Here I will go through making the jib with my new method blow by blow
1st make the cardboard form, this time I've use cardboard ribs cut the match the shape Ive molded into the jib form. I fromed the shape in the jib by molding the cardboard in my fingers until I got an airfoil I was happy with and the cut the strengthening ribs to match.
It's rather like building a model air craft wing but in reverse order!
Mark the sail panel seams on the form and cover it with a piece of polythene shopping bang and tape down smooth.
Cut your sail panels so that the weft of the cloth runs top to bottom of the resultant sail, this stretches less than the warp so in my book is better and hopefully we'll get that nice belly in the sail panels between the seams
Start at the tack and lay your first panel, taping it down so that just the seam is exposed.
Tip! When laying down the tape make sure it is smooth with no wrinkles as this causes the cloth to pucker underneath and is to be avoided if possible.
Work across the sail heading for the clew smoothing down each panel so that it follows the curve of the form and lightly with a pencil draw the true shape of the panel as dictated by the form.
Cut out with sharp scissors and tape down the panel as before.
Its gluing time!
Ive made a little cardboard doobly-flip to hold open the seams until I can get the superglue nozzle right in there.....
Run glue along the seam and follow immediately with finger so glue soaks through cloth and sets
Remove panel from form
Tape down luff of sail on form . . . .
and cut cloth strip to fit one side . . . .
and tape it down over waste only which is to be trimmed later . . .
and glue as before
remove sail from form and flip over . . .
and glue luff strip on as before . . .
and trim off waste with a sharp knife
tape foot of sail to form again and rinse repeat
Do same for leech.
Cut and glue on corner patches to one side of sail.
To make instant cringles, mark their location along the desired edge of sail making them evenly spaced . . .
Take one blow torch and grasp panel pin firmly in jaws of molegrips and heat nail in flame until incandescent
and plunge through sail at cringle position.
Rinse repeat for all cringles
Only do one cringle per heating session and don't pause too long in cringle hole or you'll burn the sail, its a quick in out motion
Job done
I think there may be some merit to building a light box with a white perspex top and a bunch of fluorescent tubes inside . . . . and making the sail form from clear plasticard.
I'm having trouble making the sail seams neat and even which is bugging me and this is because I can't see them clearly while laying down the panels.
The light box would cure this.
But this little forsail only has a 10" luff so maybe I'm nit-picking !
Time to bend on sails and go sailing!