Sailrite Drifter Kit Construction

[David VanDenburgh]

I began construction on a drifter kit from Sailrite this past week and finished basting the panels together today. The sail's beginning to take shape. I estimate about 10-15 hours before the project is finished; I've got about 4 hours into it so far.

With a foot length of 24ft., the project quickly outgrew my son's basement playroom so I moved the project to my classroom and worked after school today. It's amazing how quickly a sail like this eats up space! It looks like I'll have to clear some room in the dining and living rooms this weekend while my wife's away to finish the sewing.

Here are a few photos of the progress:





David

[Rachel]

Looking good!

Is that a Sailrite LSZ-1? How do you like it?

"Travel is fatal to... prejudice?"

I like it :-)

R.

[David VanDenburgh]

Looking good!

Is that a Sailrite LSZ-1? How do you like it?

"Travel is fatal to... prejudice?"

I like it :-)

R.

Thanks.

Yes, it's an LSZ-1. I like it a lot. The only thing I've wished for is more underarm room. Handling bulky projects, such as the winter cover I made, can get a bit tricky as the material piles up. So far, though, I'm very happy with the investment. It will be interesting to see just how long the machine holds its tune before needing adjusting and such. A Sailrite rep suggested that it would be necessary to tune it after something like a mainsail or winter cover project. To this point, it seems to be working fine, however.

The quote on the wall is from Twain:

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."

I like it too.

David

[David VanDenburgh]

With the sailing season rapidly approaching, I'm working hard to finish up a couple sewing projects. During my spring vacation, I completed the drifter (ahh, the life of a teacher - I know, it's rough; I won't mention the free trip to England as a chaperon during the preceding week). It feels great to have at least one item crossed off the list.

Here are a couple of pictures:




Hopefully the sailmakers on here will go easy on my finishwork; I know it's not the prettiest.

The Sailrite kit was complete and went together smoothly. I'd still like to try my hand at lofting my own sail, but Sailrite's kits sure make the process much simpler. I guess the final analysis will have to wait until we hoist the sail and put it to use.

Now that the drifter is complete, I'll turn my attention to the dodger and get it done before Ariel splashes. I can't wait!

Regarding my earlier post about the LSZ-1, I've added another complaint: the bobbin is too small. It's terribly frustrating to run out of bobbin thread in the middle of a long panel. I've gotten to the point where I change the bobbin early and simply discard the remaining thread.

Best of luck with those winter worklists!

David

[Peter]

I'd still like to try my hand at lofting my own sail, but Sailrite's kits sure make the process much simpler.

David,
As a fellow amateur sailmaker I know what you mean. With the cost of materials it would be expensive to make a major blunder (or is that "blooper"?) in design. My first couple of sails were for a Montgomery 17. I used Sailcut CAD , with considerable help from the author in the design. Plotting the panels using a sheet of X-Y coordinates took forever, and was hard on the knees, but worked well.
Now I have a friendly mentor sailmaker who does my design and plots the panels for me, like a 'kit' ... and a lot less knee work.

It's a very satisfying experience to hoist a sail made by your own hand!
BTW, your stitching looks great. Please post some action pictures when you get it on the boat.

[Figment]

SWEET!!! Can't wait to see it in the sky!
What is that, 3/4 oz. nylon?

If I may be permitted a good-natured bit of nitpicking, though, that clew looks rather heavy for a drifter. Had you considered using a loop of webstrap?

[David VanDenburgh]

SWEET!!! Can't wait to see it in the sky!
What is that, 3/4 oz. nylon?

If I may be permitted a good-natured bit of nitpicking, though, that clew looks rather heavy for a drifter. Had you considered using a loop of webstrap?

Figment,

I'm eager to see it in action too. The thing is massive - especially compared to our Yankee jib. It's going to be interesting tacking it through the staysail stay. I'm thinking we ought to plan on gybing it instead. What's the wisdom of those here? Any tips?

The material is 1.5oz Maxilite ripstop nylon.

I suppose the clew is fairly hefty. If it proves too much for the sail, I could remove the ring and replace it with a piece of webbing. I've never flown a drifter, so only experience will tell. I'll let you know what happens. And, yes, I'll post some pictures of it in action.

David

[Figment]

The clew caught my attention because I occasionally fly a homemade drifter with a heavy clew (Dennis, "Eliot's Sail"), and the weight of it does tend to choke the leech. In truly light or sloppy conditions, someone has to hand-hold it up to stabilize the sail shape.

Yours doesn't look THAT heavy, but it still seemed a bit counterintuitive in such a light sail.

