Question about rigging leech ropes around silk-like thin sails

[modeller_masa]

Hello, I have a question about ropes around sails.

The picture shows a spritsail of the Santa Maria. I made the sail with silk fabric, so it is super thin and all the parts, such as seams and tablings, are glued by PVA bond.

 

 

My major reference book is the Xavier Pastor's book, so I added leech, foot, and bolt ropes as the book illustrated. I also referred to this video to glue the ropes. All the sails are scale-accurated (The width of seams and tablings are 0.45mm and 2.29mm), so I have no space for sewing between the rope and the sail.

 

As I was worried, the ropes were weak. If children accidentally pull the sail, I may spend hours repairing the finished model. I don't want to use CA glue because of the poly threads. I said that I have no space for sewing the threads, and the glued ropes are hardened so I can't sew them well. 

 

In this case, how do you reinforce the adhesion? Could you recommend stronger glues or a better way to hang the ropes?

[Dziadeczek]

5 hours ago, modeller_masa said:

In this case, how do you reinforce the adhesion? Could you recommend stronger glues or a better way to hang the ropes?

 

I am sure there are many different ways to do it and some members will explain their techniques, but I do it in the following faschion:

I use a very thin cotton fabric for my sails, instead of silkspan. I found it in my local fabric store  (www.moodfabrics,com)  a fabric known as cotton muslin, already factory coloured into a nice cream (eggshell) color - perfect for sails, so I don't need to color it by myself. It is used primarilly for linings for suits or similar. But my model is in 1:48 scale, so this muslin is barely thin enough for my sails. It might be too thick for your model though, if your scale is smaller.

I wanted to show all sewn details of my sails, and I feared that silkspan, being soooo thin and delicate, would not allow this...

 

After preparing my sails in the traditional way, I attach (glue) to their edges a bolt rope, making sure that it isn't attached to the edge of a sail, but instead it lays ON the edge, on the AFT side of the sail. After the glue (white glue like Elmer's),  slightly diluted with water, has dried, I sew the rope with a very thin needle and thin thread of almost the same (only slightly darker) color that the sail itself, like on the attached pic. I found out that if I leave the rope only glued there, it has a tendency to split from the sail, if you manipulate it with your fingers. Sewing it, reinforces the bond and secures it.

It is an extremely tedious and time consuming process (if you think, tying ratlines is tedious, think again!), I work with magnifier Optivisor and have a thimble on my finger to push the needle through the slightly stiffened (by glue) fabric. I place the sail on a rubber mat, like yours, but on top of that mat I place a piece of ordinary cardboard and only then I place my sail on top of it. The cardboard allows me to push the needle through the rope and the sail and a bit more (perhaps 2 to 3 mm - the thicknes of cardboard) on the other side. It is easier than, to push it all the way through. I sew through the middle of the rope and  through the sail, just perhaps 1 mm from its edge. After the sewing, the thread is nearly invisible, only from a very close distance, say a few cm, similar to full size sails.

Edited July 7, 2022 by Dziadeczek

[allanyed]

11 hours ago, Dziadeczek said:

I use a very thin cotton fabric for my sails, instead of silkspan

Hi Dziadeczek,  What is the thread count of your material?   Looking on line, muslin is shown to normally be between 150 and 180 so would be far out of scale for 1:24 and smaller.  Canvas has a TC of about 50 per inch so to be close to scale at 1:48 it would have to have a TC of over 2000 or conversely,  using180 count material like muslin would have the equivalent of threads that are 1/4" in diameter.  Same can be said for stitching.   I realize it comes down to how much scale accuracy each builder wants.   

 

Allan

Edited July 8, 2022 by allanyed

[modeller_masa]

Thank you so much, Dziadeczek! It looks very nice and so realistic! And it seems to not be too challenging. I ordered the thinnest English beading needle, which is size 15, or 0.25mm in width. I'll definitely try the technique on the next ship.

 

Allan, I purchased fabric with a TC count of over 2000 at Amazon, and it wasn't really that delicate. It is very hard to find such extremely fine fabric...

[Dziadeczek]

This is a corner of a sail from the "Star of India" in San Diego.

Edited July 8, 2022 by Dziadeczek

[allanyed]

9 hours ago, modeller_masa said:

I purchased fabric with a TC count of over 2000 at Amazon, and it wasn't really that delicate. It is very hard to find such extremely fine fabric...

Thanks Masa,

I would like to get some and check it out but I have my doubts.   "A good thread count for microfiber sheets is anywhere between 200 and 800. Microfiber is known for its softness and sheets from this material tend to get softer every time they're washed. If you see thread counts of 800 or more, the manufacturer likely inflated the thread count. Some manufacturers twist their yarns for weaving, essentially doubling or more what the thread count would be in reality.

Thanks again

Allan

Edited July 8, 2022 by allanyed

[modeller_masa]

I found another fabric I purchased at a local store long ago. In general, the spec of this cotton fabric is one of the top in my country, although the other cotton fabrics I tested before had the same spec. Because different countries use different scales, especially on cloth area, I can't simply convert the spec of the fabric to TC. (I don't know how to calculate it.) 

 

Isn't it interesting?

Edited July 8, 2022 by modeller_masa