practicalboatownervideo
How sails are made – behind the scenes at a sail loft
May 20, 2024 · 7 min · 832 views
What this video covers
At T-Sails, sailmaker Tim Scarisbrook and his colleague Dan walk through the construction of a genoa and mainsail for a boat called Maximus.Watch Pre-cut panels arrive rolled from supplier Bainbridge, and the loft works from a panel layout PDF to assemble them in the correct sequence.0:14 Panels are first bonded with double-sided tape, then sewn on one of two industrial machines — a heavy-duty unit for larger sails and a smaller one for lighter work.1:58 The Maximus genoa is an overlapping tri-radial cut, with panels radiating into all three corners for better shape retention; the mainsail is a simpler crosscut with two reefs.2:45 Dan explains the build sequence: hot-knife the panels to remove fraying, stick them together using the cut sheet as a guide, sew one panel at a time to keep the work manageable, then finish with splining the leech, fitting rings, and applying webbing tapes.4:28 A two-millimetre discrepancy at the foot is corrected by batten-fairing the curve before final sewing.6:10 Sewing errors can be unpicked and restitched.5:04 T-Sails fits sails locally when practical but ships finished sails nationwide and as far as Antigua when on-site fitting is not feasible.3:54
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