I don't think the light cloth will have much trouble tacking ahead of the stay. I wouldn't bother trying to gybe it outside, that's just begging for sheets to get snagged on anchor tackle, etc.

[jollyboat]

David - without seeing more than what you have posted your work looks good. If you find yourself trying this again try using the gymnasium floor to assemble the panels. Another method is to use folding tables as a work station to assemble the panels. Blocking the tables up helps to save your back as well. As far as your hand work is concerned - well I have seen much worse - I am sure that with a little practice and proper sailmakers tools you would have it down pat. Figment makes a good suggestion about the clew ring. In as far as attachment points are concerned, large rings on little boats like Tritons and the like are not needed per say - all that is required is webbing - rings are often used by sailmakers to either facillitate speed in job completetion or to appease worry-warts about "strength issues". In any event you have done a fine job - it is never too late to fuss with you sail once you have flown it to see where you stand.
Cheers,

Brian

[David VanDenburgh]

Brian,

Thanks for the feedback. I really enjoyed the process and, like you said, could certainly improve my handwork, which I look forward to. I'm planning on designing and constructing a new Yankee when I finish the dodger project that I have going now. I maintain no delusions about having it done before launch, but it's never too early to start planning.

David

[jollyboat]

David,
The Yankee sounds like quite an undertaking. It would appear that you have the skills to do it - so good at ya! If you get to a point where you think you might want to ask some questions about that project please feel free to contact me at bg@neilprydesails.com. www.neilprydesails.com also has a lot of interesting tips and suggestions that you might find interesting. We run a transparent operation so there are no real "trade secrets" that we are trying to hide. We are simply sailmakers trying build the best possible sails for ourselves and our sailors. I will be happy to offer whatever help I can.

Good Sailing,

Brian

[David VanDenburgh]

SWEET!!! Can't wait to see it in the sky!
What is that, 3/4 oz. nylon?

We're in the midst of our summer cruise and have flown the drifter a couple of times. It sets well and looks good. I'm very pleased.

A couple photos:

[Bluenose]

David,

That looks great. What a great feeling it must be hoist that beauty.

Enjoy, Bill

[Quetzalsailor]

Very nice job. I haven't had the nerve, and the money for an appropriate sewing machine and a kit, come together at the same time. And I need an assymetrical spinnaker for Quetzal; the last time I flew the one I've got, anybody on the Chesapeake for miles around was aware of my difficulties.

[Rachel]

the last time I flew the one I've got, anybody on the Chesapeake for miles around was aware of my difficulties.

Ah, so that was you...

(Just kidding.)

David, that sail looks fabulous. Nice work! It's good to see a "hank on" every once in a while, too.

Rachel

[Peter]

David,
That looks great. It's amazing how much "pull" a drifter gives you in light air. I've been playing around using my reular jib on one side and the drifter on the other for downwind sailing. I put an Amsteel luff rope in the drifter so it doesn't need to be attached to the forestay.

[Figment]

Hey, no fair flying a drifter in a full six knots of breeze!! ;)

Looks great, David.

[Bluenose]

Tim

Do you think that there is enough interest to start a separate forum group for sailmaking? I have quite a bit of interest and have been slowly assembling the equipment.

Thanks, Bill

[Tim]

Ask and ye shall receive.

New Canvas and Sailmaking Forum

[Bluenose]

Ask and ye shall receive.

New Canvas and Sailmaking Forum

Is it possible and does it make and sense to start the new forum off by moving this topic over?

[David VanDenburgh]

Thanks for all of the kind responses.

David,
That looks great. It's amazing how much "pull" a drifter gives you in light air. I've been playing around using my reular jib on one side and the drifter on the other for downwind sailing. I put an Amsteel luff rope in the drifter so it doesn't need to be attached to the forestay.

Peter: I debated leaving the snaps off of the sail, but got to thinking that we wouldn't have an opportunity to test it until we'd left for our trip. I decided to go ahead and install them, figuring that we could still fly it loose (although not as attractively) if we wanted to. As it turned out, I think the snaps were a good idea. Flying twin headsails as you describe is still possible but requires alternating the snaps on the jib and drifter.

I'm very impressed with the quality of Sailrite's sail kit. Not only was the kit complete, but the instructions were clear and the final product very respectable. If all of their kits are of an equal quality, it hardly makes lofting your own sail advantageous - especially on a coastal cruiser like the Cape Dory 36 (the racing crowd will likely have different feelings).

Quetzalsailor: You could probably get by with a home sewing machine for such a project. You might have to be a bit more deliberate with feeding the fabric without a walking foot, but the machine should be able to handle the job, including the patches.

David