Thanks for the encouragement, Andrew.

I do not actually have a mast, or mast step, or tabernacle yet. The boat is still in winter storage. It may be some time before I can actually hoist the sail. I would really like to be sailing under a junk rig before the end of this summer. I am not sure if that is a realistic goal.

I attached the last of the aft batten pockets yesterday. Next up is marking and cutting out the pockets that will go near the mast.

I may have been running my butane hot knife too hot, or pushing on it too much, or maybe it is just not intended to last forever. The hot knife tip bent and tore apart at the threads. I thought I would need to use a reverse drill bit to remove the threads. Fortunately after it cooled down I was able to unscrew it normally.

Not shown in the photos: I have a big jar full of used basting staples. I spilled the whole thing all over the carpet. I am not sure I will ever find all of them. Always an adventure.

Thank you for the positive responses David and Arne.

If anyone is interested -- I am slowing making some progress. I attached loops along the head of the sail and put larger loops on the four corners. Shown in the photo is my second attempt making the loop for the yard at the luff. I am still not sure it will work but I don't really feel like trying again at the moment.

One day I lifted the sail while I was standing on one of the tell tails and it popped right off. Darn. I will need to find a way to reattach this.

I have been sewing on the aft batten pockets. I have 4 of the 6 stitched on.

Scott, it's the stitching that needs protection from the battens, not the cloth. It's quite in order to have an unfinished edge of cloth inside a batten pocket. If you're doing your pockets according to Arne's method, I just don't see a problem at all. The Weathermax 80 that I used for a sailcover is not at all inclined to fray when scissor cut, so I don't suppose that Weathermax 65 is particularly vulnerable.

Don't worry, be happy!

Arne,

I am planning to add 'pocket gap cover strips' near the luff and leach. I am also planning to use 'marine vinyl' for batten pockets near the mast and the Weathermax 65 for pockets aft of the mast. The aft pockets will be cut with a hot knife.

Even with everything above I think the battens in the pockets will wear on the raw fabric edge that was cut with pinking shears.

Several times I found myself asking if the sail would be big enough. When it came time to stitch the upper and lower section together I stopped wondering. This is a substantial piece of cloth.

I cut the cloth with pinking shears. I do not think this will be a problem along the outside of the sail where I will have seatbelt webbing sewn over the raw edge. I expect it might be a good idea to do something else with the seams between the panels.

I am considering one of the following

1. Overcasting the edges with a zig-zag stitch on the sewing machine.

2. Using a butane torch to singe the edges.

3. Using the hot-knife tip for my butane torch to cut just a few mm off each seam allowance.

4. Nothing.

Does anyone have practical experience with fusing fabric at this point? I clearly missed the opportunity to do it right and use the hot knife while cutting out the panels.