Rattlesnake Instr. Manual - Nature Coast Hobby Shop

The cloth must be pre-shrunk, so wash it
several times. When dry, iron the cloth,
but be careful not to scorch it. Next,
draw the seams and hem (tabling) lines
and other reinforcements in light pencil,
then sew the seams. A sewing machine
makes fast work of the project. Use light
tan cotton thread so that the seams show
up nicely. Make some trial passes on a
piece of scrap cloth and set the tension
so the stitch does not make puckers in
the stitch line. No actual reinforcement
patches need be used. Instead, simply
sew two stitch lines to represent reinforcements,
such as the reef bands (see
Figure 59).
After the stitching is completed, you
may iron the sails. Be careful not to burn
them. Next, cut the sail shape using line
"A" as shown in the sketch. Then roll the
hem according to the sketch, iron it flat
and sew (as close to line "B" as possible).
Tuck the ends and hand sew the corners
as shown. The sail is now ready for
stretching.
Stretching the Sails: This step will assure
that the sail shape is correct, since it may
have been altered during sewing. Using
the original pattern, draw the outline of
the sail's shape on a piece of paper. Place
the piece of paper down on a solid but
penetrable backing, such as a wooden
board or cork. Now wash the entire sail
again and lay it over the outline you've
just drawn. Stretching the wet sail to the
outline's shape, stick pins through its
outer edges and into the backing to hold
it in place. When the sail is dry, it will
have the proper shape. Iron it flat.
Edge Boltropes & Reef Points: Sewing
edge boltropes onto the sail can be omitted
since they appear so small in 3/16"
scale. However, if you wish to include
them you may follow the tedious method
shown (see figure 60). The sketch also
shows how to install reef points.
Furled Sails: It is impossible to furl a sail
made from the same material and of the
same size used for the fully set sail. The
cloth is usually too heavy, causing the
sail to become too bulky looking. There
are two solutions to this problem. First,
you may use a lighter material such as
Silkspan, which is a model airplane covering
tissue; or second, you may elect to
use the same cloth, but cut it to a proportion
one-third the size of the original
to reduce bulk (see figure 61) . You may
even need to do this with silkspan, depending
on the size of the sail. Make a
test first to see how much material is required
for a nice tight furl.
Even if you furl the sails, you must still
add some seams and hems. The detailing
will show somewhat on the furled sail.
FIG. 56 - Homemade Rigging Tools
Wood handle
Brass rod
FIG. 57 - Block-holding Jig
Clothes pin
FIG. 58 - Stropping The Blocks
(Push)
Make
several
lengths
Visit a sewing store to find tools
ready-made for model rigging
Twist
Strop with becket
2
Glue & cut off ends
SUBSTITUTE WIRE
1
Seize with
thread
ROPE STROPS
Flatten end and file shape
(Pull)
Cut ends flat, glue
on 1/32" plywood
File out head of a steel,
or plastic crochet, needle
to form hook
Holder in use
With hook
Block
Tie a slip knot,
then glue
35