Making And Testing Sailing Chicago Rigs

By Carolyn Murray


What seafaring tips can you use that cost next to nothing, but will reward you with more time seafaring--and less time waiting for expensive sail repairs? Follow these simple steps to save lots of money and keep your sails in tip-top shape! The following article will lead us through the topic Ways to add life to your sailing chicago career.

Should a new sailboat builder simply purchase rigging and sails? You know, it depends. Some plans, such as Chris Ostlinder's A18T trimaran, tend to be "high-tech."You can read about the A18T on the Duckworks website. These plans call for fittings and have stressed on things that are similar to what you see on Hobie Cats and things.

There is a big difference between low-tech sails and high-tech sails. High-tech sails are harder for the homebuilder to do than low-tech sails. But you can get good performance out of low-tech sails. With faster (Trimaran) sailboats, such as the A18T, you would use a high-tech seafaring rig. If you want to squeeze performance, you've got to go higher-tech, and it's more complicated and more expensive.

Fold Your Sails to Sustain Life: Stuff a sail in a bag underway makes perfect sense. But once you get in, pull it out and do it right. Use the flaking method. Start at the foot, reach up and pull down a fold. Continue this all the way to the head. On high-tech Mylar sails, roll the sail up like a sausage from foot to head. Folding or rolling helps keep the delicate coating on the sail surface intact.

Just keep in mind that seafaring downwind is much faster and easier than tacking! It's a good reminder to be aware of the time and allow plenty of time to get back to your original destination. Your next task is to trim the mainsail to the wind by using the boom block. The boom block is a sailing term that is a set of pulleys that are attached to the end of the boom and allows you to position the boom in various angles.

And I should mention the blue type of polytarp material you get at Wal Mart isn't good. Stay away from that. However, you can buy white polytarp material from Polysails. They sell a kit which has everything you need, plus a lot of instructions on their website on how to build these sails. You can also get white tarps from Tarps.com. They have a white, 6 oz tarp that is very sturdy and durable. It's got good UV resistance and makes great sails.

Look at the patches at the head, tack, clew, and reef points. Mark worn areas with a pencil. Take the sail to your sail maker (or sew it yourself), and it will reward you with a trouble-free performance next seafaring season. Use beeswax or light, waterproof lubricant to slick the slots in your mast and sailboat boom.

It recommends a series of small darts around the perimeter. That works very well on small sails. There are different techniques to use for all kinds of sails. To create a professional sail, a sail maker will use "broad seaming" to give it an airfoil type of shape. They'll use a series of panels, which are sewn together in such a way as to create the shape they want.




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