Hello -

Was looking at a boat to buy and the retailor says that the Mylar coating is coming off and just the dacron is left. Is this ok? My apologies to the retailor if he is viewing this thread!

Attached is a picture of the sail.

would you buy a hull that was delaminated?

that looks pretty bad. Plan on it needing a new main soon (or immediately if you plan to race it).

The mylar provides the sail's shape and prevents deformation. The dacron is there to keep the sail durable. If it delaminates to a great extent, it will not work very well at all. Original dacron sails are built to accommodate for the fabric stretch but are inferior to a good laminate.
Come down to Texas City Dike on any nice weekend. We even help Aggies.
Just my $.02

Thanks folks, that is a bit different story than I heard from the retailer which was "...(sail) is in ok shape. The sail has a mylar coating that is not needed and is cracking. I took some of this off and just the dacron material is what is left..."

JGrady, I appreciate the invite. I plan on coming out to the dike soon! I was just hoping to have a boat before I showed up. Unfortunately the wife is not interested in crewing on a cat so I am looking to find a decent single hander that I can buy on my allowance.

If a retailer is going to tell you crap like

"The sail has a mylar coating that is not needed..."

then I'd be looking for a different retailer because he'll probably rip you off on whatever he sells you. I'm sure all the sailors in your area would like to know who told you this so that they could avoid him too.

That was a direct email quote - I won't be describing the retailer on a public forum though. I thought the quote sounded iffy about the sail - he may have meant that it would sail but that is it.

Like Jake said, the sail will not be good for racing (not competitive) but you could use it, I've seen much worst. If you are not going to race right away and the retailer is selling the boat at a fair price, it could still be a good deal. Just plan on needing to buy a new sail when you make your offer.

The boat the sail goes on is a 86 H17SE. The boat seems in decent shape, the hulls have been reported to be stiff and not delaminating. The are asking $1,700 including wings and trailer. I live a few hundred miles away from it, so I have not been able to observe the boat 1st hand. anyways, I think the price maybe a little too steep - especially when knowing that a new sail is needed.

By virtue of the fact that this is a H17 with no jib, I wouldn't touch that sail. If the only sail blows out on a 17, you'd better be toting a paddle or else you're SOL.

The older sail on my Prindle 19 was delaminated pretty badly when I bought it (I knew about, no problem there) and it blew out in about an hour of sailing. Of course, it was blowing 20+ and we were double trapping with 450 lbs on the wire under main alone, but still...I felt lucky not to have had to paddle in.

sail fast

First, NEVER take the word of a salesman. You should personally go over that boat with a microscope. Make them rig the boat at the store.
Second,a mylar sail is NOT the same as a dacron sail with mylar stuck on it. The mylar layer takes the place of the stiff coating on a dacron sail. Without the mylar, it would have no shape or strength.
Third, Hobie 17 sails are notorious for delaminating. The cheap fabric has mylar on only one side. A sail looking like that one Will explode on a windy day.