Displaying items by tag: UK Sailmakers Ireland
UK Sailmakers 'Optimising Performance' Talk This Thursday at the Royal St. George Yacht Club
Irish Laser ace Liam Glynn will be in the Royal St. George Yacht Club on Thursday evening when he and offshore sailor Kenny Rumball, along with UK Sailmakers Ireland manager Barry Hayes deliver a lecture at Dun Laoghaire's biggest yacht club.
The open talk is titled; 'Optimising performance through the lens of sailing physics' and starts at RStGYC at 7.30 pm on Thursday, March 30th.
The talk is part of a series of UK Sails countrywide talks that began in February at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough and last week at Howth YC and the Royal Irish YC, both recording some great turnouts.
Glynn talks chiefly about Lasers and tactics, while Rumball intends to cover offshore tactics and navigation.
UK Sailmakers 'Optimising Performance' Talk This Thursday at the Royal Irish Yacht Club
Irish Laser ace Liam Glynn will be in Royal Irish Yacht Club on Thursday evening when he and offshore sailor Kenny Rumball, along with UK Sailmakers Ireland manager Barry Hayes deliver a lecture at the country's biggest IRC club.
The open talk is titled; 'Optimising performance through the lens of sailing physics' and starts at RIYC at 7.30 pm on Thursday, March 24th.
The talk is part of a series of UK Sails countrywide talks that began in February at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough and this week at HYC.
Glynn talks chiefly about Lasers and tactics, while Rumball intends to cover offshore tactics and navigation.
Glynn, Rumball and Hayes Join Forces for Howth Yacht Club Tactics Talk This Wednesday
Irish Laser ace Liam Glynn will be in Howth Yacht Club on Wednesday evening when he and offshore sailor Kenny Rumball along with UK Sailmakers Ireland manager Barry Hayes deliver a lecture at the country's biggest yacht club.
The talk, which is open to everyone, is titled; 'Optimising performance through the lens of sailing physics' and starts at HYC at 7.30 pm on Wednesday, March 22nd.
The talk is part of a series of UK Sails countrywide talks that began in February at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough.
Glynn talks chiefly about Lasers and tactics, while Rumball intends to cover offshore tactics and navigation.
UK Sailmakers Ireland Talks Series Begins at Ballyholme Yacht Club
Irish Laser ace Liam Glynn will be on home waters when he and UK Sailmakers Ireland manager Barry Hayes deliver the first of a series of UK Sails countrywide talks beginning in Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough later this month.
The talk, which is open to everyone, is titled; 'Optimising performance through the lens of sailing physics' and will be held at BYC at 7.30 pm on Thursday, February 23rd.
Reducing Headsail Area to Improve Your IRC
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 complicated while also straightforward the process can be and different approaches to achieve the same objective. 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 my rating. Basically, the answer is yes; almost any reduction in sail area, if done in the right places, will lower your 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 why.
Most owners want to optimise 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, and eliminating that unnecessary power may make the boat perform better and hopefully result in a lower rating. If this is the case, then reducing the 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 HSA on IRC: 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.
Here is an example of a genoa being recut :
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. And, given you may need to sail with less crew with the reduced HSA, you can see the effect of this on Formula 28 ANIMAL IRL 6563. We worked with ANIMAL’s owner and reduced his HSA and increase his SPA, He reduced unneeded power he had upwind, and optimised 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 as well before you even send the e mail. ;0)
If you’re thinking about optimising your boat for the coming season, give us a call, and we can help you get the best out of your rating.
UK Sailmakers 2022 Loft Managers Meeting Sets a Plan for the Future
UK Sailmakers International’s loft owners and managers met at The Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire last month for their first in-person meeting since 2019, hoisted by UK sailmakers Ireland. The annual meetings bring together UK Sailmakers’ leadership from around the world for several days to discuss new advancements in the sailmaking industry, how those advancements can benefit UK’s customers, and how the group can continue working together to improve sailing. In the end, participants returned to their lofts with renewed energy to bring well-designed, well-built, and durable sails to their customers.
