Can I order a set of sails for my older Artesania Latina Swift?

[philo426]

I am currently building a 1982 version of the AL Swift and this version does not include the sails.The new version does include the sails and I wonder if I can order a set from AL?

Edited March 29, 2013 by philo426

[philo426]

How long do you soak it in the coffee?

[Keith_W]

Put a tiny amount of white glue in the mix (I used 1:10), then hang your sails off the spars. Turn the spars with a little jig so that the sail sags. When the glue dries, the sails will stiffen and look as if they are billowing in the wind.

 

This was the first method I tried - using a fan to make the sails billow:

 

.

 

It wasn't as effective as using gravity. Here is my HMS Bounty with the rigging partially completed. Note the sails look as if they are billowing:

 

[philo426]

I like the look of those sails but My wife and I do not know how to sew.What fabric should I ask for when I go to the craft store and how do i determine how much i need?Plus I will need a way to determine the proper shape and size.

[philo426]

i have heard other members recommend Egyptian cotton for sail material so I will probably use that.

[PopJack]

I have the same model and would love to see what you do with the sails.  I am thinking that she would look good with at least a partial compliment.

[JerseyCity Frankie]

I  made the sails for my model of Le Renard from old bed sheets and they were built up with glue, not sewn. The only sewing involved was to lace them to the spars. I stained them overnight in a thin coffee and water solution. I ironed them flat and I drew the vertical seams with light grey colored pencil  this is a bit more difficult than it sounds). The tableing  -the edges of the sails and the reef band- was made thus: more of the same sail material was soaked in starch ( mix dry starch into boiling water, turn off flame and dunk the fabric just long enough to soak it) and ironed flat which also dried them. With enough starch the resulting material is hard enough to be easily and neatly cut with an xacto and a straight edge. If you use enough starch ( you have to experiment a little but I doubt you could over-starch) the knife cut is smooth and no stray threads poke out and the starch prevents it from freying. Cut strips of the correct width and glue them to the sails with white glue. I later shaped the sails and hardened them into their curves by spraying them with a commercial product called Stiffen Stuff, available at fabric and craft stores.

Edited April 15, 2013 by JerseyCity Frankie

[Dan Vadas]

Hi Philo,

 

A product that is easier to use than starch is this one : 

 

 

It does all that Frankie mentions above about using starch, but is a simple "paint-on" application. It washes out in water when you've finished cutting, sewing etc. It's also available from most Sewing Stores.

 

My preferred material for sails is Egyptian Cotton, with the smallest weave you can get (1,500 TPI - threads per inch - is good, 2000 TPI is even better but a lot more expensive). One Pillowcase is enough to do all the sails for a 1:48 Cutty Sark with some left over . Here's a pic of my 1:36 scale Norfolk Sloop's Gaff sail. Note the fine weave - the stitches are 0.75mm long :

 

 

The purple pen markings you can see are a "Disappearing Ink" pen also available from sewing stores. Much better than using a pencil for marking out the sails - pencil marks are very hard to remove (but as Frankie mentions work OK for Bands etc on smaller scale models) :

 

 

  Danny

[JerseyCity Frankie]

Some day, a day far off in the future, I can imagine myself building the sails from individual cloths two scale feet wide. I picture doing this over a pre made form of the shape the sail would be in when it is set and drawing. maybe by then I will have rejected woven fabric entirely in favor of paper?  I imagine that going to this degree of trouble would allow for more realistic sails, less of a compromise we come to when we try to make miniature sails out of full scale woven cloth.  I draw my panel lines on with colored pencil,  others sew parallel seams with the sewing machine set to the smallest stitch, but still those stitches are way out of scale and cause the material to pucker too. But on the other hand my drawn on seams don't do enough to deform the surface they are drawn on, to suggest the varying elasticity of the individual panels, they are flat lines drawn on a flat plane. In actual practice the cloths were sewn edge to edge in a double row of stitches, the two rows about three or four inches apart.  Filed with wind, worn thinner sails in some lights take on a subtle corrugated appearance as the two foot wide panels between the seams billow out a bit farther than the seamed areas of the sails do. And on a level above that, the entire sail a compound curve, a beautiful convexity. I can imagine at some future date coming to the conclusion that each panel must have its own set camber. Would I burnish this into the paper strips before assembling them? Would my mold I build the sails over have subtle ribs in it to create this effect? I know that if I live long enough I will eventual fall to doing all these things I'm describing here. I'm pretty passionate about canvas. An excellent book on real world traditional hand made canvas sails is The Sailmakers Apprentice by Emiliano Marino. Full of well done illustrations of sails in all their varieties. Any questions you ever had about any part of a traditional canvas sail is answered, every variation on every sort of rig is described from the point of view of the sail maker. Its intended to teach you how to make your own sails so it goes into lofting and theory, but there is a good bit of historical background for a ship modeler to bite their teeth into.  And its well written warm and humorosus.

[Dan Vadas]

Very good Posts Crackers and Frankie .

 

Silkspan is also excellent for making Flags. You can use your Printer to make any type of flag - even those "Fleur de Lis" French ones that are a real pain to try and paint any other way .

 

Here's a simpler one - the Jack on my "HMAT Supply" :

 

 

  Danny

[rameyke]

I am currently building a 1982 version of the AL Swift and this version does not include the sails.The new version does include the sails and I wonder if I can order a set from AL?

If you PM me your shipping address, I have the sails from my AL Swift (newer version).  I decided not to install them on my build.  I can send them to you.

[PopJack]

Understanding there is only one set of sails to give away, is there any way you might be willing to lay the sails on a sewing/ cutting board or other grid and snap a photo so I can see the dimensions?

 

It would be really appreciated.

[jarero]

Understanding there is only one set of sails to give away, is there any way you might be willing to lay the sails on a sewing/ cutting board or other grid and snap a photo so I can see the dimensions?

 

It would be really appreciated.

I just finished my Swift build and I did use the sails however I kept the 1:1 sail plan that is ideal to recreate them from.  If you want I can put a few dimension on it and snap a few pictures or you can PM me your mailing address and I will send it to you.  Let me know.

 

Jared

[PopJack]

Thank you!  PM sent!

[jarero]

No problem.  I got your PM and emailed some pictures to you with dimensions.  If you can't decipher my scribble let me know and I will try to clarify.

[PopJack]

Perfect.  I really appreciate it- they will work great.