UK Sailmakers Ireland

The process began with a carefully refined design. Once UK Sailmakers Ireland was satisfied with the digital prototype, it was shared with top sailors in the class. They reviewed the 3D model from all angles, using a BSG SailPack viewer file.

Reviewing the Shannon One Design sail from UK Sailmakers Ireland on the BSG SailPack 3D viewer.

After incorporating this feedback into the design, the first version of the Shannon One Design sail was produced and raced with great success last season. At the end of the 2023 season, Barry Hayes and the UK Sailmakers Ireland team further developed the sail. Using the 3D viewer file, the sail shape was adjusted four more times to optimize performance.

The new Shannon One Design sail from UK Sailmakers Ireland.

Following shape adjustments, the sail details were revised three times, covering everything from eyelets to reefs to battens, ensuring perfection in every detail for future orders. Currently, 14 of these new Shannon One Design sails are in production for the 2024 season.

Measuring the new Shannon One Design sail from UK Sails.

These 14 sails were measured this April by John Leech and Harry Croxon, who were delighted to see that the sails measured correctly and that every detail was spot-on. From concept to design to production, UK Sailmakers Ireland can do it all.

John Leech said, “I was very impressed with the one design precision and accuracy of all the sails and looking forward to seeing them competing on the water.”

Wear and tear can destroy almost any part of your laminate sail. You pad and tape the lifelines and put chafe guards on. You put covers on spreader tips. All these things protect your sails, but your sails can suffer from abrasion and folding as well. Every time you tack, your sails will flutter, bending threads and slowly breaking down the sailcloth over time. And, if you have an overlapping Genoa, the constant brushing over the mast and shrouds will eventually cause wear on the laminate.

What can you do to protect your sails and extend their performance life? One solution is to purchase sails with a protective coating of a light taffeta on one or both sides of the sail. The taffeta we’re talking about is a durable fabric made from twisted polyester yarns. These panels of taffeta can be laminated to mylar sailcloth when the sailcloth is being manufactured.

Simply put, a protective layer of taffeta will strengthen, protect, and extend the life of a sail. Ranging in thickness from 1.0 mil to 2.0 mil, you can order a sail made with taffeta already bonded to one side (preferred) or you can have UK Sailmakers apply a layer of taffeta to an existing sail. In either case, the value represented by the extended performance life of the sail vs. any cost implications makes taffeta a wise decision.

An additional benefit of adding taffeta is that it helps create a firm, stable, and durable structure when laminated, allowing the sailmaker to reduce the weight of the core mylar or woven film, helping keep the sail as light as possible.

There are two schools of thinking regarding how much taffeta is needed. For sails where you want to dramatically extend peak performance life, full coverage of one side is recommended – ideally using a base sailcloth with integrated taffeta mentioned above. To protect the sail even more, on the film side, you can have a taffeta “wave” applied, a wide strip of taffeta that follows the shape of the sail down the leech and forward across the foot. This taffeta wave adds a layer of protection against abrasion where it is needed most, without adding extra weight and bulk to the entire sail.

That said, many cruising boats going offshore or those sailing in races like the Fastnet opt for full taffeta on both sides of the sail. This makes the sail extremely strong and durable, although it does add to the sail’s overall weight.

The majority of the taffeta that sailmakers use comes from Germany, India, or Taiwan and comes in white, gray, or black. Regardless of color, the taffeta material itself comes in 3 primary weights:
50 x 50 – Light taffeta, Taffeta L, which is about 1 sm-oz when laminated to a film.
50 x 150 – Medium taffeta, Taffeta M, which is about 1.3 sm-oz when laminated to a film.
150 x 150 – Heavy taffeta, Taffeta H, which is about 1.8 sm-oz when laminated to a film.

Approximately 90% of all boats in Ireland with taffeta only need light or medium-weight taffeta; anything more would be too heavy.

An example of taffeta laminated onto mylar is the Radial laminate DCX from Dimension Polyant. This is a very durable lightweight radial laminate used on most cruising and performance cruising boats. And taffeta protective coatings are not just for mains and jibs, today’s Code 0s are made with very light taffeta coatings, too.

One final note, because taffeta will absorb some water, the sail can add weight in certain situations. As such, taffeta-coated sails are not well suited for one-designs like the 1720 or J/70 that are normally better off with quick-dry, lightweight mylar sails. However, if you have a J/80 with a furling headsail, a taffeta headsail would be really good as it would add to the durability of the furling sail.

To learn more about what taffeta coatings can do to extend the peak performance life of the sails on your boat, contact your UK Sailmakers loft today.

When it comes to reducing the area of your headsail (HSA) as a way to improve your IRC rating, Barry Hayes from UK Sailmakers Ireland has the low down. You’ll learn how the process is both complicated and. Here’s what Barry shared:

I know everyone wants the lowest rating possible for their boat and I often get asked if shortening headsail luff a little can I bring down their rating. Basically, the answer is yes; almost any reduction in sail area, if done in the right places, will lower a boat’s rating. However, there is a fine line between the net gain of a lower rating vs losing power. This can be tricky business; let me explain.

Most owners want to optimize their boat’s rating to suit the conditions they most regularly sail. Consider this example: a boat is fully powered up at nine knots and at its optimum healing angle, given the conditions and the amount of crew they have. If the owner still feels the boat has too much power despite being already maxed out on the backstay, by reducing the righting moment in the sails, then eliminating that unnecessary power may make the boat perform better and hopefully result in a lower rating. Reducing headsail area is a viable option, but be careful this reduction in ( HSA )won’t change where the lead is set on the boat when sailing. 

There are three main ways to reduce your HAS (Head Sail Area): 1) reducing the luff length, 2) reducing the LP, and. 3) hollowing the leech. Each has its pros and cons.

1) Making the luff shorter. This has a significant effect on reducing your rating, but actually may increase your HSA. That may sound counter-intuitive, but if the luff is shorter, all the girth measurement points move further down the sail, so you may lose real headsail area, but it will increase your IRC HSA. In this example below, you can see how reducing the luff length will move the girths down the sail and the sail, but it will be larger in area when measured in IRC.

2) Reducing the LP. This will bring your rating down, but it will also greatly affect the shape of the sail as you are cutting/changing the leading-edge camber. This rarely works well as it totally changes the sail’s shape and aerodynamic design.

3) Hollowing the leech of the sail. This will reduce the area in terms of IRC measurements. While this process will take actual area out of the sail, usually it’s only a small amount, normally about a square meter or so, depending on the size of the sail. For most boats, that is all you need for IRC, and it won’t affect the sail shape. It’s also normally the cheapest options as well, given the amount of work needed in the other two options.

Historically, when your sail is new, it will shrink a little, but today this effect is greatly reduced with new sail technology. The amount of shrinkage is tiny, but it is worth getting your sail re-measured for IRC a year after first use.

An even better option than the three I reviewed is to get a new headsail designed to the specific HSA you desire. I’m not saying that so much as a sailmaker, but a new sail that is designed and built to a desired size will deliver better performance than an older sail that has been recut. Locally, the Formula 28 ANIMAL wanted to sail with less crew. The owner reduced his HSA and increased his SPA; this way he reduced unneeded power he had upwind, and optimized his rating downwind.

In contrast, if you need more power because your headsail area is too small and you don’t want a new headsail, try sailing with less crew as a means to balance the boat to the optimum power and weight ratio for the conditions at which you have your rating set.

Let me close by answering your email question before you ask it; the effect of the recut on your headsail changes I’ve discussed here will be the same on non-overlapping headsails.

If you’re thinking about optimizing your boat for the coming season, give us a call, and we can help you get the best out of your rating.