Sailrite Kits... Do it yourself sailmaking

[NornaBiron]

[QUOTE=islandplanet;1175260 Next time you do something like this, you may want to ask the supplier for a detailed drawing. It's part of our process with our customers and is very effective at preventing any misunderstandings..[/QUOTE]

We did! The plan (not very detailed) was eventually e-mailed through to us three days after the sail arrived. The numbers on the fabric parts had been part cut off and the cut line wasn't always the finished edge.

Taking all that into consideration my husband did a fantastic job of putting together an unmarked jigsaw with a 'barely there' plan! We had lots of communication with the sail-loft prior to delivery but once it arrived with parts missing they were very reluctant to talk to us.

We have made the best of what we were sent and this has resulted in a sail that we are very pleased with. We will be using a different supplier for our head sails next winter.

[w32honu]

Originally Posted by Jon Neely

Nornabiron, or anyone that has done the sailrite kit, can you give your experience level and then how much realistic estimated time was involved in making each sail.

Thanks,

Jon

Jon,

We have built two sails using Sailrite kits. One dinghy sail and one staysail for a larger boat. We are just about to order a third kit which will be a 110% headsail.

We had no experience in sailmaking prior to doing the first project. As total novices we found the Sailrite videos and other videos (youtube and the like) to be very helpful. Also each kit comes complete with all materials required and a very complete and easy to follow set of instructions.

We found that each sail could be sewn together in about a day (both were fairly small projects). However the finish work (tapes, leech line, hand work, rings, and grommets.....etc) took up the remainder of the time. Average for us to finish a sail has been about 3 days each.......

There are professional sailmakers contributing to the CF. They have had excellent advice and recommend starting on a small project to begin with. Also the type of machine used for sewing will make a difference as well.

Hope that helps...........

[NornaBiron]

Originally Posted by islandplanet

I got my start with a Banks loft in Florida. I don't know any of the guys in Europe though. I agree with their recommendation to reduce the number of battens but I guess something must have got lost in communication.

Next time you do something like this, you may want to ask the supplier for a detailed drawing. It's part of our process with our customers and is very effective at preventing any misunderstandings. For mainsails, the key points are typically batten configuration, reef locations, and slide spacing. We'll also spell out what we see as the advantages and disadvantages of the design.

I've attached a sample drawing of a main for a Stevens 47. The sail came out exactly as expected, right down to the leech just kissing the backstay.

Thanks very much for your advice, it is appreciated. If you can recommend a loft that will design and cut for us (within the EU so that we don't have to pay import duties!) that would be great.

[Jon Neely]

We have the lsz-1 and have done sail repair with it. Also made a stack pack and our inflatable case. Seeing that I can make two almost three sails for the price of just one loft sail is pretty hard to beat.

[w32honu]

Cost savings...........

Thought I would post some of the costs that we have experienced so far. Quotes from professional lofts are an average of multiple quotes. Sailrite kit price is what we paid or the actual quote for the next project.

Dinghy sail.........$400 (??) Kit.........$171 Savings.......57%
Staysail..............$1343 Kit.........$868 Savings.......35%
110%.................$2218 Kit.........$1151 Savings.......48% (quoted)
Main...................$2700 Kit..........$1085 Savings.......59% (quoted)

[NornaBiron]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I thought you'd all like to know that we have just completed our two headsails - 22.7 square metre staysail with an 11.2m luff and a 64 square metre yankee with a luff of 17.3m.

We used SailShape in the UK to design and manage the supply and Contender (UK) cut the fabric which we supplied ourselves. The staysail is made from 10.77oz marblehead and the yankee 8.77oz marblehead.

It has taken us a few weeks to put them together in total and they will be hoisted up the forestays tomorrow when the wind has dropped.

As usual our Sailrite LSZ-1 performed brilliantly and we had the same taverna space that we had last year for our mainsail construction.

A huge project but we are happy with the results and hopefully they'll last as long as the first sails have done (20 years) so that we never have to make any more! Repairs are much easier!

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by NornaBiron

....they will be hoisted up the forestays tomorrow when the wind has dropped.

Would love to see photos.

[NornaBiron]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Would love to see photos.

We'll get someone on the shore to take some pics when we try the sails out and then post them

[w32honu]

Glad to see there are more sails being built. We are aware of another couple out cruising In Micronesia. They have just built a new mainsail using a kit and on board sewing machine....... With good results.

We have not built any sails lately. Currently replacing interior cushions and covers .........

Look forward to your pictures!!!

Cheers and thanks for the post.

S

[NornaBiron]

Our new headsails and stackpack on trial yesterday, they performed very well in the light winds that we had

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by NornaBiron

Our new headsails and stackpack on trial yesterday, they performed very well in the light winds that we had

They look fantastic. Well done!

[NornaBiron]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

They look fantastic. Well done!

Thank you x It was a mammoth task, the yankee was so much bigger than last year's mainsail build.

[w32honu]

NornaBiron,

Very nice. The sails and the boat look fantastic!!!!!!

[NornaBiron]

Originally Posted by w32honu

NornaBiron,

Very nice. The sails and the boat look fantastic!!!!!!

Thank you

[sailr69]

I am not a sailmaker or sail designer but I can have some input on this discussion. using a cad program makes sail designing much easier for the tri-radial and complex type sails. but that is good only for the designers who use them. the actual shape of the sails have been with us for many years. they can best be done using a crosscut design. just don't last as long or keep thier shape in different wind speeds. chord shapes and selection of them are not hard to do. they were done long before computers. but radial designs without the plaid cut would be impossible without a computer. as for the sewing, the expert sewer only sews sails, not designs them, they are good because they sew straight and fast. almost any sailrite sewing machine owner can sew the sail and have the same sail. won't look as good perhaps but if he didn't screw up too badly he would have the same sail as a expert sewer. I make all my own sails; for a soling 1 meter. (rc boat)