This year, the meeting drew 32 people representing 21 lofts from as far away as Hong Kong, Australia, the western U.S., and Canada,” said John Bennett, President of UK Sailmakers International. “In addition to having three days to share each loft manager’s thoughts on the current and future states of sailing and sailmaking, this meeting gave us the opportunity to share UK Sailmakers’ latest developments in sailmaking design, manufacturing, and marketing.” The main topics of discussion at this year’s meeting focused on how new technologies are shaping sailcloth performance characteristics, sail design software developments, new marketing initiatives and most of all, environmental sustainability sailcloths, which is a new market that UK Sailmakers are leading the way towards developing sails that are environmental sustainability for the future for all of us.
The meeting was also an opportunity to introduce a few new faces to the group including Kevin Sproul, the owner of the new UK Sailmakers in Southampton, England; Marcel De Jong, new owner of UK Sailmakers Netherlands; and Heather Mahady, the new General Manager of UK Sailmakers International.
Due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, the annual UKI Loft Managers Meeting has not been held in-person since 2019. “The choice of Dublin for the meeting was made back in 2019 and here we are, three years later, with it all coming together,” said Barry Hayes, owner of UK Sailmakers Ireland and the meeting’s host. The last time the UKI Loft Managers Meeting was in Ireland was 25 years ago, when the group met at the Royal Cork Yacht Club.
Hayes was excited to share Ireland’s history, culture, and sailing community with the rest of the UK group. Beyond the meeting itself, Barry planned team-building activities including trips to the Jameson Distillery, the Guinness Storehouse, and a selection of historic Yacht Clubs around Dun Laoghaire, Starting with welcome drinks in the National Yacht Club, meeting every day at the Royal Irish Yacht Club and a final dinner and drinks in the Royal St George Yacht Club. Barry’s plans were a great success and he received plenty of praise from the visiting loft managers for a well-organised fun meeting. Mehmet Taylan from UK Norway enjoyed his time in Dublin, saying it was, “A fantastic UK Sailmakers meeting,” and that it was great to see the managers from other lofts in person again. Taylan noted that “UK stands together even stronger, [with] new products and new technology.”
John Bennet said that this year’s voting and selection for the UK Loft of the Year Award was “a real tough one,” considering the great performances and contributions from many lofts recovering post-pandemic. Ultimately, the decision ended in a tie for the UK Sailmakers lofts located in Turkey and Ireland. Baris and Bulent Celik of UK Turkey received the award for their humanitarian work assisting the Ukraine loft, in addition to their efforts to develop new software programmes for the UK group, and maxi yacht sail production.
Barry Hayes from UK Ireland was also awarded the title UK Loft of the Year Award for his loft’s contributions to the UK group, including articles which raised the profile of UK Sailmakers both in and out of Ireland, plus an incredible post-COVID recovery for the loft, work on design and development. His work with PPE during Covid and Humanitarian work with Ukraine.
The next UK Sailmakers International’s Loft Managers Meeting will be held in Sidney, BC, Canada, home to the UK Sailmakers Northwest loft. Stuart and Joy Dahlgren, the owners of UK Northwest, look forward to hosting another great event in 2023.
UK Sailmakers Ireland - Ending the Year on a High Note
Last month, UK Sailmakers Ireland announced the addition of two more sailmakers to their team, reflecting the increase in the loft’s business: Kenny Rumball and Liam Glynn.
Following-up on that announcement, UK Sailmakers Ireland was delighted to report that Kenny finished third overall in the Dublin Bay Turkey Shoot Series. Given that the sails were old test development sails, they are performing perfectly. Kenny and crew did well against a strong fleet, including some very competitive J/109s.
Both Kenny and Liam are having great success in terms of servicing existing sails and bringing in new UK customers.
Liam is selling and servicing a lot of new sail business in the Northern Ireland market.
Among the others doing well in the fleet, although not making the podium, were Colin Byrne and the under-25 INSS team, both using UK Sailmakers Ireland’s sails.
On behalf of Barry, Kenny, Liam and all the rest of the UK Sailmakers Ireland loft team, we wish you a happy new year.
UK Sailmakers Ireland – Signs of Success
The clearest indication that a business is succeeding is when one sees growth and expansion in that company’s staffing and operational footprint. Such is the case here at UK Sailmakers Ireland, led by renowned sailmaker and yacht racer Barry Hayes. Having been part of the worldwide UK Sailmakers International network of sailmakers for 23 years, Hayes’ Dublin and Northern Ireland base continues to expand its prominence in the Irish sailing community by consistently delivering well-designed, fast, and durable sails for both racing and cruising yachts.
