Happy Birthday for Sunday Johan. Hope you had an awesome time. Cheers GrantHappy Birthday, Johan!
Good morning Johan. You look like you have been working that machine for years...
The sewing on your sails confirms that....Cheers grant
Sails are looking good Johan.
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Thanks Grant, I had a great day, beautiful weather and beautiful company.
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Thanks Shota, 69 years of age and still learning…Happy Birthday, Johan
wish you all the best and happiness
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The sails remain a royal pain. I just completed the fore sail, which saw quite some puckering and I don’t know why. I used the same cloth orientation, same stitching sequence, same rope, essentially no changes to any settings and still... Plus, due to the puckering, I also noticed quite some shrinkage, especially in the vertical and no amount of ironing or somewhat forced stretching did me any favors.Sails are looking good Johan.
Once I have collected my courage from the dustbin, I might take some pics and share, but that could be a long way coming…
Say Johan, I read somewhere, maybe on this forum to attach a thin paper like tissue wrapping paper to the material with straight pins. Once you finish sewing pull the paper out and the tiny void that's formed is enough to release the thread tension thus relaxing the pucker. This sounds like a real pain, and I have no idea if it really works but may be worth a test try.
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I’m definitely gonna try that one!
Thanks.
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Oké, I decided to share anyway.
I haven’t come to a decision yet with regards to the foresail, but I think I know what I did differently from the main topsail; I applied the diluted glue to the foresail after stitching, which means the cloth was rather supple and thus more prone to puckering.
I attached the sail to the gaff and boom in order to get some insight in how it looks. Like I said, undecided for now, although the Admiral is wondering what I am whining about…
Still considering ripping it of the boom and gaff and starting anew, but before taking that decision, I’ll do a couple of ratlines instead.
Both foremast sails as they should appear:
I understand your hesitation about the foresail. Options: always look at it or .......
I also just started over on several sails.
Considering the rest of your BN's look, it's well worth it.
Regards, Peter
Good morning Johan. Whew sails....! I have never tried and now I am even more fearful of this process when I get there. You and I are so used to redos by now we should write a journal on this
. Leave it for a while and if you don't like it....rip it. Cheers Grant
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Right now I've made five sails, of which three, possibly four are scrap. Apart from the puckering, I also found the fore sail to be too small, height wise. Redo time it will be. Since I have limited to no knowledge about textile and weaving of textile, it's all new territory.Good morning Johan. Whew sails....! I have never tried and now I am even more fearful of this process when I get there. You and I are so used to redos by now we should write a journal on this
I'm heavily suspecting you and I are not the only ones doing redo's, better, I know fellow builders are also involved in redo's, or maybe a better term is experiments; with limited or no experience one has to use the trial and error method to see what does or doesn't work.
Those who never report any redo, now that's suspicious; they're either some Einstein-equivalent for modeling, or...
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We shared some WhatsApp's on the subject; to be continued... I'm afraid that after all is said and done, I'll be a rather experienced user of the Admiral's Elna.
Perhaps on a next D.B.B.S. a picture of us, both behind the Admiral’s Elna’s ………….
Setting up a production line for BN sails ………
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Nice picture Johan
We are looking for someone who can shorten our curtains and or adjust trouser legs
Something different than sawing wood
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After having made 1 main topsail, 3 fore topsails and 3 foresails, I now finally have an acceptable sail... 
The six dustbin model sails were a) not really looking well and b) dimensionaly too small, especially the fore sail.
The only thing I didn't try yet was Dan's (@Daniel20) suggestion to use some tissue paper to reduce the tension in the fabric. I am somewhat reluctant to do this: I fear that, after tissue removal, the stitches may become too slack, maybe unfounded, but I just don't know.
The Admiral suggested to increase the stitch pitch by one step, I think it went from 1 to 2mm, I followed her advice (as every good spouse does) and the result was a significant improvement over the earlier versions. I also stitched, with the sewing machine and a nice zigzag, a rope to the sail for the luff, leed, foot and head.
To the left is a dustbin version of the fore sail, no need to explain why...
The fore sail on the right is the first acceptable one I made, albeit not 100% perfect. Increased stitch pitch and rope stitched to the edges of the sail.
The six dustbin model sails were a) not really looking well and b) dimensionaly too small, especially the fore sail.
The only thing I didn't try yet was Dan's (@Daniel20) suggestion to use some tissue paper to reduce the tension in the fabric. I am somewhat reluctant to do this: I fear that, after tissue removal, the stitches may become too slack, maybe unfounded, but I just don't know.
The Admiral suggested to increase the stitch pitch by one step, I think it went from 1 to 2mm, I followed her advice (as every good spouse does) and the result was a significant improvement over the earlier versions. I also stitched, with the sewing machine and a nice zigzag, a rope to the sail for the luff, leed, foot and head.
To the left is a dustbin version of the fore sail, no need to explain why...
The fore sail on the right is the first acceptable one I made, albeit not 100% perfect. Increased stitch pitch and rope stitched to the edges of the sail.
The right-hand side does look very good Johan. I was amazed at how much a fabric will shrink up when done sewing all those straight lines. I had to oversize quite a bit 1/4 to 3/8" so they would come out close to the correct size.
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I think on the dustbin fore sails I had about 0,4"/10mm shrinkage. The third fore sail was close to nominal.
Once you think about it a little more; tension is put on the fabric, by both the stitch, but als by the feeder mechanism. The shorter you choose the pitch, or the more pitches per unit length, the more tension.
My respect, Johan, for your perseverance to ultimately achieve the desired result of a representative sail. It’s looking very nice.After having made 1 main topsail, 3 fore topsails and 3 foresails, I now finally have an acceptable sail...
The six dustbin model sails were a) not really looking well and b) dimensionaly too small, especially the fore sail.
The only thing I didn't try yet was Dan's (@Daniel20) suggestion to use some tissue paper to reduce the tension in the fabric. I am somewhat reluctant to do this: I fear that, after tissue removal, the stitches may become too slack, maybe unfounded, but I just don't know.
The Admiral suggested to increase the stitch pitch by one step, I think it went from 1 to 2mm, I followed her advice (as every good spouse does) and the result was a significant improvement over the earlier versions. I also stitched, with the sewing machine and a nice zigzag, a rope to the sail for the luff, leed, foot and head.
To the left is a dustbin version of the fore sail, no need to explain why...
The fore sail on the right is the first acceptable one I made, albeit not 100% perfect. Increased stitch pitch and rope stitched to the edges of the sail.
View attachment 386057
Regards, Peter