Mainsail Lacing Question

[Dave R1]

Saturday, I started to bend the mainsail on Julie K I used marline hitching along the gaff and boom which works fine. I still need to mount cleats for the outhauls but needed the sail on to figure out where to put them.

When I got to the luff lacing I did a spiral lacing but don't really care for it. It might be because I didn't get finished setting it up before the sweat was burning in my eyes so bad I could hardly see. I'm wondering about the "forth and back" lacing shown in John Leather's "The Gaff Rig Handbook" and whether or not anyone has used it.

The plan for this winter is to make wooden hoops but in the interest of saving time now so I can launch in less than a month, lacing seems like the way to go.

Any thoughts?

[Charlie Jones]

absent hoops, the "back and forth" technique is the time honored way of bending on a sail. The old timers did it that way it seems, probably for the reason that it worked well.

By the way, in "Hand Reef and Steer" Cunliffe recommends a simple spiral lacing on the gaff and boom, for the reason that it "is self adjusting so each eye takes an equal portion of the load". He also says that it has a disadvantage in that it's prone to chafe. The final recommendation is for "robands" which are individual ties at each lacing eye on boom and gaff.

Your choice I suppose

Whatever you do, just do it and get the thing sailing

[Dave R1]

Thanks Charlie. So ya suppose a pink and orange rudder would look alright with Green-Grey, Bottle Green and See Red. I got a little paint left over.

It's almost ready to go.

[capt jake]

I am going with Ray's route, when I get teh sails........................

[T. Nelson Surbrook]

I have been using the back and forth method for some time and it works fine. Easy to do and it's "old time" as well.

[Stuart Benbow]

I've seen the bead mast hoops in pictures, but was wondering, what gauge of wire should be used, and how do you fasten the wire to ensure that it doesn't open up under load?

[capt jake]

I used the stiff 1/8" SS cable at teh local 'boating' store. I used thier cripming too to attach the ends. It is nearly a two person job to hold everything in place as you crimp it together.

[capt jake]

West Marine let me 'use' their swaging tool, no charge.