ok after all this good information. we have purchased the sail block from gmby, and getting some trispar 40. it sounds like most of the sails are taped and not sewed. so that is a good thing. anyone know of a webpage that has step by step pictures? i will use sailcut to get the pattern. then pin the pattern to the sailcloth. I think this should work
what do you guys think
cougar:zbeer:
HI Cougar,
there a small book (50 pages) written by Larry Robinson ‘Making model yacht sails’ fully dedicated to Blocks usage.
I puchased it via internet at Sailsetc - Graham Bantock for 10 ?.
http://www.sailsetc.com/intro.htm
Happy New Year
Claudio
Thanks, but this is an old article written by Ren? Villeret as part of his “bible”
Bonne Ann?e 2006
claudio
I always wonder why people will post links to web pages or sites without telling you why or what it for or about. For all you know, it could be about hysterectomies.
great link. for those of you who dont know much . click on it. and find out for yourself. i even learn more everyday. and i will be building my first real set of sails next week. thanks wis. you have anymore?
cougar
you just have to wash the website through babelfish to understand it:linux:
In general terms, the information and advice on the two links recently posted seems unexceptional, except for one thing.
The http://users.skynet.be/sails.brussels/textes/voiles.htm site provides a method of creating a broadseam which is more or less impossible to reproduce. While you will from time to time succeed, by eye and with a non-trembling hand, in lining up and taping a curved cut along a straight line without wrinkles, you’ll never manage to achieve that same set to the sail profile again on another sail.
The http://home.mindspring.com/~pmyc100/Sailmaking.htm site shows a camber board with no explanation or appreciation of its single most important feature, that one half or whatever of the board must have a sensible bevel angle with respect to the other half. Without the bevel you just get pretty panelled sails which have exactly the same shaping as an unpanelled sail – none.
Both these sites are well intentioned. Apart from the single detail I’ve mentioned, they have useful advice, and for that we must be grateful. But they, and other sites like them, are the reason I’ve independently published Larry Robinson’s booklet and made it available to the R/C community through SAILSetc (http://www.sailsetc.com/miscbooks.htm), since it is the only source I know of completely accurate information which is sufficient to allow anyone to make reproducible shaped sails.
I too wondered about the bevel on the full sized board in the link. It doesn’t mention it, but from looking at the photo, I wondered whether the bevel had been built in. There are 5 seams in the sail illustrated. If each half of each seam joint was beveled appropriately relative to its neighbour, then the full board would describe an arc equal to the sum of all the bevels from top to bottom. Looking at the photo, its hard to see, but the board may have an arc from the top to bottom. Thus the board wold curve in two dimensions - front to back for the camber, and top to bottom for the bevel.
I like the idea of building such a full sized 3D mould - partularly as it could be done cheaply with stiff cardboard between each of the sailblocks - and given that the whole lot would be held together, the sailblocks themselves could be built from stiff card and still hold their shape. I wonder whether that would be easier than building a single good sailblock out of timber?
Just thinking aloud. The whole thing would be rather large and cumbersome compared to a single sailblock, but would provide a great working surface.
Practical? Don’t know. Might be fun to try though. Perhaps I should try this on my Victoria sails. It would be a smaller experiment than trying it for my IOM.
I thought the same thing about the camber board. Any way I think of it, after taping panels together, you could just lay it flat on a flat board. Material straight off a roll has more camber than flat pieces spliced on that kind of building board.
There MUST be something missing from the design or description, if the author has actually made some good sails from a ‘camber board.’
Lester ,
you just forgot the simple Tool I have presented here wich allow to make panel seams in the most simple way. Only one tool for all seams.
Pitty not to mention it , fortunately I’m here …
forgive me for the intrusion !!
Claudio
Hi Claudio
No, I had not forgotten your tool, which is a very good one. Readers here already know it. I was responding to the posting of the links to two other Web sites.
Claudio,
Would you mind telling us where the link or the picture is for your tool? Page 7, I think?
thx
Start reading here, where Claudio first joined this topic. Actually reading this whole topic, front to back is very good info.
http://www.rcsailing.net/forum1/showthread.php?t=1424&page=6
Don
If it’s on page 6, then thanks. I’ve read them once already.Otherwise, there’s almost 280 comments to read! I assume you don’t mean to read ALL of them
HINT: Go here: Post #116
http://www.rcsailing.net/forum1/showpost.php?p=22212&postcount=116
Actually, I think this has been one of the best threads ever. The only disappointing thing was that Claudio got me excited somewhere by a reference to “explict photographs”. I never found those, but figure that something may have been lost in translation. :diablo:
Here is a interesting program for designing sails 
http://wiki.sailcut.com/Sailcut_CAD
hope it works out for ya’ll.
drake
I do represent the summary of the tool :
The main change being the Graphic that is much closer to the Lester curve.
The width shall cover various materials and number of panels used. Trial should be made in order to fix the personal data.
Exemple :
Cord 260mm
Draft required = 9%
following the graphic above at 9% correspond an Fm (multiplier factor)
of 0.66 %
Thickness of wedge will be :
260 /100 x 0.66 = 1.71 mm
One wedge at each side of the panel (see pictures)
(rounded at 1.70 mm)
INSTRUCTION FOR USE :
-
Place a first layer of doubleface adhesif on the flexible Aluminium bar equivalent to the widht of the panel + 2 cm each side. This layer will be removed at the end of panel assembly. (see last photo)- the Aluminium bar (curtain rail) could be substituted by an equivalent solid Plexiglass bar of 10x20 mm minimum, 12x20 mm should be better.
-
Remove the protecting film from the adhesive.
-
Introduce the wedges, any material (including paper sheets - 10 layers equal to 1 mm) of the thickness as indicated in the graphic at both extremes of the sail panel. The panel will be centered on the central line of the tool according to the position of the required draft. The wedges shall be positioned consequently. (see drawings)
-
Place the first panel edge on the adhesive ( the adhesive used has ~6 mm widht and shall be totally covered)
-
After ensuring the fixation rubbing the finger on, remove de wedges.
miracle ! the tissu will show a warp. without any further manipulations. (see photo)
Keep the flexible bar in the straight position with the help clamps or elastic rubbers. -
Place on top of the warped edge the new layer of doubleface adhesive.
-
Remove the protective film as per point 2 above.
-
Fix the second panel on top of the adhesive maintaining an overlaping of the same width of the adhesive.(~6 mm). Ensure the fixation of the panel by using some finger rubbing pressure.
-
The two panels are actually connected together. With the help of a cutter or simply with the fingers nails, pull-up both adhesive layers at once and the panels will follows. see photo ( do not pull the panels only).
-
The last operation consist on the removal of exceeding adhesive from the panel sides.
Finally the first fixed layer of adhesive (point 1) shall be scraped or rubbed away to with the fingers ( see last photo). This is the only difficulty !
At this time the glueing of two panels is completed. Similar operations shall be applied to all others panels of the sail.
remaining images of the Tool
Claudio
wedge detail - 
I do not have many pictures of my sails except the test on the class M Jib here (4 panels) with a draft from 5 to 12% at the top and the ones on pages 16 made with my Studio and CDCAT.
I promise in future to thake some shots . Actually I’m very busy in designing a sail and a hull specifically adapted to the Wing sail application as discussed in the Wingsail tread.
Notice the jig used and already presented in this tread.
Claudio
