Trying out a new method:
Marked out the size of the mainsail and cut it from the pre-colored piece of Navarra fabric:
Marked the sail panels and reef bands, including the double stitching lines. Glued the folded hems using diluted Lineco PVA.
For the mizzen sail, I had laid the fabric on a mirror and glued the luff made of 0.45 mm thread directly against it. That was quite a messy process, even though the mirror was easy to clean.
I had a "third hand" tool available. First, I formed the top loop in the thread and glued it to the peak of the sail using undiluted Lineco.
Once dry, I could stretch the long side of the sail between two clamps:
Applied some glue to the sail's edge and the thread, then used my fingers to guide the line along the edge until the thread adhered.
The key is not to try doing sections that are too large at once.
Creating the eyelets on the mizzen sail, such as those for the reef lines, was a real hassle. There had to be a better way .....
Upon reaching the first reef band, I waited for the glue to dry. At the desired spot, I slightly untwisted the thread so I could insert my smallest sail needle under one of the strands:
Pulled the needle through to the eye. This allowed me to pass the end of the thread underneath the strand. I pulled the thread through further to achieve the desired eyelet size and secured it with some Serafil (see insert).
Glued the thread to the sail for a short distance, resulting in a neat eyelet in the exact right spot. The new method is working well. I can now finish the mainsail all the way around. I do still need to wait and see if the hems remain flexible enough to stow the sail neatly later on.
Regards, Peter
Marked out the size of the mainsail and cut it from the pre-colored piece of Navarra fabric:
Marked the sail panels and reef bands, including the double stitching lines. Glued the folded hems using diluted Lineco PVA.
For the mizzen sail, I had laid the fabric on a mirror and glued the luff made of 0.45 mm thread directly against it. That was quite a messy process, even though the mirror was easy to clean.
I had a "third hand" tool available. First, I formed the top loop in the thread and glued it to the peak of the sail using undiluted Lineco.
Once dry, I could stretch the long side of the sail between two clamps:
Applied some glue to the sail's edge and the thread, then used my fingers to guide the line along the edge until the thread adhered.
The key is not to try doing sections that are too large at once.
Creating the eyelets on the mizzen sail, such as those for the reef lines, was a real hassle. There had to be a better way .....
Upon reaching the first reef band, I waited for the glue to dry. At the desired spot, I slightly untwisted the thread so I could insert my smallest sail needle under one of the strands:
Pulled the needle through to the eye. This allowed me to pass the end of the thread underneath the strand. I pulled the thread through further to achieve the desired eyelet size and secured it with some Serafil (see insert).
Glued the thread to the sail for a short distance, resulting in a neat eyelet in the exact right spot. The new method is working well. I can now finish the mainsail all the way around. I do still need to wait and see if the hems remain flexible enough to stow the sail neatly later on.
Regards, Peter
. Cheers Grant
