Re: Micro Sails
Dan,
It is in the true nature of a home boat builder to want to build your
own sails. I don't think this is a way to save money, but it is a
great learning experience and a way to demystify on of the "black
arts" of sailing.
All cat-yawl rigs will sail like they are dragging a bucket if the
main sail isn't cut correctly. I wish I could give you the seam taper
measurements, but alas, I don't know them. Here, however, are the
general guidelines I gave the old CSD sail maker, and would share
with another sail maker who asked. These are really from Mike
O'Brien, assistant editor @ WoodenBoat Magi.
The main should be cut like a Blade (a type of genoa) with the
largest amount of camber you can get without wrinkles in the sail,
the deepest point of camber about 1/3 of the way back from the luff.
This is farther back and much more camber than a sloop sail. The
trailing edge of the sail (leach) is absolutely flat from the deepest
point of the camber to the leach.
The mizzen is simple, just cut it flat. It is a steering and balance
sail, not a driving sail.
--- Inbolger@egroups.com, "Daniel Curnutte" <daniel.curnutte@r...>
wrote:
It is in the true nature of a home boat builder to want to build your
own sails. I don't think this is a way to save money, but it is a
great learning experience and a way to demystify on of the "black
arts" of sailing.
All cat-yawl rigs will sail like they are dragging a bucket if the
main sail isn't cut correctly. I wish I could give you the seam taper
measurements, but alas, I don't know them. Here, however, are the
general guidelines I gave the old CSD sail maker, and would share
with another sail maker who asked. These are really from Mike
O'Brien, assistant editor @ WoodenBoat Magi.
The main should be cut like a Blade (a type of genoa) with the
largest amount of camber you can get without wrinkles in the sail,
the deepest point of camber about 1/3 of the way back from the luff.
This is farther back and much more camber than a sloop sail. The
trailing edge of the sail (leach) is absolutely flat from the deepest
point of the camber to the leach.
The mizzen is simple, just cut it flat. It is a steering and balance
sail, not a driving sail.
--- Inbolger@egroups.com, "Daniel Curnutte" <daniel.curnutte@r...>
wrote:
> I am reading a fantastic Book called "Sails - the way they work andhave
> how to make them" by Derek Harvey ISBN 0-7136-4396-X.
> I am determined to make my own sails and it does not look overly
> difficult (It can't be any harder then building the boat!!). My
> wife
> will assist with the sewing and the book is very good for techniques
> etc.
> My question relates to the markings on the Blueprint Sailplan.
> Looking at the 19' Mainsail we have four numbers 55, 89, 119 &
> 153.
> They are obviously associated with the camber of the sail, yet I
> cannot make the numbers work!!
> Are they inches, degrees?? Any ideas
> I am also using the Robert Laine Sailcut 4 computer programme. I
> found this quite easy to use and it really helps when visualisingthe
> sails.
Dear Roger,
Richard is correct. If you stick the seams together before sewing
with double-sided tape, you just rollup the sail parallel to the
seams, and run it through the machine. If you don't stick it together
first, things get a little more labor intensive.
First line up the tick marks made when the sail was laid out on
the floor (hopefully, you remember to do this. Just strike two
parallell pencil marks across the seam, marking the adjoining
panels). Then begin sewing. Once a couple of stitches are in, you can
stop, and roll up the panel that's going under the machine's arm.
Alternately, you can line up the marks, and staple the end of the
seam together, then sew it.
The easiest method is to stick it all together, first. Most
sailmakers have a guide on the seaming machines (set into a pit in
the floor so the machine's table is even with the loft's floor) that
automatically keeps the proper seam width. Laminated sails are almost
always stuck together, first, then sewn.
Make your decision about sticking while the sail is still layed
out on the floor. Don't cut the seam tapers if you are sticking the
sail together. You'll follow the line drawn for the tape with the
tape.
The way you draw the taper is:
1. Mark the length of the taper along the seam from the luff string.
2. Mark the depth of the taper 90 degrees from the panel edge,
landing on the string.
