Options for botched tack spur grommet location

[Boulter]

Hi:

Lost my ~75 square foot mainsail build almost literally at the last possible moment. The number 5 spur grommet at the tack is 1/4 to 5/16 inch too high to get the tack pin through it.

So the options I have come up with so far:

Two nylon wire ties every time I launch which at the most would be 2 or 3 times a season. The sail shape at the tack is as a result distorted a bit, but hey I am not racing here.

Grind out the spur grommet, extend/move the knife slits, and then put in a new spur grommet. Reinforce through about 270 degrees with hand needle and waxed twine, keeping the twine away from the pin contact area.

Cut away the tack corner and install a D ring with webbing. I don't care for this idea much as it would likely involve cutting away the continuous leech and foot bolt rope in the area and looks to me like it would create more problems than it would solve.

Any other options?

I am leaning towards second alternative.

Thanks for any insight.

Boulter

[UNCIVILIZED]

Lose the current grommet. Oversew a patch onto the area. Install a new grommet. And is a larger sized, sewn in rope grommet an option? Check The Sailmaker's Apprentice.

Also, a tiny Loop slipped though the current grommet & seized or sewn in place should work. So that half of the Loop sticks out of either side of the grommet, & the pin gets put through both halves of the Loop which hang down. And the Loop needn't be spectra, nor purchased.

Pics would help.

[StuM]

Soft shackle?

[Boulter]

Hello:

Thanks for the comments. As requested here are some photographs. As you can see, the grommet on the old mainsail is smaller (number 4?) and much closer to the boltrope.

This is the new sail tack:


This is the old sail tack.


Two shots of the goosneck.




I spent so much time making sure the grommet was well located horizontally, and I nailed it BTW, I completely flubbed it in the vertical plane.

I like the tiny loop idea. Maybe even a metal strap fashioned out of 1/16th inch stainless. Or again, a nylon wire tie could probably be fitted and cinched until just the right size. I'd need to make a 1/4 inch hole to clear the pin immediately underneath the grommet with a forestner or brad point bit (hopefully one of these will cleanly cut the perimiter) as I don't have a punch.

Boulter

[UNCIVILIZED]

Remove the current one & go to a bigger grommet, one that's located to cover the current hole, but also so that the pin will reach.

[Dave22q]

Might be best to leave the sail alone and raise the tack pin. Two pieces of stainless plate. Drill matching holes for the existing pin and the new clevis pin that will go through the sail. File the plate edges smooth. Once you find a piece of stock 1/2 or 3/4" bar, the whole deal should take under an hour. Before drilling you could make a cardboard template to get the hole locations right.

[foufou]

How about a twist shackle?

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by Dave22q

Might be best to leave the sail alone and raise the tack pin. Two pieces of stainless plate. Drill matching holes for the existing pin and the new clevis pin that will go through the sail. File the plate edges smooth. Once you find a piece of stock 1/2 or 3/4" bar, the whole deal should take under an hour. Before drilling you could make a cardboard template to get the hole locations right.

AKA Link plates. They're carried by lots of sailing & rigging shops, but if not, try www.apsltd.com

[doublewide]

put a soft shackle between the pin and the grommet. If the shortest soft shackle you can make is too long, then make one 2 or 3 times too long and go around the points to be shackled 2 or 3 times before closing the shackle. Then even up the strain on the 2 or 3 parts of the wrap.
This is quick, easy, cheap, and easy to un-do again.

[Boulter]

Hi:

Thanks for the additional ideas.

Boulter