Hello all, I am new here..... Very interested in the Claudio Tool, seems so simple yet it clearly works based on the results posted..... I have read through this entire thread (all 47 pages of it) and I think I get the idea. However some of the early links no longer work. My question: is there an "idiot's guide" anywhere that summarises exactly how to use the tool? Wondering if I may have missed a link somewhere... I have the materials and I believe I can build the tool but I am not completely clear on exactly how it should be used. I also found no real indication of size of the tool - I presume it needs to be a bit longer than the max width of the sail. And how thick does the timber need to be? Sails I am planning are for a 1 metre boat so the foot will be under 400mm
Mr P. Mine is 36" long. I made EC 12 sails and they can get large... post # 327 starts claudio's exceptional explanation a with some very nice pics. and directions... my claudio tool is a spruce 2x4 with an aluminum yardstick screwed to the wood and some aluminum L channel very simple..
Gilbert I got a book "making model yacht Sails" by larry robinson chapter 5 broadseaming mentions that the seam length should approximately equal the leach for the panel.. just got the book and was thumbing through it and happened upon it...
was looking at John's pics of his beautiful 1.8m and it looks like the spacing between the panels are roughly equal (jut by eye cos with the angle of the photo it may not be the case) so he may have taken an average length to have equal panels throughout the main but I've seen great sails with different seam lengths alright. John, with your experience I'm sure you had a good reason for this, would you share it with us ? but this would be a good start to set the position of the seam. Actually on the topic of seams on sails - I've seen a few with a diagonal cut bottom seam ( from the main tack point to first seam at the mast end) any particular reason and it is a flat seam or with some shape it in ? Cos I tend to set the bottom of my main relatively flat with just a little shape in there in choppy condition for more power. Thx, G
gilbert, I have been making my sails with the leech evenly divided... so maybe I put in a victoria sail, or a, RG65 sail an modify the panel positions One thing I have noticed on my sails is that I am getting a lot of twist at the top. I was setting the claudio tool to one setting, IE same wedges in the same spot for each panel/seam. Problem is that all books talk about sail blocks and sails so I need to try to correlate changes from blocks to claudio tools. I did make up some sails in sail cut...have not printed them yet.. still need to decide which parameters I want to change and what shape I want. just need to build it and see what happens...
@marcsmith: Thank you for prompt response - I missed that area somehow. Only remaining question - there is reference to a "table" that apparently relates wedge thickness to sail draft? While the table is mentioned, discussed and theorised about in a number of places in the thread, the links are no longer current?? (EDIT - FOUND IT - post #278) I may not need it, guessing that if I use a 1 to 2 mm wedge each end of the seam should be plenty of draft???
never had a chart either. I've been sticking about 3mm of wedge in at 40cm from the center of the board. probably too much...
Thank you Marc! That gives me a really useful guide and is enough to get me started..... I was going to ask questions regarding the size of boat you are making sails for (from your signature you have a range of sizes) but thinking on it, the size of the boat does not matter..... Obviously I just centre the sail in the tool, and the draft vs sail width is pretty much constant anyway for the sail sizes we are considering. One other thing that someone may be able to answer - one of the sails I am considering building is a genoa, and I believe I need the deepest part of the draft to be nearer the luff (maybe at the 30% mark) - would ofsetting the centre of the sail in the Claudio tool provide this result? Would the draft still be symmetrical or would this give me the offset I am looking for?
for me... I've been using 35-40% for my sails... and I use the center of the Claudio tool. where the bolt is, along my 35% line for each panel.
so with all this being posted? and all this information .. how many of you have made sails? can you pass along what you found out??
I have made 3 sets for my IACC-120 and one set for my Nirvana. It really took until the third set for me to get a set I was happy with. With that set, I was finally able to begin to understand the settings and their effect on the water. I was simply amazed at the speed increase with proper settings, and now want to go back to the drawing board and make a few new sets to try different centers and spacers (Claudio tool). I have found that mounting a camera atop your mast looking down, can really help understand the shape of your sails, and the interaction between the jib and the main (probably my biggest problem area in settings). As far as the construction goes, this thread was invaluable. I was originally looking for the definitive settings for camber and offset for the seams, but have come to the conclusion that "it depends" and many things. My advice would be to buy in bulk and experiment! Grav
first of all: the best thread, I've read ever actually, that's my status quo. In the last two months I have made some sets of sails with lightweight cloth (ikarex, polyester ripstop material, 31g/m²). Now with claudio's gadget, I get wrinkle free seams and the draft position is predictable. But I still have problems to predict the %draft you will get and how the first seam interacts with the next seam (and the next and another seam). With the first sets of sails I got way too much draft especially in the head section. And now down the road there still are some aspects, I couldn't solve: With the mainsail's leech roach (and luff round) where do I have to place the wedges to get a nice downwash at the trailing edge? Using a main that is connected to the mast with mast rings, is the mast (diameter) part of the camber? And finally, how do you measure the camber? How much sag at the foot and how much twist at the leach to get comparable measurements? So much room for experiments...
here ya go! http://www.uksailmakers.com/Resources/AccuMeasure.html I've found that the best way to get the draft right is to keep records and build on what you have. If the sail you have is too full check your records and make the next one flatter. After all 10% (or whatever) is just a number. But you must keep records that you can and will understand. Experience speaking here. Don
like this? Thanks Don! I tried it to prove, what I've done. Yes, it's a measurement with the usual sag and twist at your sail. But I always got problems with the camera angle and focussing the sail. And with wind in the sail it looks different.
Hi Cougar, It's ikarex p31 http://www.drachenshop.de/product_info.php?products_id=291 It shows you imidiatly at the pond, what's going on at light wind conditions. And what's going wrong while building a sail.
I take my pictures from the top. It makes the seam lengths more equal in the picture. Neat program isn't it. For comparisons I pull the leach fairly tight.
This makes sense. I'll give it a try. With a tight leach the sail shows the maximum camber in the head area. With more twist, the top seams loose draft. How much sag do you use at the foot to measure the sail? With more sag at the foot you get more camber in the top seams.
It's been a while, I think I pulled it tight(ish). That would make it easier to set up and every sail would be the same. Remember that I'm not trying to duplicate real world conditions, just that it's a little fuller/flatter/whatever than the last set. I never really had issues with the broadseaming, it's the luff curve that I can't seem to get to my satisfaction. Ten years of this and I still think it could be better.