EP#209 Conversation with Eric from North Sails
16 December 2023 · 1h 4m · 244 views
What this video covers
Jerome Rand sits down with Eric Wakefield, a North Sails Newport sailmaker who specialises in superyacht sail service, at the North Sails loft in Newport, Rhode Island — a facility that began as Ted Hood's loft in 1996, became Shore Sails briefly under Dan Neerai, and was sold to North Sails in 1997.2:53 Wakefield describes the loft's origins, Neerai's role in developing and productising 3DI moulded sails, and the difference between 3DI and Dacron for cruising applications — recommending Dacron for East Coast and Atlantic-crossing sailors planning a 10-year sail life.11:31 He details the logistics of servicing a two-masted superyacht called Aquejo whose mainsails weighed 4,000 pounds each: the team rented a 180-foot barge with a crane to remove them, needed 20 people to flake each sail, and moved them with a two-ton forklift.31:19 Wakefield and Rand also discuss UV damage as the primary cause of sail degradation, the tradeoffs of lazy jacks and Dutchman systems, the decline of hands-on sailmaking apprenticeships, and the contrasting philosophies of Lowell North (science-driven) and Ted Hood (art-driven recutting).55:04 Rand mentions his own ageing main and staysail and a planned future conversation about new North Sails for Into Oblivion.1:01:13
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