3. Move the string out of the way, and put a push pin in at the luff
mark. Put another pin in at the panel edge mark. This is the taper's
disappearing point.
4. Measure halfway towards the luff along the panel edge, and make a
mark. Take a straightedge and span the pins at the disappearance
point and the luff depth mark. Measure 1/2 the distance in from the
panel edge at the 1/2 distance mark, and make a mark. You will fair
the batten through this point, which makes a nice smooth curve.
5. Leech tapers are dead straight. You want a flat trailing edge, not
a curved one, as the luff has.
This is how you do it. Lay the sail out on a long table, or the
floor. Using four push pins, pull some moderate tension in the panel,
keeping the edge as straight as possible. Usually, sails of Micro's
size use a 3/4" seam width, so get tape the same width. Lay the tape
down, with very little to no tension. Follow the edge of the sail
until you reach the start of the uncut seam taper (broadseam, in old
books), then follow the line drawn to mark that taper. Cut the extra
cloth off outside of the taper, running your scissors along the
tape's paper backing. Then, with a SHARP pencil, trace along the
tape's inside edge.
Peel about 2 feet of the backing off, and line up the tick marks.
Smoothly lay the panel edge along the pencil line, with a little bit
of tension. Keep peeling the tape and sticking the panel down. The
tick marks should be right on at both ends. If they're off by a
little bit, say no more than 1/4-3/8", don't worry about it. Then
take a smooth object, or a 1" wallpaper roller, and roll/rub the
seam
to make the tape really stick. Start at the lowest seam, and work
your way up.
The upper, straight seams are the easiest to do. Be compulsive
about checking the tape's fairness. Any cranky point will show up
in
the sail as a bulge, or tension fold. Ditto when drawing the tapers.
Make sure that the disappearance points, especially, smoothly
transition into the straight part of the seam. Sharp scissors are
critical for cutting the tapers smoothly.
I think you can get the tape through Sailrite. We called
it "seamstick", they may call it something different.
All of this is faster to do than to read. I could show you in
about five minutes. I apologize to the group for the long-winded
answer.
I hope this helps.
Take care,
Pete
--- Inbolger@egroups.com, "Daniel Curnutte" <daniel.curnutte@r...>
wrote:
Richard is correct. If you stick the seams together before sewing
with double-sided tape, you just rollup the sail parallel to the
seams, and run it through the machine. If you don't stick it together
first, things get a little more labor intensive.
First line up the tick marks made when the sail was laid out on
the floor (hopefully, you remember to do this. Just strike two
parallell pencil marks across the seam, marking the adjoining
panels). Then begin sewing. Once a couple of stitches are in, you can
stop, and roll up the panel that's going under the machine's arm.
Alternately, you can line up the marks, and staple the end of the
seam together, then sew it.
The easiest method is to stick it all together, first. Most
sailmakers have a guide on the seaming machines (set into a pit in
the floor so the machine's table is even with the loft's floor) that
automatically keeps the proper seam width. Laminated sails are almost
always stuck together, first, then sewn.
Make your decision about sticking while the sail is still layed
out on the floor. Don't cut the seam tapers if you are sticking the
sail together. You'll follow the line drawn for the tape with the
tape.
The way you draw the taper is:
1. Mark the length of the taper along the seam from the luff string.
2. Mark the depth of the taper 90 degrees from the panel edge,
landing on the string.
3. Move the string out of the way, and put a push pin in at the luff
mark. Put another pin in at the panel edge mark. This is the taper's
disappearing point.
4. Measure halfway towards the luff along the panel edge, and make a
mark. Take a straightedge and span the pins at the disappearance
point and the luff depth mark. Measure 1/2 the distance in from the
panel edge at the 1/2 distance mark, and make a mark. You will fair
the batten through this point, which makes a nice smooth curve.
5. Leech tapers are dead straight. You want a flat trailing edge, not
a curved one, as the luff has.
