DIY - making a drifting-sail to fit a Lettmann Eski 550
To me the "pacific action" sail sold by Prijon seems to be the most effective for covering miles on sea. The idea is relatively simple and quite fascinating. I will try to avoid the retail-price of about 300€ and build one myself investing little money but some time. I designed this by instict and when I measured, it came out at roughly 0.7m². This is an experiment and I think, 0.7m² will make a difference and maybe it can still be used at 4-5 Beaufort.
I used the following materials for the prototype:
* An old nylon windsurfing-sail *
* aluminium tentpoles left from an old North Face tent, about 130cm long*
* two 1-2cm thick slices of a polyamide cylinder roughly 5cm in diameter, one for fixing the poles in and one for mounting the hinge on the boat *
* a kilo of Isophtalic-acid-resin (Polyester or Epoxy) and half a m² of fibreglass
from a local boatyard ~ 10€ *
* steel pole to fit into the tentpoles (roughly 40cm long)*
The first step is getting a solid base made from fibreglass and polyester moulded right onto the boat. This brace will fit the boat very snugly and thus had to be kept down only by one screw through the hull of the boat. The screw nut is put in with a big washer and sealed with Sika 221.
Make sure you avoid my mistake of using crappy tape that disintegrates once you try to pull it off. To be sure the resin will not stick to the tape, you could for example use spray wax.
Once the surface was even, I fixed a second piece of polyamide on top into which I drilled two holes and cut a slit for the bent steel pole that holds the aluminium "masts". See picture below.
The prototype. For now constructed without a hinge: The aluminium poles are put onto a bent steel rod which is mounted between to pieces of polyamide. The tentpoles seem a little weak/elastic and some improvements will probably still have to follow.
I had this sewn not by a sailmaker but by a local curtain taylor.
Much cheaper and in this case just as sturdy.
All in all it shouldn't cost more than 30€ and some time.
I tried it out on a lake a few days ago with 2-4 Beaufort and was positively surprised by the effect. It is possible to bend the poles together in order to transport it. In an emergency, meaning strong wind it should be possible to take it apart from the cockpit by pulling out one of the tentpoles which is why the segments should be glued together or connected by a really tense rubber strap.
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And this is how it is supposed to function: