Hey Mark: If you cut sails for Ulman, then maybe you know... how did you guys drive a needle through the corners of a sail? For the handwork and finishing, I mean.
For example... I replaced the leather chafe patches on the corners of one of my sails. They were about 4, maybe 5 layers of resin-filled Dacron. My "sailmaking" machine wouldn't even consider punching through this stuff (My machine is similar to a SailRite Ultra, but not the genuine article. Probably from the same factory. With the Monster balance wheel, it wouldn't even go partly through.) I bought a bunch of good needles, but still couldn't come close to pushing the needle through (yes, I used a sail palm). Or when I managed to get the needle in, my fingers were nowhere strong enough to pull the needle through. In the end, I finished the job by punching a hole with a very sharp homemade awl, a stump, and a hammer, and then followed up with the needle. It was a giant pain in the ass and took forever. I kept thinking, "there's GOT to be a better way!" Is there a better way? Thanks BG Brian Gilbert Fix It And Sail, The Complete Trailer-Sailer On Dec 4, 2008, at 11:23 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Hello, > How old is the sail? Lots of go fast boats I've raced on in the past > have had mylar laminate sails. > Some with carbon fiber, some with kevlar, all awesome performing sails > when they are new, but the one thing they have in common is a short > life span. They begin to loose their shape over time and the draft > shifts back. > If they've been subjected to heavy use during the coarse of a few > racing seasons they can start to come apart. > Then they become the rags we used for practice. > Unless you are one of those lucky guys who can buy new sails every two > or three years I'd stick with Dacron. > But there are some other fabrics out there that are a bit higher > performing than good ol' Dacron, that > are not laminates. > > Just reminiscing - I cut sails for Ullman once upon a time. > > Mark E > M17F/D > #103 > AMY > _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
