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Repairing a torn Flexifoil

In article <23765@acorn.co.uk> steve@acorn.co.uk (Steve "daffy" Hunt) writes:

>Since I work quite close to the Flexifoil factory, I have taken it
>there for repair, which seems to involve opening the sail up and
>applying some kind of patch.

Did you have to pay much for this service?

>Does anyone have any experience of how this repair will affect the
>kite's handling?  Should I budget for a new sail and keep the repaired
>one as a spare?  (Or for lending to careless friends!)

The kite should fly just fine.  I've done loads of repairs on 2 of my 3
6' Flexis (including patching an outside cell wall, replacing 2 other outside
cell walls, patching a rip similar to the one you described, and re-sewing
some seams where the thread was coming unraveled (the kites are going to
turn 6 in just over 3 weeks...;-)).  All 3 kites fly quite well, still, in
winds ranging from 2 (with an Ultraflex) to 40+ (and one of the repaired
kites was flown in a wind of 50+!)

>Also, should I have saved some money by repairing it myself?

Yes, but only if you're comfortable with using your sewing machine and
opening the kite (one of my kites had a patched-but-not-sewn cell for 4 years
because I was afraid to sew it myself and didn't want to spend the money to
have professional repairs).

>Can it be done without loads of sewing?

Not really...that is to say, not if you want a quality, long-lasting repair.
The kite described in the above paragraph had a 1.75' rip in the 2' long
outside cell wall.  It was patched on the inside and outside with
ripstop tape (the rip was big enough that I was able to get a layer of
tape along almost the entire rip from the inside...) and that held up for
almost 2 years.  Then it blew again, and my second patching attempt only last
a week or so.  That was when I finally decided it was time to learn how to
take apart a Flexi...

Jeff
-- 
|Jeffrey C. Burka     | "When I look in the mirror, I see a little clearer/ |
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