Making Sails Part 2 Making the Main By Daniel Bergan Sail Cloth Weight: A set- 50 micron B set- 75 Micron C set- 75 Micron D set- 75 Micron Clear your bench make sure it doesn t have any markings at all as the film when rolling the patches can be marked and dented very easily. I find the main is a little more straight forward to make then the Jib. For the main the template can be cut straight away, unlike the jib that requires the luff tape to allow for the jib wire to be fit before cutting to template size. Make sure you have a good clean working area. Ensure your templates are correct, and roll out your film to be cut to shape. I like to weigh down the template with weights to prevent any movement while cutting around the template. It just makes it easier. Another product that is handy at times is Artist spray adhesive, this has a low tac allowing the sail cloth to stay in position while being cut and easily removed. The only thing is sometimes the residue can sometimes stay on the sail and needs to clean off with soapy water afterwards. But this good for large sails. Its like and extra pair hands. Weighing down the template for cutting

Once the template is cut out remove everything from the bench other then the sail ready to have the trim added. As mentioned prior I use a plotter cutter to make all my corner reinforcements. You can cut them out by hand hand from polyester insignia cloth. Its much easier having these prep cut ready to go. Plotter cut corners ready to be used Carefully stick on the patches, you only get one chance to stick these on. Mess it up and you start again from the beginning. Some times you need to trim the edges if it moved slight off line just keep within the sail plan. Please take care while sticking these corners on. Repeat the process doing one side then turning over to do the other side. Corners stuck on and trimmed to sail plan

After the patches are on the next thing to add are the sail battens. Now the battens can be made from any material you like. The length of the battens and were they are fasten to the sail is critical to get right. There is some flexibility but you must remain within the rules. To help with this I pre mark my Templates showing exactly were I want the battens fitted. Batten material can be plastic, Fibre glass and Carbon fibre etc. I fine plastic battens work the best with these sails. I use off the shelf.5mm plastic sheet, you can buy these from any good hobby shop. These come in clear or White in colour. I then use a wider double side tape and stick one side to the plastic sheet and then begin to cut with a Stanley knife the width and length of the batten ready to use. It then a simple peal off the tape from the double sided tape and stick into position on your sail once cut to size. Its worth mentioning I use sail grade double sided tape, don t use craft double sided tape it just doesn t hold up over time. Clear Plastic.5mm sheet Double sided tape stuck to plastic ready to be cut to size. Cut Lengths ready to be used

Make sure you stick the battens were you need them to go. It also worth mentioning, what side do you put the battens and weather you stagger the battens and go alternate one side then the next goes the other side etc I tried having the battens all on one side( same as the produced ones) or alternate sides and found no difference in performance. So have a try yourself. Once the battens are in place stick the reinforcement patches over the top of the battens, this helps the batten to stay fasten to the sail.

Now the corners are in place and the battens are fasten on the next thin is to add the eyelets. I use a hole punch for the cutting of the holes for eyelets. Its easier and cleaner. The alternate is to use a heated nail or drill bit and melt a hole. Note I don t use Eyelets for the luff tie areas just reinforcement and 1mm hole from holes punch. After the eyelets are in and looking good its just add numbers and trim lines if you want them and class logo. I use thin Vinyl for all these items and use the plotter cutter to make what we need and colour options. There is nothing too hard and with practise you will find your sails will look and sail great. I hope this was helpful. Good luck and see you on the water.