from the pictures Ive seen I'd say you might not need to recut the luff.
the kaos sails have most of the curve in the luff down low, which is the area youll be trimming off.
I would be have heaps of downhaul, but lets see a photo of the actual sail please

Ok Paul,

Here's the pics. I tried my hardest to get the my mast into the luff sleave, but to no avail the last 300mm wouldn't happen.









Sorry the mast is a little hard to see in the first pic.

Welcome any advice on the cut.

Cheers all.

I was hoping to use what I've got. I think the boss at this point would have a dim view of spending more $$.

possibly- you could make a tapered extension for the top of the mast out of straight grained timber- easiest if you have access to a wood lathe, but can be done with a wood plane or belt sander,

make it as long as you can if you use a lathe- you can always cut the excess off.
I think most wood lathes are at least 900mm between centres- but could be wrong on that.
With a lathe- it wouldnt take long to spin up a few different lengths.

A standard windsurfing boom is dirt cheap from a recycling depot- many of our council rubbish tips and transfer stations now charge you for the weight of rubbish you dump- but you can offload anything that the council could possibly sell of recycle- timber, steel, furniture, toys, sporting gear etc. to reduce the weight.

For a long time, I never paid more than $10.00 for a sail, mast or boom at our local depot, it was only a few months ago the prices went up to $15.00, I am told a depot near Rockingham sells at $5.00 a piece.
Your local shires or councils might have the same system- or keep on eye on the Seabreeze "for sale section", or your states windsurfing forum on seabreeze- stick a post up that you are looking for a cheapie boom- windsurfers are notorious for buying the latest gear and usually have stuff gathering dust which could be bought from next to nothing- to a carton.

stephen.

Yeah cool, I should be able to work something out to make the mast a bit longer.

So here's the plan, make the mast longer to raise to sail foot ~200mm, which will mean that the boom will be roughly around the bottom of the black strip on the mast. Leave the bottom of the sail alone, the boom will follow the existing angle and leave enough head room in the seating position.

Then I'll sheet it in, and mark the new luff curve on the sail, pick, cut and resew the luff sleave.

a.

Hi Gizmo, ok point taken. As you say the mast ones are not acheiving a hell of a lot so I'll either replace them or remove them altogether.

The others, in the short term I'll either cover them with something or take my chances.

But as I see it at the moment, all these point are mute if I don't actually finish the mast, sail and seat.

a.

Yep, already started on that one. Found a piece of alu tube a little too small to fit in the top of the mast. Roughed it up with an angle grinder, then layed up a couple of layers of fibre glass around it.

I'll just have to give it a sand back and she'll be apples.

Squishman,
These things we do not talk about as a picture is worth a thousand words.. In't you learned that yet?? Sounds good though, just as long as you didn't finish up with it wrapped about your ears.
Ron

Thanks Squishman,
Still sailin' if a little slowly but the wind seems to be moving me quicker by the day..
Ron

OK! Squishman,
The best tape to use is 1/2"/12mm Double Sided Tape from your Sail Maker. Keep in mind "Cheap is as Cheap Does".. The double sided Tape doesn't only hold things in place for sewing but becomes an integral part of the job and also serves to strengthen the sewing job. Go to your Sail Maker. OH! Make sure that the Area you lay the tape down on is clean and dirt free.. LAst roll I bought was about $11.
Ron

mrsquish said...
Can I safely say that the curve of the mast in this state should be the the new luff curve?

Yes in principle... that curve would give a dead flat sail.....

Now next question, what surface are you going to sail on? salt, soft or hard sand or grass.
If the surface is going to be soft like grass or a soft beach add about 40-50mm to the maximum point tapering to zero at the top and bottom.

If the surface is med / hard add 20-30mm at the maximum point.
If the surface is super hard like salt or asphalt add 10-20mm to the maximum point.

These additions will create a very slight curve in the sail and so the top doesn't de-power too much in gusts.

Out of interests how does this compare with the measurements found in this link....
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Land-Yacht-Sailing/Sail-making/How-I-recut-sailboard-sails-to-suit-landyachts/

To get the maximum point just mark the sail either along the front or back of the mast with a marker pen, then remove it from the yacht. Lay it out flat on the ground and now use a sting line top to bottom to see how much deviation there is from the string line. Use a couple of bricks to keep the string tight.
Add the extra measurement to the maxium point then use a flexible straight edge to draw the new curve.

Running up the sail again tonight, but today I thought I'd ring my local shade sail maker to see if they'd do the stitching for me.

Weren't overly helpfull, said that their machines were setup to go through thicker material and they were concerned that they wouldn't be suitable for the lighter sailcloth. Seemed a bit of bs to me but I couldn't really comment not knowing.

Looks like I might be up for a drive to get to a real sailmaker.

Heh,

Chatted to my Dad tonight, he suggested upolstry or canvas guys so I'll try that tack tomorrow. The might be a little more easy to deal with. I really would like to get someone local to me onside, better that way.

Will also try a few more sources to find some double sided tape. Would help to know some brands and part numbers as dealing with suppliers can be a little unhelpfull is you only know what it's used for.

a.

Thanks Steven.

I found this mob : www.tenacioustapes.com.au/adhesive-tapes-range probably give them a call tomorrow.

Yeah I know I could probably get some online, but I'm kinda on a tight schedule to get it done by christmas, so I'll try and source some locally first.

Cheers for the info though, will help no end.

a.