This is how you do it. Lay the sail out on a long table, or the
floor. Using four push pins, pull some moderate tension in the panel,
keeping the edge as straight as possible. Usually, sails of Micro's
size use a 3/4" seam width, so get tape the same width. Lay the tape
down, with very little to no tension. Follow the edge of the sail
until you reach the start of the uncut seam taper (broadseam, in old
books), then follow the line drawn to mark that taper. Cut the extra
cloth off outside of the taper, running your scissors along the
tape's paper backing. Then, with a SHARP pencil, trace along the
tape's inside edge.
Peel about 2 feet of the backing off, and line up the tick marks.
Smoothly lay the panel edge along the pencil line, with a little bit
of tension. Keep peeling the tape and sticking the panel down. The
tick marks should be right on at both ends. If they're off by a
little bit, say no more than 1/4-3/8", don't worry about it. Then
take a smooth object, or a 1" wallpaper roller, and roll/rub the
seam
to make the tape really stick. Start at the lowest seam, and work
your way up.
The upper, straight seams are the easiest to do. Be compulsive
about checking the tape's fairness. Any cranky point will show up
in
the sail as a bulge, or tension fold. Ditto when drawing the tapers.
Make sure that the disappearance points, especially, smoothly
transition into the straight part of the seam. Sharp scissors are
critical for cutting the tapers smoothly.
I think you can get the tape through Sailrite. We called
it "seamstick", they may call it something different.
All of this is faster to do than to read. I could show you in
about five minutes. I apologize to the group for the long-winded
answer.
I hope this helps.
Take care,
Pete
--- Inbolger@egroups.com, "Daniel Curnutte" <daniel.curnutte@r...>
wrote:
> I am reading a fantastic Book called "Sails - the way they work andhave
> how to make them" by Derek Harvey ISBN 0-7136-4396-X.
> I am determined to make my own sails and it does not look overly
> difficult (It can't be any harder then building the boat!!). My
> wife
> will assist with the sewing and the book is very good for techniques
> etc.
> My question relates to the markings on the Blueprint Sailplan.
> Looking at the 19' Mainsail we have four numbers 55, 89, 119 &
> 153.
> They are obviously associated with the camber of the sail, yet I
> cannot make the numbers work!!
> Are they inches, degrees?? Any ideas
> I am also using the Robert Laine Sailcut 4 computer programme. I
> found this quite easy to use and it really helps when visualisingthe
> sails.
Dear Daniel,
Go for it. Make those sails yourself. It isn't a difficult
process. I was a sailmaker for Hood Sails in Annapolis, Maryland for
five years. I used to joke about some of my less swift coworkers,
saying, "Last year, I couldn't even SPELL sailmaker! This year, I ARE
one!"
Hold the applause.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I make my own
sails to this day. The key items to buy are a good pair of scissors,
a good 6" ruler with a metric scale, an electric soldering iron with
a flat tip, a long spool of string, thumbtacks, and a push-type
staple puller (not the claw kind).
Battens can be scarfed up from left over plywood from building
your boat, or rip some spruce 2x's and scarf them together. They
don't have to be straight, but they MUST bend in nice smooth, fair
curves. The extra length will enable you to get the curves fair at
the corners of the sail, because you can move the battens end around.
Another great book about sailmaking is "The Sailmaker's
Apprentice", from International Marine. This is the best book I've
found.
Tips:
Use pencil to mark things
Staple the luff, leech, and foot tapes to the sail before sewing, or
the folded tabling
Use the bigest needle that will fit your sewing machine
Definitely install a leech line to stop it from fluttering
Cut the leech with a hollow in it, the same reason as above
Walk the needle through tough layers by hand - you may have to punch
the needle through with repeated stabs
Use double-sided tape to stick the corner and reef patches down
before sewing
Those are the toughest things to get a grasp on. Again, if you
have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Take care,
Pete
--- Inbolger@egroups.com, "Daniel Curnutte" <daniel.curnutte@r...>
wrote:
Go for it. Make those sails yourself. It isn't a difficult
process. I was a sailmaker for Hood Sails in Annapolis, Maryland for
five years. I used to joke about some of my less swift coworkers,
saying, "Last year, I couldn't even SPELL sailmaker! This year, I ARE
one!"
