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| New jiffy grommet, old sail |
Before installing the jiffy grommets on my clew and tack reef patches I looked for online tutorials or technical notes but didn't find much, so I'm posting my experience here.
When I got my
jiffy grommet kit, there were no instructions other than what is printed on sairite's website "...
Special tools are not required - simply use a hammer to mushroom the ends of the soft aluminum rivets in place ..." After some experimentation, here's the process I decided to use.
I had to push the six rivets through seven layers of 4oz dacron. I experimented on a test patch with a 1/8" drill, but I found that a 1/8" hole punch was far superior.
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| 1/8" hole punch |
After punching the holes, I assembled the grommet.
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| Rivets |
That jagged circle you see in the luff tape is where an old spur grommet used to be before the reef patch was sewn in place.
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| Rivets ready to be hammered down |
Once I hammered down the rivet, used a soldering iron with a flattened soldering tip to cut the hole through seven layers of fabric. This was quick and easy and had the added benefit of welding all seven layers together for added strength.
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| Cutting out the fabric - flattened soldering iron tip on right |
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| Jiffy grommet, sail, tools |
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