rib stitching

[Tom Waid]

I just finished the final bit of rib lacing and can say that what is outlined above also applies to the SS. General spacing is 2 1/2". The front spar will not allow you to honor the 1 1/4" spacing for the first stitch. 3 3/4" from the leading edge gets as close as you can to the spar. 3" space for the rear spar. Also there are times when you have to be creative to get around obstructions. In the photo you can see where I couldn't get past the drag-anti drag tube. So I bracketed it with two stitches 3 1/2" apart.



Good luck! I doesn't take as much time as many think it does.

[Wiley]

We had pretty much the same experience as Tom with one exception. We adjusted spacing for the spars putting stitches immediately in front and behind, but when we came upon other bits of internal structure, we basically bent the lacing needle so we could go around it while externally keeping normal spacing. Our stitches remained uniform, the laces were tight, but in a few cases did not go straight from top to bottom, but wrapped along one side of the braces. If I were to do it again, I would probably pay more attention to where the internal structure was and plan my spacing around it. What we did worked well, but was time consuming and was a pain in the rear. At times our needle looked like a big "C".