Making a sail for my AI...

I've been working on a new, lighter-weight jib for my AI. I had it all cut out (4 oz dacron), and had started sewing it, when my sewing machine (a 1970s-era industrial Singer) had a problem. It took a while to resolve that issue, but thanks to some great advice on a leatherworking forum, I was able to get the sewing machine working better than ever.

A sail is a bit tricky, as it is not just a flat piece of cloth, but instead, it must have some 3-d shape to it. That can be accomplished by "broadseaming", that is, making overlap between the pieces of cloth that make up the sail. Getting the shape exactly right might require some trial-and-error, but I did find a book that gave dimensions for a larger jib, and for this first attempt, I just scaled it down to the size that I need.

Now, I've just got to add a sleeve (for a 3/4" carbon fiber mast), edging, and 3 grommets, and it'll be ready for testing. The sleeve is probably going to be the trickiest part remaining--hoping to get that done this weekend. I'll post more pictures, and video when I test it...

Dang, you are developing some serious skills both on the machine and the products! Other folks w AI yaks will be hitting you up

WOW 

Nice work!  Got me thinking about making a small sail for my Passport, haha.

Done!

I was going to take it out for a test run today, but the wifey wanted to go see a movie. Then she changed her mind, and now it is too late 

Now, prolly can't get out to test it until Wednesday afternoon and current prediction is that Wednesday will be a non-Windsday 

That looks good!! 👍👍 nice work. 

Looking forward to seeing the orange jib on the water! Looking good

Looking great 👍

nice work, North and Pineapple better watch out!

I managed to sneak out and get on the water for 90 minutes yesterday (Monday) afternoon. It was a bit too windy to test everything, and I accidentally took my lightweight main mast, so I didn't want to push it too much. But, what I was able to test worked great! In fact, I was mentally prepared for it to fail, but it worked better than the jib that I had been using.

On the AI, a jib can help in 3 ways.
1) In low winds the added sail area yields more power.
2) A jib is supposed to make it possible to point somewhat higher into the wind.
3) Downwind, a jib can be better than the main. Using the main with moderate or strong(ish) wind from behind will tend to push the nose down, and this can be unnerving , especially if the swell is also coming from behind. Provided that the jib is slightly angled upward (as mine is, thanks to the bowsprit), it will tend to pick up the front end a bit, and thereby eliminate (or at least minimize) the nosediving effect.

The video deals mostly with 3), and the sail performed great in that respect--better than the jib that I have been using. The wind was too strong to test 1), but I'm confident that the sail will be at least as good as my previous jib in low wind conditions.

I've never had much luck wrt 2), that is, I have not noticed much (if any) improvement in pointing into the wind with a jib. It was too windy to really test that yesterday. I'm hoping to get out tomorrow noon(ish) when the wind should be lesser, and I'll bring a real Hobie main mast too. That should complete the acceptance testing...

Nice!

If you ever build a startup, let me know!