Tabernacle clamp??

Almost there now with my rig but have not yet got a clamp for the top of my wooden tabernacle. Any suggestions welcome. I wondered if anyone has tried a band clamp with an over-centre clamp as here: https://www.protex.com/27-HT130-175SS-130-175mm-diameter-hi-torque-rigid-claw-stainless-steel-quick-release-bandclamp-natural Maybe best to get one made specially but I'm very much aware that it needs to be very reliable - mast a bit long and heavy and predicted - and preferably wrapped around the whole thing. I looked at JRA mag 61 but nothing there to suit my situation: aluminium mast in wooden tabernacle with pivot bolt at the bottom.

Hoisted the sail for the first time last night (mast just lashed in place for now) but too dark to take any pictures. Happy with the tabernacle but it's about 3cm further forward than it should be so I hope that's not too crucial. Can't wait to re-launch the boat and try with some wind in the sail. Hoisting and lowering the sail is very smooth.

I was puzzling over what to use for fendering for the yard. As I use a sleeve for the yard, it has to be something that can be sewn on, and it ought to match the cream colour of the cloth. I hit upon the idea of buying a leather belt blank, 3mm thick and available in widths up to 3in and in various colours as well as natural.

I now have all the individual panels made up, with their tablings folded and sewn, and today I've been preparing the batten and yard pockets. As soon as my own sail is out of the way and back aboard, I can begin to assemble the panels and pockets in my living room "sail loft".

I've made a more accurate assessment of the CE of the original bermudan rig and the weaverbird-pattern sail, and I think that you only need a forward rake of 2 degrees, with the heel of the tabernacle in the same place as the heel of the old compression post. The image I have of the bermudan rig shows an aft rake of 6 degrees, so don't let that confuse you. Try to get an accurate horizontal or vertical surface - perhaps the cabin sole or main bulkhead, and measure 88 or 2 degrees to establish the mast line.

Sounds good, David.

Here's an album containing a few photos of the sailmaking process at the stage reached so far.

I'm in the middle of making the Nimrod sail. I've uploaded the drawings of the panels to Members' Area>Your files>Drawings>Westerly Nimrod. They show how it's possible to cut the cloth for a sail within a very small space, if CAD is used to draw and dimension each individual piece of cloth. 

I'm using standard width sailcloth, at 92cm. This is cream-coloured Hayward's Sunwing 5.4 oz/sq yd, the very last of the stock of ends of rolls that "Englishseadog" on eBay were holding. It's a pleasure to use. (I also bought what they had of tan coloured Sunwing at the same weight, for some future sailmaking project).

Some points to note:

• I've arranged the cloth so that there is 115mm extra at the luff and leech to form a rolled tabling with a width of 62mm. It needn't have been quite this wide, but 3 1/2 cloths will cover the width of the panels plus this extra allowance.
  
• The camber is to be added by broadseaming. The edges of each cloth are cut straight. The inner limit of the broadseaming is marked by small arcs. During seaming up the panels, the length of seam between these arcs and the edges will be stuck down with basting tape such that the the edges of the cloths are in a straight line.
• I'm using correct sailmaking practice and keeping the threadline parallel with the luff and leech. This is straightforward in panels 1, 2 and 3. In panels 4, 5 and 6, there is a mitre between the two cloths at the luff. This ensures that there is no appreciable bias loading on the cloth.