TP52 main sail batten pocket

This is the batten pocket of our TP52 main sail, the batten section is smaller then the push plate and is not centered on the screw. Spacers could center the batten and the push screw to avoid the screw bending. Batten pressure is very important as it relieves load on the center of the sail.

North 3Di main sail repair using 3M 5200

 

 

Sailing out last Saturday the main tore on about 1 meter just below the TP52 logo. The vertical upwards fibers de-laminated from the downward fibers, one cause could be the lack of good top battens leading to extra load in the middle of the sail.

 

 

On Starboard, the better side of the sail we glued a cuben patch 30cm * 100cm and on port we smeared  3M 5200 over the top fibers and bottom fibers then closed them back together like the lid of a letter. We hope this makes a good bond between the structural fibers. We wait now for the 5200 to dry over the next few days and then will glue a second cuben patch on port to cover it all. We can then proceed with a test sail and see if it all holds good.

 

This is the laminated repair waiting to be covered by an extra cuben patch. Instead of using 5200, Dr. Sails could have probably used, not sure which is best. The 5200 was pretty hard to squeeze out of the gun, would have been nice if it was a bit more liquid.