Got a couple sails cut now. getting ready for a sewing session.


Also trying to work out what to do with my mast collection.
This is what I have;


My plan is to insert about 800mm of the fiberglass masts into the carbon ones to strengthen the base. Question is should I secure these in with polyester or just use liquid nails?

Thanks Stephen,

That was one of the things i was worries about. AFAIK Liquid nails, (and neutral silastic) are moisture cure. So unless water can get in there it cannot go off. Might be more successful to wet the parts before inserting to accelerate the curing.

Acidic Silastic might be the go. I can't imaging the adhesive would contribute the the strength of the mast that much regardless. I am half tempted to just push it if and rely on a friction fit!

Either war was it strong enough with just a mast section to stiffen it?

Cheers

Please don't cut your Ezzy 6.2. It's perfect as it is!!!

It will need a IMCS 25 mast with internal strengthening at the bottom and maybe a tip extension on a 4600mm mast and no recut at all.

This will handle perfectly on a standard Lake Lefroy mini without any modifications at all. A recut will simply destroy the original design parameters, which is to have low down grunt and high top speeds. Just what we require for sailing.

This will be a perfect lighter wind day sail and you will love its handling characteristics. It will handle just the same as a conventional 4.5m2 sail but be better up and down wind. The tops of these sails twist off perfectly when sheeted out with these top battens with intermediates on the trailing edge.
Also they don't flap like conventional "Mum's laundry" sails do, when you let the sheet rope out when over powered, giving you mast head shake and the associated loss of traction on the front wheel.

This 6.2 will set perfectly as is and if your fussy you can fit a small triangle at the rear for a lowered outhaul that matches your boom angle. I would just fit it and sail before adding this triangle just to see how much nicer an uncut sail is compared to a reshaped one. Also why put your self to all the extra work when it's not ever required.


The same for the Tushingham (is it a 4.7m2) Dont hack it up, just put it on a softer 19 -21 IMCS mast as is and sail. The foot of this sail is much flatter so a longer mast tip extension will be required so the boom clears your shoulder. This is a very simple fix with some old windsurfer boom aluminium slipped over the top, or an old mast tip cut off to suit.

Please give them a go as is and I will promise you that you wont be disappointed.

Here are my old yachts from 2014. The Neil Pryde is 6.9 and the Gaastra is 6.2.
The Green yacht "Fowl Play" does have an adjustable mast step. (I wont ever bother with the complication of an adjustable mast step again as it was set almost vertical and has never been adjusted since.)

"Poultry in Motion" is a standard Lake Lefroy Mini with the mast step stood up to only 3 degrees of mast rake. If I modify a LLM now I make the mast steps almost vertical to clear the foot of the sail and bring the sail back down the mast.

You can see the yellow tapered triangle added to the outhaul clew on the Gaastra to lower the eyelet. (see the original eyelet above it.) The Pryde just has a loop of seatbelt with 3 bolts through the old eyelet mounting area.


The boom is just tied to the down haul and outhaul eyelets of the sail and a Crocket downhaul used here. The bottom batten has been removed to allow the sail to change sides of the boom. It is great to have the sail overlap the boom and catch the wind until it changes sides when fully powered up. Both of these sails have a 3 to 1 downhaul fitted as per the original windsurfer setup and the bottom pulley block is fastened to a link of chain welded to the mast step. Both are cambered sails as that is all I have used on my minis.

If more authority is needed when turning sharply, simply slide forward under the seat belt or lean forward and get more weight on the front. With these setups the rear is still the first to break out.

Most of the older fibreglass masts seem to come out around the 21 to 25 IMCS when they are 4600mm long. For what you are doing I would just see what mast fits the luff curve of the sail easier and bends under tension to take out the wrinkles in the luff/sail area when fully sheeted in.

Lift the sails up the mast with a tip extension and see how they set. Even a bit of PVC as a mast extension will let you see how much alloy you will finally need. (And allow a bit for the sail stretching to it's original set after a bit of sailing.)

I would stand my mast step up to the vertical position if it was my yacht and get the most out of the sails. (I can weld much better than I can sew, so I'm prejudice in this regard.)

Totally agree with Stephen the liquid nails and "Roof and Gutter" neutral cure never sets. Just put a small countersunk screw through the mast at the very bottom to retain the alloy or old mast insert and then it can be removed later if it gets damaged.

On a few of the sails i have there is varying amounts of mould/rust stains/dirt......

Particularly on the Ripstop and Dacron(?).

Has anyone had any experience cleaning them without destroying them?

I've googled a fair bit and get conflicting information with regards to chemicals. Seems like a dilute bleach might be OK.

Cheers