Hold the applause.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I make my own
sails to this day. The key items to buy are a good pair of scissors,
a good 6" ruler with a metric scale, an electric soldering iron with
a flat tip, a long spool of string, thumbtacks, and a push-type
staple puller (not the claw kind).
Battens can be scarfed up from left over plywood from building
your boat, or rip some spruce 2x's and scarf them together. They
don't have to be straight, but they MUST bend in nice smooth, fair
curves. The extra length will enable you to get the curves fair at
the corners of the sail, because you can move the battens end around.
Another great book about sailmaking is "The Sailmaker's
Apprentice", from International Marine. This is the best book I've
found.
Tips:
Use pencil to mark things
Staple the luff, leech, and foot tapes to the sail before sewing, or
the folded tabling
Use the bigest needle that will fit your sewing machine
Definitely install a leech line to stop it from fluttering
Cut the leech with a hollow in it, the same reason as above
Walk the needle through tough layers by hand - you may have to punch
the needle through with repeated stabs
Use double-sided tape to stick the corner and reef patches down
before sewing
Those are the toughest things to get a grasp on. Again, if you
have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Take care,
Pete
--- Inbolger@egroups.com, "Daniel Curnutte" <daniel.curnutte@r...>
wrote:
> I am reading a fantastic Book called "Sails - the way they work andhave
> how to make them" by Derek Harvey ISBN 0-7136-4396-X.
> I am determined to make my own sails and it does not look overly
> difficult (It can't be any harder then building the boat!!). My
> wife
> will assist with the sewing and the book is very good for techniques
> etc.
> My question relates to the markings on the Blueprint Sailplan.
> Looking at the 19' Mainsail we have four numbers 55, 89, 119 &
> 153.
> They are obviously associated with the camber of the sail, yet I
> cannot make the numbers work!!
> Are they inches, degrees?? Any ideas
> I am also using the Robert Laine Sailcut 4 computer programme. I
> found this quite easy to use and it really helps when visualisingthe
> sails.
Dear Daniel,
Go for it. Make those sails yourself. It isn't a difficult
process. I was a sailmaker for Hood Sails in Annapolis, Maryland for
five years. I used to joke about some of my less swift coworkers,
saying, "Last year, I couldn't even SPELL sailmaker! This year, I ARE
one!"
Hold the applause.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I make my own
sails to this day. The key items to buy are a good pair of scissors,
a good 6" ruler with a metric scale, an electric soldering iron with
a flat tip, a long spool of string, thumbtacks, and a push-type
staple puller (not the claw kind).
Battens can be scarfed up from left over plywood from building
your boat, or rip some spruce 2x's and scarf them together. They
don't have to be straight, but they MUST bend in nice smooth, fair
curves. The extra length will enable you to get the curves fair at
the corners of the sail, because you can move the battens end around.
Another great book about sailmaking is "The Sailmaker's
Apprentice", from International Marine. This is the best book I've
found.
Tips:
Use pencil to mark things
Staple the luff, leech, and foot tapes to the sail before sewing, or
the folded tabling
Use the bigest needle that will fit your sewing machine
Definitely install a leech line to stop it from fluttering
Cut the leech with a hollow in it, the same reason as above
Walk the needle through tough layers by hand - you may have to punch
the needle through with repeated stabs
Use double-sided tape to stick the corner and reef patches down
before sewing
Those are the toughest things to get a grasp on. Again, if you
have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Take care,
Pete
--- Inbolger@egroups.com, "Daniel Curnutte" <daniel.curnutte@r...>
wrote:
Go for it. Make those sails yourself. It isn't a difficult
process. I was a sailmaker for Hood Sails in Annapolis, Maryland for
five years. I used to joke about some of my less swift coworkers,
saying, "Last year, I couldn't even SPELL sailmaker! This year, I ARE
one!"
Hold the applause.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I make my own
sails to this day. The key items to buy are a good pair of scissors,
a good 6" ruler with a metric scale, an electric soldering iron with
a flat tip, a long spool of string, thumbtacks, and a push-type
staple puller (not the claw kind).
