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A piece of thin kiri board
about 50x200cm is very helpful to loft the outline of the sails. e. Use
packing paper to sketch the outlines according the class rules or a
finished sail.
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The IOM class has exactly defined sail
dimensions unlike other regatta classes.

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When the sail sketch is done we draw a
line at about 30-40% distance from luff to mark maximum camber of the foil (there
are different opinions about the exact position, the author prefers 33%).
At right angle to this line we draw 3 lines in equal distance to produce
the 4 width for the main sail(2 lines for the jib as it requires 3 width
by the class rules)
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Wide spread materials for sail making are Mylar or Polyester
Drawing Film in thicknesses of 50 or 70 micron. If you have to use
rolled polyester drawing film you should roll it against twist on a larger
roll for several days to counter the initial twist. When gluing the
prepared sheets don't forget remember to glue sheets with altering twist
up and down and in longitudinal direction. We cover our drawn plan with the film and cut the sections with
enough excess length. Don't forget to mark the line of maximum camber. Now we glue suitable two sided tissue tape without tension to the
lower of two sheets to join. It is very important to exercise no tension
to the tissue tape or the sail, otherwise you will have wrinkles
afterwards.
When all sheets are prepared we can start joining
them.
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We use a two part jig made from ply
wood. Its profile is similar to an airfoil with about 10% of camber. The
highest point is at around 33% chord and is marked on the jig. At the
joint of the two jig parts one piece bends down around 2-3° and can be
adjusted to more or less bend (more bend-more camber of the sail can be
used in the upper sections).
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We attach the lowest section to the
jig using masking tape with the camber mark on the section and the jig in
line. Next we attach the upper section to the bend half of the jig the
same way. The two sections should overlap by the width of the tissue tape.
When everything is lined up careful remove the protective film of the
tissue tape and glue the two sections together without tension and
sufficient pressure. We proceed with the following
sections the same way. Using the jig the seam is narrower at maximum
cambers but this is only 1/10 of a millimeter and hardly to see.
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Now we have the raw sail. We transfer the
exact outlines from our drawing to the sail and can cut the sails now. The
luff of the main sail should be convex to support the bend of the mast. To
get this line cut easily we fix the luff at both ends with little tension
and lay a 2m long cutting ruler along the luff. Now we lift the leech to
get the sail off the surface. We can cut the luff along the ruler with a
sharp cutter knife now. After cutting we will see a slight curve in the
luff.
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The solution with cans on the picture is not suitable - it was just made
to take the picture. Best have a friend helping you or mark the luff with
a pencil and cut it with a pair of scissors if no help is available.
If you wish more camber at the top of the
sail simply lift the leech up slightly more - if you wish less then lower
it slightly.
The author then cuts a wedge of 5mm
to the first seam, it is a good idea to cut the leech last when the luff
is perfect; it is important to test fit the sail to the mast first in case
there are some changes to be made on the luff.
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Spinnaker repair tape or other cloth
tape works well for the reinforcements. The luff of the main sail can be
reinforced with this stuff as well. To fit the sail to the mast prepare an
eyelet every 10 to 15cm to tie the sail to the mast. If you do not have
eyelets you can use a sharp soldering iron to glue small holes into the
sail.
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To connect the forestay with the luff
of the jib sail we have different possibilities. Cut some plastic tubes to
about 1 cm length and attach them with spinnaker repair tape or use plain
spinnaker repair tape strips to do. Be careful to prevent the forestay to
stick to the strips.
The most complicated solution is to
build a pocket of spinnaker cloth attached with two sided tissue tape to
the luff. Its the best looking solution and aerodynamic the best if you
can get it attached wrinkle free - this will need a lot of trying.
For round masts the main sail
is tied to the mast with some Dyneema line. To get the same slack it
is best to use some 3mm round-bar as a distance when knotting the lines.
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| To build battens you can press
carbon cloth saturated with epoxy between two glass plates and cut
the cured sheet. The easiest way to make battens is cutting them
from an old x-ray film. |
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