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

Classic/Traditional Cruising Sails

If you have a classic or traditional vessel and you are concerned about the proper appearance of her sails, this will be the choice for you.

With our ability to install hand sewn rings and hand sewn bolt ropes, we can produce a sail or sails for your yacht so that she will look like she is still using her original suit of sails.  With the advent of polyester Tanbark and Egyptian colored fabrics along with standard white, we can produce sails that fit the traditional look of your vessel.  No radial panel layouts or laminate fabrics here.  We will miter cut your headsails and crosscut your mains and mizzens.  If you prefer, we will crosscut a headsail that is boomed as well.  

If the proper fabric is available, we can commercial cut and scotch cut sails if you want the vertical seam look these cuts afford.  

We can slit fabric for getting the narrow panel look.  We can install corner and reef patches that are small and are multi- tongued just the way the old timers used to do.  Hand sewn rings will be used for all slide, hoop or lacing attachments to the mast and boom as well as for the reef points.  For main and mizzens, the whole bolt rope will be hand sewn, not just the corners. It will be attached to the sail through a real tabling rather than just a Dacron tape folded and sewn to the edge. The bolt rope will start with a proper rattail along the leech above the clew, then wrap around the clew, along the foot, up the luff, over the headboard and down the leech finishing off with another rattail.  For headsails, a bolt rope with rattails will be sewn around the clew.  On a boomed staysail, the whole foot will be hand roped as well.

We have not had to "re-learn" all these techniques. We were taught these techniques from our father from the beginning of our careers and continue to use them today.  Most modern production lofts do not even know how to install a hand sewn ring, a hand sewn bolt rope or make a rattail any more.  Plus it would take too long for it to be profitable.  

With her "Classic" sails, your classic yacht will look like she is still using her original suit of sails.

These are thumbnail shots of a tanbark jib we recently completed showing the details of our work.  Please click on the photo to enlarge the image.

Clew details of tanbark, traditional jib highlighting proper clew cringle with rope grommets, hand sewn bolt rope around clew and multi-tongued reinforcement.

             Jib Hank Detail                 Jib tack detail

Inshore/Coastal      Offshore      Ultimate Offshore      Classic/Traditional

Last modified: December 20, 2005