"Blending proven handwork and traditional sailmaking methods with modern techniques of sail design and construction to insure good performance and lasting durability."

Offshore Cruising Sails

Our offshore cruising sails will feature all of the inshore specifications and in addition will feature numerous refinements and upgrades.  One upgrade will step up to hand sewn rings in lieu of spur grommets. Hand sewn rings are much more durable than spur grommets and far stronger as well.  Not only is a brass ring much heavier (thicker) than a grommet but the bearing surface it has in the sail insures the grip or bite of the ring in the fabric. (Spur grommets can tear out fairly easily and are more susceptible to corrosion.)  Hand sewn rings will far outlast and out hold grommets. Hand sewn rings are "old fashioned," but they are well worth the investment of time and money.  

Following are upgrades to our Offshore Cruising sails:

Details for all Offshore Cruising Sails

Details for Mainsails, Mizzens and Trysails

Please click on these thumbnail pictures to enlarge the detail.

                                Luff @ Full Batten    Leech @ Full Batten  

                                                 Seam Reinforcement @ Leech                             

Details for Headsails

Please click on these thumbnail pictures to enlarge the detail.

                 Details of jib hank installation                      Jib Tack

Details for Roller Headsails

     Jib detail showing long head patch                Cream Color Dacron          

Roller Furling Sails

Our offshore and ultimate offshore sails roller furling sails offer all of the same construction details; in other words they are one and the same. Offshore roller furling sails are constructed with ease of use and durability in mind. They will feature premium Dacron fabric, double, triple or quadruple stitching, leech end seam reinforcements and the heaviest luff tape that will work with your furling system. A leech line and foot line are standard and if necessary a high cut headsail will feature an optional overhead leech line, which goes up the leech and down the luff for adjustment at the tack. (This way you will not be tempted adjust the leech line tension with a boat hook and fall over the side in the process.) We will install long head and tack patches that extend into the sail so that as you roll the sail up to reef, there will be reinforcing at the "new" head and tack to take the loads. (You do not want to roll up the sail past the corner patches since then you are asking the sail to hold up in heavier winds, relying on only the one layer of sail to take the load.)  

Roller sails are optimized for protection from UV exposure since the sun acts on the sail whether it is being used or furled up at the dock. The head and tack ends will feature either leather protected webbing straps or webbed on external stainless rings with leather caps. Our UV covers are installed so that the leech and foot sections are each in once piece whenever possible. The covers also wrap around the leech and foot hems to totally protect them from UV. We stitch the cover down with heavy thread and add "anti-inflate" stitching through the seams of the sail, not the body of the sail. That way, upon re-stitching the cover down the road, you will not perforate the single layer of sail fabric. And with the UV covers being installed in "one piece", there are not as many seams to re-stitch.

Since the halyard acts only on the luff of the sail, there comes a point when the luff of the sail (head and tack) cannot help but creep together
because there is nothing there to pull them apart. That is why foam or rope luff pads are optionally installed. The luff pads' purpose is to take
up or remove some of the excess shape or belly of the sail as it is reefed down and wrapped around the extrusion. This will extend the useful shape
of the sail as you reef in the sail as the wind increases. A luff pad can be installed when the sail is new or later after you have had a chance to use the sail. The maximum you can expect to reef a headsail down is about 25 - 30% of the actual area of the sail with a foam luff pad. Rolled up any smaller, the shape will degrade as to be inefficient for windward work.  Off the wind, you could roll out a small scrap of sail and be okay since the sail is will not be as loaded since the apparent wind drops as it is with you and not against you.  When you are very deeply reefed, you will have totally rolled up the head and tack patches so you are asking the sail to hold up with only one layer of cloth at the head and tack and this is not good for long term sail shape.  

Finally, lets say you have been out sailing and the wind has been strong and you have increased the luff tension to keep the draft in the right location.  Remember to unload the luff tension when you are back at the dock so the sail does not remain tensioned at rest. This will help keep the optimum sail shape for a longer period of time.  

Inshore/Coastal     Offshore      Ultimate Offshore      Classic/Traditional

Last modified: December 29, 2006