-inclusive kits include everything you need to sew your own sail sun cover. Let’s get started with today’s DIY project.

Our Sailrite^® Sacrificial Sail Sun Cover Kits come in a range of sizes that can accommodate most sailboats. We also include Sunbrella Marine Grade Fabric, which is the industry standard marine cover cloth. Sunbrella Marine Grade is praised for its incredible strength, abrasion resistance and UV protection. It’s also resistant to mold, mildew and fading thanks to Sunbrella’s solution-dyed acrylic canvas. The width of the sacrificial canvas strip should span the exposed edge of the sail when rolled onto the forestay. You should add 6 inches to this width to account for loose or sloppy furling, just in case.

Our Sacrificial Sun Cover Kits include: Sunbrella Marine Grade, UV polyester thread, 3M™ Super 77™ Spray Adhesive, basting tape and the instructions for assembling your sun cover. Super 77 is a fantastic spray adhesive that allows you to position the Sunbrella along the edge of the sail for accurate placement and easier sewing. We recommend sewing your sacrificial sun cover with the Sailrite^® Ultrafeed^® LSZ Walking Foot Sewing Machine using a zigzag stitch. If you do not have a zigzag stitch sewing machine, you can sew two rows of straight stitches. We advise that you set your straight stitch length at the longest stitch setting your machine offers.

Once you receive your Sacrificial Sail Sun Cover Kit, watch the videos below to get started. With tools, supplies and free how-to videos from Sailrite, it’s fun and easy to DIY for your sailboat!