Hayes recently noted, “As our business continues to expand in Ireland, we find more and more demand for high-level sales and service professionals; I’m pleased to announce the addition of two new sailmakers to our UK Sailmakers Ireland operations: Kenny Rumball and Liam Glynn.”
Kenny Rumball
Rumball started sailing at the Sutton Dinghy Club at age five and has been an avid sailboat racer ever since. With a career in the professional marine industry, including expanding one of the largest and most diverse sailing schools in the British Isles and Ireland, Kenny continues to sail dinghies at the highest level of competition. In addition, Kenny has been a professional skipper, specialising in offshore sailing for the past eight years. He also ran Fast 40 campaigns and, for three seasons, sailed in the French Solo Offshore One-Design circuit. Now he’s working out of the Dublin base, Kenny’s will focus on offshore racing customers with an overall view of creating leading-edge big boat racing sails.
Liam Glynn
Glynn will operate remotely in the north of Ireland, expanding the Dublin loft’s geographic footprint. A former Topper World Champion and member of the Irish Laser Sailing Academy programme, in 2021, Liam decided to leave the Irish Sailing Team to focus on college and the Irish 1720 circuit while also coaching the Irish Sailing junior squads in Ireland. Liam has sailed with Barry Hayes for years and is now working for one of his sailing mentors.
UK Sailmakers International President John Bennet said the following about this growth in the Dublin base, “Barry continues to be a leader in both European sailing and sailmaking, as well as one of the guiding lights within the UKI network. It is no surprise to us that Barry needed to hire these two exceptional young sailmakers as a means to support his steadily growing business. All of us at UKI welcome Kenny and Liam to the UK Sailmakers family.”
Dun Laoghaire to Host UK Sailmakers’ 2022 Loft Managers Meeting
UK Sailmakers International (UKI), a worldwide group of sailmakers with over 40 lofts and service centres around the globe, holds its Loft Managers Meeting in a different part of the world every year. This reflects the company’s international footprint as well as allowing loft managers to experience the broad range of cultures and sailing communities UK Sailmakers services.
From November 16-18, the UK Sailmakers loft managers will be meeting at The Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, overlooking Dublin Bay on the Irish Sea.
“This year, we will have 21 lofts represented by 32 people from as far away as Hong Kong, Australia, and the western U.S. and Canada,” said John Bennett, President of UKI. “In addition to having three days to share each loft manager’s thoughts on the current and future states of sailing and sailmaking, this meeting gives us the opportunity to share UK Sailmakers’ latest developments in sailmaking design, manufacturing, and marketing.”
Due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, UK’s Loft Meeting has not been held in-person since 2019. “The choice of Dublin for the meeting was made back in 2019 and three years later, it is coming together. Coming to Dublin was an easy decision given the city’s well-deserved reputation as an excellent tourism and sailing destination,” noted Barry Hayes, owner of UK Sailmakers Ireland and the meeting’s host. “In addition to the members of the UK Sailmakers team, about a third of their spouses will be coming to Dublin to enjoy all we have to offer.” The last time the UKI Loft Managers Meeting was in Ireland was 25 years ago, when the group met at the Royal Cork Yacht Club.
Hayes joined the UK Sailmakers group in the early 2000s when he worked for Des McWilliam in his loft in Cork. After that, Hayes relocated to the UK Sailmakers’ New York loft for a few years, working under the tutelage of Charles “Butch” Ulmer, before spending 14 years in Hong Kong as the sales manager for the largest loft in the UK Sailmakers group. In 2017, he and his wife, Claire Morgan returned to Ireland and bought the UK-McWilliam loft. Now, Hayes brings to his customers a wealth of knowledge, both technical and practical; some of which he has shared in the past with the readers of Afloat on UK Sailmakers Ireland dedicated page here
Hayes concluded, “We loft managers always come away from our group meeting with new ideas, new techniques, and renewed energy to bring well designed, well built, and durable sails to our customers. I anticipate the same will happen this year...only I’ll be working a bit harder during the meeting being the host! All I know is that all the attendees have told me how excited they are to come to Ireland and experience our history, culture, and sailing community.”