Battens can be scarfed up from left over plywood from building
your boat, or rip some spruce 2x's and scarf them together. They
don't have to be straight, but they MUST bend in nice smooth, fair
curves. The extra length will enable you to get the curves fair at
the corners of the sail, because you can move the battens end around.
Another great book about sailmaking is "The Sailmaker's
Apprentice", from International Marine. This is the best book I've
found.
Tips:
Use pencil to mark things
Staple the luff, leech, and foot tapes to the sail before sewing, or
the folded tabling
Use the bigest needle that will fit your sewing machine
Definitely install a leech line to stop it from fluttering
Cut the leech with a hollow in it, the same reason as above
Walk the needle through tough layers by hand - you may have to punch
the needle through with repeated stabs
Use double-sided tape to stick the corner and reef patches down
before sewing
Those are the toughest things to get a grasp on. Again, if you
have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Take care,
Pete
--- Inbolger@egroups.com, "Daniel Curnutte" <daniel.curnutte@r...>
wrote:
> I am reading a fantastic Book called "Sails - the way they work andhave
> how to make them" by Derek Harvey ISBN 0-7136-4396-X.
> I am determined to make my own sails and it does not look overly
> difficult (It can't be any harder then building the boat!!). My
> wife
> will assist with the sewing and the book is very good for techniques
> etc.
> My question relates to the markings on the Blueprint Sailplan.
> Looking at the 19' Mainsail we have four numbers 55, 89, 119 &
> 153.
> They are obviously associated with the camber of the sail, yet I
> cannot make the numbers work!!
> Are they inches, degrees?? Any ideas
> I am also using the Robert Laine Sailcut 4 computer programme. I
> found this quite easy to use and it really helps when visualisingthe
> sails.
> My question relates to the markings on the Blueprint Sailplan.Daniel,
> Looking at the 19' Mainsail we have four numbers 55, 89, 119 &
> 153.
> They are obviously associated with the camber of the sail, yet I
> cannot make the numbers work!!
> Are they inches, degrees?? Any ideas
The numbers you mentioned (and the associated symbols) indicate the
center of effort of the various sailplans. The symbol associated
with the number 153 shows where the center of effort is when 153 ft2
of sail are flyling.
Drop the mizzen (34 ft2) and the center of effort moves up and
forward a bit to the symbol/number 119 (153 ft2 - 34ft2). Reefing
the main generates 89ft2 and 55ft2 with subsequent lowering of center
of effort.
Our Micro (BANTY) is pictured in the vault...sorry, our homemade
tanbark sails aren't flying in that picture. Hang in there, you can
do it.....it's even more fun to sail using windbags you've sewn
yourself.
Holler if you think I can help.
John & Susan
I am reading a fantastic Book called "Sails - the way they work and
how to make them" by Derek Harvey ISBN 0-7136-4396-X.
I am determined to make my own sails and it does not look overly
difficult (It can't be any harder then building the boat!!). My
wife
will assist with the sewing and the book is very good for techniques
etc.
My question relates to the markings on the Blueprint Sailplan.
Looking at the 19' Mainsail we have four numbers 55, 89, 119 &
153.
They are obviously associated with the camber of the sail, yet I
cannot make the numbers work!!
Are they inches, degrees?? Any ideas
I am also using the Robert Laine Sailcut 4 computer programme. I have
found this quite easy to use and it really helps when visualising the
sails.
how to make them" by Derek Harvey ISBN 0-7136-4396-X.
I am determined to make my own sails and it does not look overly
difficult (It can't be any harder then building the boat!!). My
wife
will assist with the sewing and the book is very good for techniques
etc.
My question relates to the markings on the Blueprint Sailplan.
Looking at the 19' Mainsail we have four numbers 55, 89, 119 &
153.
They are obviously associated with the camber of the sail, yet I
cannot make the numbers work!!
Are they inches, degrees?? Any ideas
I am also using the Robert Laine Sailcut 4 computer programme. I have
found this quite easy to use and it really helps when visualising the
sails.