Back to top

Homemade windsurf sail

Created by melih melih  > 9 months ago, 9 Nov 2015
Register to post, see what you've read, and subscribe to topics.
melih
melih

134 posts

9 Nov 2015 2:29am
Dear Windsurfers,
I have been surfing since 1988 and I am a windsurf instructor. Two years ago I decided to make my own windsurf sail. I watched many custom sails and factory made sails on youtube. For my project my uncle gave me a 55 years old professional sewing machine.(not zig zag-plain sewing ) Than I designed my room for sail making. My room area is only 15 square meters. I bought many large wood planks for sewing table. For sail material I used icy monofilm (not transparent ) and dacron fabric which are %100 polyester. Icy monofilm thickness is 150 micron and weight is 210gr/m2. Dacron thickness is 200 micron and weight is 220gr/m2. I produced 3 sails. My first sail is 4.8 m2 my second sail is 4.0 m2 and my third sail is 5.5 m2. I tested all my sails in heavy wind. (25 knots to 34 knots). Results are unbelievable. No demage all the stitchs are sturdy. Easy gybing easy water start and easy to roll the sail. It cost me 125-135 US dollars. (each sail). However I spent 40 days to make each sail. Because my workshop is to small and too much stitch. If you are interested in producing homemade sail I am ready to give you all the details.
By the way my first board is Fanatic Falcon 110lt and my second board is F2 Ride 103 lt.











Melih Sengil Ankara TURKEY



John340
John340

QLD

3373 posts

9 Nov 2015 6:41am
Cool!
joe windsurf
joe windsurf

1482 posts

9 Nov 2015 5:39am
i'll take an 8.0 m² please

the sticky outty battens seem "odd"
KAOS69
KAOS69

WA

1012 posts

9 Nov 2015 7:27am
looks great well gone
powersloshin
powersloshin

NSW

1844 posts

9 Nov 2015 12:57pm
Congratulations, great work in challenging conditions.

Is it your design or did you copy the shapes from existing sails?

Mastbender
Mastbender

1972 posts

9 Nov 2015 1:31pm
Sean Ordonez (awesome board shaper on Maui) has been making his own for awhile now, but not for commercial that I know of, just personal use.


Ben Severne
Ben Severne

WA

194 posts

9 Nov 2015 2:03pm
Nice one! Looks great!
AUS1111
AUS1111

WA

3621 posts

9 Nov 2015 3:21pm
Select to expand quote
Ben Severne said..
Nice one! Looks great!


Well that's a good endorsement if ever I've seen one!
musorianin
musorianin

QLD

597 posts

9 Nov 2015 11:02pm
Very impressive. I wouldn't even come close to knowing where to start. Only one thing I'm curious about is does it bother you not having a clear window panel in the sails?
melih
melih

134 posts

10 Nov 2015 3:50am

Thanks..
melih
melih

134 posts

10 Nov 2015 3:56am
Select to expand quote
John340 said..
Cool!


Thanks..
melih
melih

134 posts

10 Nov 2015 4:24am
Select to expand quote
joe windsurf said..
i'll take an 8.0 m² please

the sticky outty battens seem "odd"


You have a point. I cut all the battens and installed the batten tensioners. I like northsails batten tensioners.
melih
melih

134 posts

10 Nov 2015 4:25am
Select to expand quote
KAOS69 said..
looks great well gone


Thanks..
melih
melih

134 posts

10 Nov 2015 4:34am
Select to expand quote
powersloshin said..
Congratulations, great work in challenging conditions.

Is it your design or did you copy the shapes from existing sails?



Thanks for your review.

4.8 m2 %80 copy % 20 modificaion
4.0 I used proportion.
5.5 I used proportion.
melih
melih

134 posts

10 Nov 2015 4:35am
Select to expand quote
Mastbender said..
Sean Ordonez (awesome board shaper on Maui) has been making his own for awhile now, but not for commercial that I know of, just personal use.



