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PostPosted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 2:41 pm 
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Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 1:02 pm
Posts: 19
R41,
Sorry for the delay. I see Skua got back to you already. He inspired my jib project over a year ago. I was out sailing with the family this weekend (Long Island), and the jib worked great, as usual. To answer your questions:

1-Sidekicks: They weren't designed for the inflatable line. Good news is, you don't need them. You're not going to turtle this boat. I can understand your concerns, but this boat won't tip, even under full sail.

2-69cpu mentioned a 3 piece mast? I made a mistake; it's a four piece mast. I never remove it from the main sail sleeve and forgot about the fourth piece, sorry.

3a-How long is the PVC jib? My jib’s diagonal measurement is just shy of ten feet. You will have to cut the PVC tubing to fit, and keep in mind that in order for the PVC to spin freely it should have some wiggle room. I'd recommend at least 1 inch of play.

3b-Stay line measurements: I purchased about fifty feet of stay line. But remember, I doubled up on the side stays and extended the forward stay to the top of the mast. I posted pics earlier this year in response to a post called “jib attachment for inflatables.”

4-Clear sail material question: I used 5mm tarp material because I wanted my jib to be one piece. I set out for it to be a template because I wasn’t sure any of this was going to work. Lowes had a 12 by 12 tarp for under $10. It was semi transparent, cheap, didn’t require a seam, and most importantly non-stretching. You don’t want an elastic sail, and you don’t want a heavy sail. Check out Sailrite.com, they sell 5mm microfilm. I’m happy with my original, and haven’t had a need to replace it.

5-Slip Union PVC question: I used the slip union PCV connector at the base of my PVC tubing because it was easy, fit nicely and works great. Pull on the furling line, the PVC tubing spins, and the sail furls; pull on one of the jib sheets and the sail unfurls.

I hope this info helps…..good luck.


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 2:23 pm 
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Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2010 8:25 pm
Posts: 15
sweet... thanks 69cpu! I've never even felt the boat tip, but I usually sail with a 7yo who isn't the strongest swimmer so I tend to let go of the lines when a gust comes along.

That said, he always wants to go faster, so I hope to add my jib design to the list of existing ones soon!

I'm going to bring a tube and see if I can take him tubing :lol:

Update, two things I have learned:
1- the old windsurfer sail I had laying around was indeed too stiff to act as a jib.
2- Using lines that only have 1% stretchability is important, because otherwise when you try to furl the sail the whole system just bends and refuses to function. (If I had gotten on the water, I probably would have discovered a good gust makes everything go splat). Also, you can't jugde stretchability by yanking on the line at the hardware store :lol:


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