Winter Sail Servicing from UK Sailmakers Ireland: Get in Early!
We hope you had a great sailing season, and we are looking forward to next season. It’s coming up soon and UK Sailmakers Ireland want you to get the most of your 2023 season. So get in early and get out early!
The Winter period is the best time for getting your sails serviced. Whether it’s your car, your own health, or your sails, it is no secret that an annual check-up and service is the best way to protect your investment and avoid trouble down the line.
Our sail loft in Crosshaven, Co. Cork, has been a sail service centre for over fifty years. Thousands of sails have been on our floor and it’s not often we see something we haven’t encountered before. We can spot issues before they emerge as serious problems. This will not only save you money – but also time.
No one wants their sails on our floor when they should be on your boat out sailing!
Depending on the type of sailing you are doing an ‘annual service’ can consist of many different things. Some of you may even ask “do I really need to?” The short answer is –yes you do – let me explain why.
Club Racer
If you’re a club racer then you’re the most likely to be asking the “do I really need to?” question. In fact, your sails will likely benefit more than anyone else from a good annual service.
When we receive your sails in our loft we give them a full check over. We check all luff tapes for tears, check common wear spots such as where it interacts with spreaders and stanchions, check for missing tell tails, and identify if there are any unknown causes for the problem which is presenting itself on the floor.
"While we have your sails we can re-measure them for IRC. This can lead to a nice reduction in your IRC handicap upon your revalidation for the 2023 season"
For example; we see many luff tape repairs throughout the season and during winter service. Luff tapes don’t just tear. If they tear then there is a reason why. Sometimes it can be a simple mistake of sheeting on too early or skipping the feeder – but often there is a problem that can be solved on the boat. We discuss potential issues with our customers and present solutions to avoid damage occurring in the future.
While we have your sails we can re-measure them for IRC. This can lead to a nice reduction in your IRC handicap upon your revalidation for the 2023 season.
Our expert staff pick up details which the untrained eye would overlook. Leverage this experience to protect your investment and maximize your time on the water come next spring.
Coastal Cruiser
If cruising or day sailing is your thing then you likely have a UV strip on your headsail and plenty of covers, spray hoods, dodgers etc.
One of the worst things you can do for your sails is leaving them on your boat for a prolonged period of time – even during the sailing season. If you are not going to be using your boat for a month or more then take down the sails and store them aboard.
"Exposure to the sun degrades your sails and covers – this is simply a fact of life. The UV light breaks down the fabric and especially the stitching"
If you only wear your good flamingo shirt to weddings, and you don’t have one for two months, you aren’t going to leave it hanging on the line!
Exposure to the sun degrades your sails and covers – this is simply a fact of life. The UV light breaks down the fabric and especially the stitching.
During an annual check-up, we inspect your entire UV cover and its stitching. A quick run through a sewing machine now is much more cost-effective than having to replace an entire torn UV strip after an Irish winter storm. The same goes for your covers. Deliver them all to us together for a full assessment.
Storage
When you are packing your boat up for the season you should also be thinking about where you are going to store your sails. Definitely take them down, we’ve all seen furled headsails ragged by a winter storm, and take them off the boat and have them stored properly in a cool, dry, rodent-free place – our sail loft for example!
Even if you have your own space to store your sails; get them to the loft first. We see if every spring – ‘best intentions’ of getting your sails to us during the winter were packed away with them. Out of sight out of mind. You then have to join the long line to get your small issue fixed when you could be out enjoying your sailing.
We have a purpose-built storage area in our loft where we can keep your sails comfortable until you need them. We can also store your racing sails rolled – extending their life and keeping them nice and crisp.
Laundry & Re-Proofing
When we have your sails and covers for service we also consider whether they are due a wash. Every year we are asked to replace boom covers and sprayhood when really all that is needed is a good wash, reproofing, and a few stitches here and there.
Sails and covers are washed to remove and green mildew and general grime from the fabric. Covers are then re-waterproofed to give them an entirely new lease of life.
Now is the time!
Our schedule is filling up fast after a busy season on the water. Now is the time to get in contact and arrange your winter service. Let us ensure your sails are in top health and ready for your 2023 sailing season. Contact Cleo at ireland@uksailmakers.
Download the UK Sails Winter Sail Servicing flyer below