Now, where was I...?

Well, I haven't added to this blog because I've been busy with my boat build (and blog).  I left off having sewn the corner patches in place.  I did indeed add the edge tape to two sides--luff and leech--fairly soon afterward but stopped before finishing off the head and foot.  The reason for stopping is that I wanted to be sure the amount of round I had built in was appropriate for the spars they would match up with.  Which meant I had to build spars.  See my other blog for how THAT turned out.

Once I was satisfied that the edge/spar curves were reasonable, I sewed the final two sides with little issue.  That's not to say they came out perfect.  Here are some shots of the leech tape going on:

The l-o-o-o-o-ng side of the sail

I missed the horizontal seam on the patch

So now that I have a nice blank sail, it's time to poke holes in it.  The reader may recall that I planned to go overkill on the corners and hand-sew the rings rather than use the simple, effective, and inexpensive spur grommets that are absolutely adequate, capable, and normal.  In other words, do as I say, not as I do.  'Cause, here's what I'm doing:

Holey sail

I used a hole punch that's too small because it's the one I have.  It did fine.  It just takes a while to nibble around the full circumference.  The soldering iron sealed the ragged edge which in some cases is about seven layers of cloth.  The ring and the liner are what it's all about.

Top side bare thread

Underside bare thread

Underside brass liner

Top side brass liner before

Top side brass liner after

This is the first of eight sewn rings I'll do.  I wonder if they'll get better over time, or worse? I'm happy with the result (so far) and I'm glad I decided to add this detail.  I'll trim the excess cloth from the point and fuse it with the iron.  The lash holes along the head and foot will be normal spur grommets.  I'm crazy, but not THAT crazy.