Attaching the Trailing Edge
The trailing edge is made of 9/16" wide 1.5 ounce r/s nylon approximately 62" long. Two pieces are required.
Cut two small ovals from 3.9 ounce dacron for standoff reinforcements. I use the handle from the cold water shut off under the bathroom sink as a template for this but anything approximately 1 1/4" x 2" will do. Put seam stick on one side of the dacron and crease it in the middle. Put the dacron reinforcements on the trailing edge of the sail as shown in the picture above. Note that the seam in the sail should be centered on the dacron reinforcement approximately 3/8" up from the fold in the dacron. Sew these reinforcements in place. I use a small zig zag for this. Eventually we will punch a hole through this.
Fold the 1.5 ounce r/s nylon in half the entire length of the cloth. Crease it well as you go. I find it easiest to start sewing from the spine tip and sew to the wing tips. I put the leach line in the trailing edge after I have it sewn on using a small diameter of micro fiberglass rod.
Sew the trailing edge to the sail by pulling the sail and trailing edges straight in a series of short short intervals with the sail pushed completely into the pocket of the trailing edge. Sew close to the open side of the r/s nylon, approximately 1 mm (1/16"). Continue sewing until you reach the end of the wing tip and cut off the excess. Then sew the opposite trailing edge on in the same fashion.
Glue the end of a piece of spectra line to the end of a length of thin (I use .046") micro fiberglass rod. Feed the mfr into the trailing edge pocket from the wing tip and slide it through. There maybe some difficulty getting the rod past the dacron standoff reinforcement but it always goes eventually. Continue feeding the rod through the trailing edge and out the tip of the spine reinforcement. Then back into the other wing and out the opposite wing tip. When you get the line all the way through the sail tie a loop approximately 1/2" long at the end and cut the beginning end off generously so we can finish the leach line later.
Punch .200" holes in the dacron reinforcements just above the trailing edge and centered on the seam joining the wing to the center sail. This is for the standoffs. Remember way back when.. I said it would make a little difference in the way your kite flew if you rolled that seam in or out? This is why. If you rolled the seam in the kite will fly just a touch more precisely, if out it will fly a teensy bit more radical.This completes the sail. Now the framing.