Nice sail nice board.
NelsonFoils
NelsonFoils

190 posts

10 Nov 2015 5:01am
Nice !
melih
melih

134 posts

10 Nov 2015 5:01am
Select to expand quote
Ben Severne said..
Nice one! Looks great!


Thanks.. Severne sails are very popular in Turkey. Most of the windsurf racers are using Severne Sails. Perfect quality sails.
I wish you good work.
melih
melih

134 posts

10 Nov 2015 5:04am
Select to expand quote
AUS1111 said..

Ben Severne said..
Nice one! Looks great!



Well that's a good endorsement if ever I've seen one!


Thanks...
melih
melih

134 posts

10 Nov 2015 5:36am
Select to expand quote
musorianin said..
Very impressive. I wouldn't even come close to knowing where to start. Only one thing I'm curious about is does it bother you not having a clear window panel in the sails?


Thanks..
This Icy monofilm is very interesting material. % 100 polyester. If you clean it with detergent it becomes clear monofilm. There is a very thin white layer on the monofilm. I don't touch this layer because it blocks the UV. Sail's lifetime is getting longer.
melih
melih

134 posts

10 Nov 2015 5:39am
Select to expand quote
NelsonFoils said..
Nice !


THANKS..
jusavina
jusavina

QLD

1494 posts

10 Nov 2015 9:05am
Nice work.

You'll have to find a Zig zag sewing machine now :) that would save you some time.
One of my mate started the same thing a few years back by copying a Pryde Combat for his personal use (he was making them with lighter material) and is now testing his own design. He recently made a 3 battens that looks really good.

Unfortunately, that is a lot of work indeed although it must be rewarding sailing on his own sails.

jusavina
jusavina

QLD

1494 posts

10 Nov 2015 9:10am
Here is his website if you want to have a look (sorry that is in French).www.made-in-hossegor-sails.com/
Jupiter
Jupiter

2156 posts

10 Nov 2015 12:06pm
Select to expand quote
musorianin said..
Very impressive. I wouldn't even come close to knowing where to start. Only one thing I'm curious about is does it bother you not having a clear window panel in the sails?


Good observation! I have enough difficulties seeing through mono-film window. I bet it will be hard to see through such opaque panels.

A friend of mine put his head through the window of his brand new sail. So he took it to the local sail making joint. A job was very well done, except for the fact that the sail maker replaced the clear polyester film with sail cloth ! We suggested to our mate to hire a guide dog to help him out while sailing
melih
melih

134 posts

11 Nov 2015 12:20am
Select to expand quote
jusavina said..
Here is his website if you want to have a look (sorry that is in French).www.made-in-hossegor-sails.com/


I visited his website. No problem its in English. Nice sails. I read the details. He uses thin monofilm. Durability is very important for me. I use same monofilm for each panel. 150 micron 200gr/m2.
Thanks for your interest.
melih
melih

134 posts

11 Nov 2015 12:59am
Select to expand quote
Jupiter said..

musorianin said..
Very impressive. I wouldn't even come close to knowing where to start. Only one thing I'm curious about is does it bother you not having a clear window panel in the sails?



Good observation! I have enough difficulties seeing through mono-film window. I bet it will be hard to see through such opaque panels.

A friend of mine put his head through the window of his brand new sail. So he took it to the local sail making joint. A job was very well done, except for the fact that the sail maker replaced the clear polyester film with sail cloth ! We suggested to our mate to hire a guide dog to help him out while sailing


I agree with you. It is difficult to find original material in Turkey. For an example ( x ply and reinforced monofilm or clear monofilm). This is the best material for me. I don't mind because when ever I want I can clean the opaque monofilm with soap. Then it becomes clear. When I surf I always control my frontage and my back side.
Mastbender
Mastbender

1972 posts

11 Nov 2015 5:57am
Ezzy likes to use vinyl for their windows, it's heavier than mono-film, but almost bullet proof, and won't cook in the sun like mono, which is why the windows are small. You don't really need big windows anyway. Clear vinyl should be fairly easy to find anywhere, it has multiple uses on various products, tents, convertible tops for cars, etc. etc.
End of posts
Please Register, or first...
Topics Subscribe Reply

Return To Classic site