spreader patch
A spreader patch is a fabric reinforcement at a point on a sail where it is likely to rub with the spreader on a mast.
Use and construction
Spreader patches may be placed on a jib,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7TVvAAAAQBAJ&q=spreader+patch&pg=PA111|title=The Annapolis Book of Seamanship: Fourth Edition|last=Rousmaniere|first=John|date=2014-01-07|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781451650242|pages=111|language=en}} when it overlaps with the mast, or on the mainsail,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cbA2Sw1wqGQC&q=spreader+patch&pg=RA7-PA25|title=There's the rub|last=Neal|first=Tom|date=January 1995|work=Cruising World|location=Newport, Rhode Island|pages=25|language=en}} where it may interfere when furled, or when the sail is backwinded against the mast.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2JIbS0c1XPwC&q=spreader+patch&pg=PA185|title=The New Book of Sail Trim|last=Textor|first=Ken|date=1995|publisher=Sheridan House, Inc.|isbn=9780924486814|pages=185|language=en}} Patches may be made of tape, sticky-backed Dacron, or other material that is compatible with the type of sailcloth being reinforced.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=inyYdZBU9v0C&q=spreader+patch&pg=PA141|title=Sew it yourself|last=Leonard|first=Beth A.|date=September 2007|work=Cruising World|location=Newport, Rhode Island|pages=140|language=en}} When applying such patches, it's important to affix it starting from the inner part of the sail, towards the edge of the sail (leech).{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xiWI0JXgtdIC&q=spreader+patch&pg=RA4-PA75|title=Sail repair and jury-rigging at sea|last=Jasper|first=Aaron|date=December 1992|work=Cruising World|location=Newport, Rhode Island|pages=75|language=en}}