Ellen MacArthur wrote:
Thank you for your advice in your other post. I'll read it some more and I'll answer it soon.
I've been out in the boat taking pictures of the jib. I put ten pictures in an album. Maybe
you could look at them and make some suggestions. It looks pretty bad but maybe it can be
fixed up. The cloth isn't weak and tearing or anything. But you'll see the luff is in pretty
bad shape. You can see where the wire used to be. The eyes and thimbles broke off on the
top and bottom and there's rusty wire stuck in some parts of the luff. It's broken on some
hanks and not broken on others. But there's no way to get it out unless the sail's cut. Maybe
it's ok just to leave it in there.
There's a couple pictures of the sail shape. It doesn't look very flat. But it's drawn
right back to the mast and centered on the mast. The clew that is. It looks more curved
in the pictures than in real life.
Here's the album: http://ellenmacarthur.badongo.com/album/03
Cheers,
Ellen
Hmm, I'm more worried about the amount of rust on the forestay
bottlescrew. If there is any crevice corrosion going on, you could have
the whole rig down around your ears next time you take the boat out.
Needs looking at by someone with experience ASAP.
As to the jib, that is one sorry luff wire. My advice stands. I do
however have a couple of additional comments.
1. Its almost certainly past the 'take it to a sailmaker' stage, that is
unless you *enjoy* public ridicule.
2. If you can get another sail, maybe a used one, DO. It will need to
either be off the same type of boat or measure the same within a few
inches along each side. It should still have some 'crackle' to the
cloth, should have no tears mended or otherwise larger than a couple of
inches and the luff wire shouldn't feel crunchy when you flex the luff
betweeen your hands(Bend it in about a 3" radius curve, it should spring
back immediately) nor should there be any more than small slight
isolated ruist stains. Most or all of the stitching should be good and
none of the corner eyes should be damaged. If it hasn't got hanks or
even eyelets for them, DONT WORRY as long as there is a luff wire and a
wide enough tabling on the luff to add them without cutting any stiching
if needed later. If you have any friend who sails, take them with you
when buying second hand.
3. If you cant get a replacement (money or availibility) your current
sail can *probably* be saved. Get it off the boat and do the shape test
I described and get back to me with the results. Closeups of both sides
of the sail at each corner on a flat smooth light coloured surface, with
the whole of the corner and its reinforcement patch visible and
carefully focussed would assist a lot in assessing the sail. I doubt you
are skilled enough and ready to work a complete new clew eye yet even if
I can rebuild the corner of a sail if I have to. Done any canvaswork
before? If not, see if there are any books you can borrow from a library.
4. The Oxalic acid solution I described is TOXIC by skin contact or if
swallowed or otherwise ingested and the Formic acid isn't very nice
either. AVOID SKIN CONTACT and have plenty of fresh water to wash off
any splashes immediately. It will attack *any* common metal so dont get
it on any corner of the sail you wish to save (unless you want to be
putting new eyes in the corners) and use a plastic container. Spilt or
waste acid should be neutralised with pordered or granular chalk or
limestone untill it stops fizzing before dispopsal. Read the safety
instructions on the packet. They will do what I said they would and the
oxalic acid is safe on normally stitched polyester sailcloth (not
suitable for high tech laminates), but with a sail in that bad condition
it may take several extended treatments to get the rust out, rinseing
thouroughly in between.
5. As a last resort after the Oxalic has done its work, if you still
cant shift the old luff wire you could unpick the SINGLE line of zigzag
stitching nearest to the wire. Also remove all the hanks and damaged
eyelets for them (carefully cutting the brass with sharp pointed snips
in several places round the ring without nipping the cloth then peeling
the brass back works for me). Wearing gloves to protect you from sharp
wire ends roll the wire inside the luff between your palms, shaking as
much rust out as possible. You should then be able to snip the wire at
several of the eyelets you removed without further damaging the cloth
and remove the wire piecemeal. I would'nt be surprised to find it has a
plastic coating over the wire which would be why it rusted. When you've
got it out, a thourough re-treatment with the Oxalic should get *most*
of the staining out of the cloth. Refitting the new wire is much as I
described, but you'll need to re-stitch the zigzag seam by hand with the
wire in the correct place, re-using the same needleholes and either
going back over it or using two needles so its double stitched with one
thread lieing on each side of the cloth at every stitch.
If you complete the job properly, I dont *CARE* if you are related or
connected to ADN, you *ARE* a proper sailor.
--
Ian Malcolm. London, ENGLAND. (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED)
ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk
[at]=@, [dash]=- & [dot]=. *Warning* HTML & 32K emails -- NUL:
'Stingo' Albacore #1554 - 15' Early 60's, Uffa Fox designed,
All varnished hot moulded wooden racing dinghy.