Frustrated after two head straps broke on my 11.0 Retro, I decided to take matters into my own hands and come up with my own repair scheme. I didn't think I could do much worse.
I used (8) 1/4 inch brass grommets (Home Depot), a head cap, and 1/8 inch Dacron line. So far it's lasted three sessions with no issues. It cost a lot less than shipping to Sailworks for repair. Attached are some pictures.
One piece of advice is to sharpen the punch for the grommets. The sail cloth is tough stuff.
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Bill Herderich
Well, the title of your post had me confused for a second (see pic below)
Seriously, what was causing the strap to fail? Sailworks usually builds good stuff. Did someone goof in design or was it a bad day in the factory deep in China?
The Sail Loft did this repair for me a few months ago.
They are back at the old North Sails location on McEver, south of Friendship Rd.
I think I paid $60. It's more complicated than I first imagined... lots to peel back and put back. :shock:
First, I should say that the 11.0 Retro and my Bic Techno Formula are one of my most favorite and enjoyable sailing combinations. Probably second only to my Phoenix 320 and 6.5 Retro (panel seam failure on that in about a year). I just like being out on warm days with smooth water. The sail is easy to rig, light (for an 11.0), tune-able, and can handle a wide range of wind. I even have no problem water starting it.
On the 11.0 Retro, both the original and replacement heads straps failed from wear and fraying of the webbing. I believe this to be a design problem that A) does not consider wear issues and
and uses an under designed strap.
I think the wear comes from the sail rotating and from pumping (something you'd expect on an 11.0 and light wind boards). The original webbing was a single layer of 3/4 inch wide webbing. In contrast, the tack pulley, which sees a similar load, was constructed with multiple (I think 4) layers of webbing. Since the strap doesn't have a lot of margin of safety, once the wear starts, it progresses rapidly to failure. Note that I was using the correct Sailworks mast recommended for this sail.
I had the first strap repair done by the North sails guys on McEver. They charged me $100. Actually, the guy didn't even seem interested in bothering with it. He said the sails were so cheap I should just buy a new one. :o
North used a section of tubular webbing that was rated at a higher strength that the original webbing. It lasted about the same time as the original. It failed while rigging on what would have been a perfect day on Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City (Grrrr).
What would have been a better design is to have either a fixed head cap, like I have now, and/or a replaceable section of head strap attached with buckles.
I noticed that Sailworks no longer offers the 11.0 Retro. The largest Retro is now a 9.5. I think that's too bad, because the 11.0 makes a great sail for around here. It just needs to be a little more durable.
Bill Herderich
Nice job on the head fix bill. I got my 8.4 V8 head repaired at a place called sandy seat covers for $20
still holding up fine
Alan
I wonder if x-ply and the like has really extended sail life at all. While the sail doesn't tear, the other parts seem to fail just as much, if not more. Head cap failures are a pretty common problem - I've had several, including x-ply sails. Also, batten pockets tearing through, seam stitches going bad, etc. So x-ply may be overkill - the sail just breaks down for other reasons before the x-ply goes.
BTW - 11.0 and your Techno Formula - I remember sailing your combo once. Pretty big, but took almost no wind. Maybe I should think about a serious weight training program...... :mrgreen:
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
I had to repair my 6.5 Ezzy head strap a couple of years ago. I bought a heavy duty needle and heavy duty thread and sewed it myself by hand. Total cost $7.50 and it still works find today.
PeelSkid