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Jib Luff Wire

PostPosted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 2:11 pm
I'm planning to make my sails from Sailrite kits (I made one of their kits a few years ago for my Skerry). I noticed the their jib design uses a 3/32" 1x19 luff wire (with thimbles and nicopress sleeves) that is sewn more or less permanently into the sail. The Pocketship study plan specifies a 5/32" wire for the jib, and 3/32" seems sort of small to me.
I'm wondering: what does the jib that CLC sells actually have? From one photo I got the impression that it has a 5/32" wire that passes through a sleeve and might be removable, and the tack and head of the sail are are fastened to the cable eyes with shackles or lashing. Is that actually the case?

Thanks,
Doug

Re: Jib Luff Wire

PostPosted: Fri Oct 23, 2020 4:49 pm
by Mflyer65
Hi Doug,
My jib was purchased from CLC with the kit and it has 5/32 cable installed. Seems right to me. The Bobstay is also 5/32.
Hope that helps,
Mike

Re: Jib Luff Wire

PostPosted: Fri Oct 23, 2020 5:27 pm
Mflyer65 wrote:Hi Doug,
My jib was purchased from CLC with the kit and it has 5/32 cable installed. Seems right to me. The Bobstay is also 5/32.
Hope that helps,
Mike


Thanks for the reply. Is the wire sewn in, or does it just pass through a sleeve?

Doug

Re: Jib Luff Wire

PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2020 9:44 am
by Mflyer65
IMG_1217.jpg
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It is in a narrow pocket, maybe 1 inch wide, and then shackled to a grommet at either end.

Re: Jib Luff Wire

PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2020 2:23 pm
Well, yesterday afternoon (and evening) I sewed up the jib kit. Here is how I did the wire luff. The pocket is wide enough that the wire can be slid out. At the moment the wire is sticking out more than it ought to, and I don't have a suitable shackle yet.

jib.jpg
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Probably in a week or so I'll start on the mainsail.

Doug

Re: Jib Luff Wire

PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2021 11:06 am
by JonLee
What are you using for a sewing machine? Does it really take something as heavy-duty as what Sailrite sells, or does a normal machine work. I am thinking about trying one of their sail kits for another (non-PocketShip) project that I am working on.

Re: Jib Luff Wire

PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2021 12:03 pm
JonLee wrote:What are you using for a sewing machine? Does it really take something as heavy-duty as what Sailrite sells, or does a normal machine work. I am thinking about trying one of their sail kits for another (non-PocketShip) project that I am working on.


Previously I made a Sailrite lug sail for my Skerry, and after I made the Pocketship jib I made the main.

We used an older Bernina machine for the Skerry sail, and it worked fine.
That was a few years ago, and since then my wife got a new fairly fancy Bernina that did an even better job.

You can definitely use a regular machine - you need one that is fairly sturdy and reasonably powerful, and in good condition.
Before committing to the Skerry sail kit, I bought a yard of the same fabric and a spool of thread, and verified that I
could do the required stitching. Most of the stitching is 2 or 3 layers, but the worst-case (in the corners) is 7 layers.

Doug

Re: Jib Luff Wire

PostPosted: Thu Aug 26, 2021 9:54 am
by afairaizl
How many hours would you say went into sewing up the mainsail and jib? I'm trying to determine whether there's a cost/time benefit to me doing it by myself. I've got a good sewing machine that handles leather well so that's not a concern. My sail loft would be on top of the ping pong table, which concerns me as far as layout and sewing difficulty.

Re: Jib Luff Wire

PostPosted: Thu Aug 26, 2021 10:51 am
I would estimate that the amount of time needed to sew a set of sails from a kit is less than 5% of the time needed to build a pocketship. And you don't have to do any sanding or painting! So if you have a suitable machine, go for it.

If you have enough room to build the boat, you have enough space to sew the sails. I used a ping pong table myself, along with a 3x6 folding table.

A minor disappointment was that the tanbark kit is a lot more expensive than the white kit, so I saved less money then I would have if I had wanted white sails.

Re: Jib Luff Wire

PostPosted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 8:47 pm
just hoisted for the first time the Sailrite sail I sewed about a year ago while waiting for my PS kit to be cut.
I noticed one issue: the end of the boom is a bit low, and touches the gallows.
I dug up the computer printouts that came with the sail kit, which have all the relevant dimensions and a rendering of the sail,
and compared that data with the official PS sail plans that came with the PS kit.

It turns out that the Sailrite sail has the length of every edge correct, but the throat-to-clew diagonal measurement is
a few inches too large. This causes the gaff to be a bit further back than it should, and the clew to be a few inches lower
than it should. I doubt this will have any significant effect on sailing performance, but i will have to reduce the height of
the gallows by about 6 inches.

I'm still glad I made mine, but if any of you are planning to make one, I suggest discussing this issue with the Sailrite designer.