Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Barry Hayes from UK Sailmakers Ireland explains which system is best for various situations There are times in your boat-owning life when you need to step back and evaluate your vessel's set-up with an eye towards optimizing the boat for…

Barry Hayes of UK Sailmakers Ireland (in conjunction with Jenny Howells of the RORC Rating Office) explains the main difference between a flying Jib and an IRC flying headsail  The main difference between a flying Jib and an IRC flying…

We would like to wish all our customer a very happy Christmas and a prosperous 2021. In such a hard year, we would like to thank everyone for all the support and most of all the staff and people who helped…

Small fathead mainsails, where the roach of the sail is increased due to a considerably wider head of the sail, are starting to pop-up on the racecourse and they are proving to be a winner. Getting extra sail area on…

Long-lasting McWilliam Sailing Bags have launched a new range to go with their distinctive stripe bags. To celebrate the launch Afloat readers can avail of a special 10% discount offer at the bottom of this page. Synonymous with sailing in Ireland,…

Racing a J/109 in IRC has its compromises because you're sailing with asymmetrics, you're limited to certain angles and only so much boat speed is generated both up-wind and down. While living in Hong Kong, I raced the J/109 Whiskey…

UK Sailmakers Ireland in Cork Harbour say they remain open during the Covid-19 Level 5 restrictions as the Crosshaven sail loft is treated as a manufacturing facility and a full production loft. As they continue to repair, service and produce sails,…

What has Brexit got to do with your winter sails service this year? Barry Hayes of UK Sailmakers Ireland, explains the situation and why it’s such an urgent matter. Dear customers, I want to let you know it’s really urgent if…

Barry Hayes from UK Sailmakers Ireland with tips on the dos and don'ts of reefing a sail for racing and cruising Times have changed, and this season we have moved to more ISORA short course, offshore sailing. This trend will…

Next Thursday week (September 8th) is the last evening race in the 2020 Dublin Bay Sailing Club season writes Barry Hayes of UK Sailmakers Ireland. As the summer season draws to a close, it is time to consider what we…

We've been working hard this weekend to keep the 1720 sportsboat boys in the game at the AIB Southern Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club. When you rip it, UK Sailmakers Ireland can fix it in time for the next…

Cork Harbour sailors Mel and Kieran Collins from Crosshaven describe how they transformed Coracle VI, their vintage Olson 30, into an 'IRC weapon' Prior to buying the boat, we did extensive research on which boat to buy and why. The…

Barry Hayes of UK Sailmakers Ireland has been showing off a new 'Code D' gennaker that's been designed for simple and easy use. The Cork Harbour sailmakers say the cruising sail furls easily every time as he demonstrates in the…

In this article, Barry Hayes (UK Sailmakers Ireland) and Pat Considine (UK Sailmakers Chicago) explain headsail vertical camber and why it’s so important to boat speed and performance of the boat. In reality, understanding headsail vertical camber is the modern…

Keith Miller from Wexford transformed his Yamaha 36 from a slow cruising boat into a well-balanced and finely tuned IRC racer Keith’s Yamaha 36 was doing a race to the Fastnet and back when his backstay parted bending the mast…

Barry Hayes from UK Sailmakers Ireland gives his top tips on the backstay and using it to get the most out of your boat Now that we are back open making and repairing sail, getting back into sailing will be…