Bill,

Great choice of sewing machine; same model I bought (though I have no plans for making sails with it yet). Did you get the WorkerB upgrade? Definitely worth the money when you need low-speed control.

Well, I may keep this thread alive throughout the conversion process as a bit of a diary for anyone who may want to convert an O'day DS or similar vessel. Maybe it'll be useful info...

Here's some updates:

The last few days were spent milling a couple big white pines with my chainsaw mill to stock material for expanding my pole barn - needing more work space for sailboat projects.

I also cut a hole in the DS II sole where the mast step will be - needing to see what's going on under there so I can determine mast length before ordering the mast.

Also, this unusual machine showed up in the mail yesterday which is supposed to aid in converting Arne's paper sail diagrams into an actual physical sail ...

Bill,

I suggest you start with the Pilmer style sheet. It’s anyway no big deal to change between the Pilmer style and the slightly more complicated Johanna style sheet later. I only warn against using a sheet with 4, 5 or 6-part purchase, in particular on a little boat like this. The 3-part sheet ( from 6 or 8mm, medium-low grade braided line) keeps the friction through the blocks low enough to let the sail swing out even in very light winds.

Look at the sheeting point of my Ingeborg on the photo below. I suggest you use something similar. However, make it taller: My sheet likes to chew on the tiller of Ingeborg when on the port tack...

Arne

PS: Looking ahead a little during a project is fine, but don’t overdo pondering over every detail, or you may end up not getting started...

(Check album photo section 8)

Bill,
that rig looks OK to me  -  nice and tidy drawing.

• ·         mast balance of 15%. That gives a good halyard angle of about 12-13°, which will later let you adjust the mast balance up or down a little. Not critical on a cb-dinghy anyway.
• ·         deck/boom clearance, OK
• ·         Slingpoint and halyard drift, OK
• ·         mast line splits yard at 0.43B. Never thought about that...

As for sheet, I am not sure what you mean. I would anyway extend batten 2 until it is in line with the leech of the lower section.

Good luck,
Arne

Graeme wonders about running rigging requirements on my suggested rig.

I can say with confidence that four running lines will be needed; halyard, sheet, yard hauling parrel (YHP) and throat hauling parrel (THP).

The main reason why I have kind of standardized on my sails with seven panels, all of the same area, is that I have found that doing so, I don’t have to re-invent the running lines for each new sail.
The 3-part Johanna-style sheet fits all (and ensures a controlled twist), as do the other lines. These lines now control the sail of my 2-ton Ingeborg, just as they did on my 200kg dinghy, Broremann.

For bigger boats (like in Ingeborg), I have introduced the fan-up preventer (FUP), but feel no need for it on dinghy size boats.

Arne