Preview: Sailmaking at Nat Wilson’s Loft, Part 1 – Laying Out the Shapes

24 Responses So Far to “Sailmaking at Nat Wilson’s Loft, Part 1 – Laying Out the Shapes”

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  Timothy Case says:

  Yes. yes,yes,Yes,YES!
  OCH, you are delivering the goods and Doing the Job. Plenty of boats and the people who care for them, from sea to sea.
  And sprinkled between beautiful vessels, the nitty-gritty how-to and know-how that we crave, presented clearly and well. Rigging and Building and Sails and Engines, all the things that books convey but just one or two videos make crystal clear when they are done well.
  Keep up the Good Work! Bravo!

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    Steve Stone says:

    Wow. Thanks Timothy. We’re having fun doing it as well.

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    Steve Grube says:

    Took the words right out of my mouth, Timothy. OCH, well done! Can´t stay away from this website. Losing sleep!

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  robert steele says:

  where do they get those rugged palms that are used for hand sewing?

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  Bill Merrick says:

  This is an excellent series of videos on sailmaking. When you see the the skill and experience of the people and the tools they use think twice or more about DIY, they are pros and you are not.

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  Neil Moomey says:

  My wife is going to love it when I put holes in our living room floor.

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    Peter Richardson says:

    Wife, yesterday, on return from a business trip): How come things have been moved around in the living room?
    Amateur sailmaker Me: I decided the floor needed a proper clean, so moved all the furniture out and worked on the floor…. took me hours …

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  Kamau Iandiataiyero says:

  This is the most informative video on sail making I’ve ever seen. Excellent! In designing my boat with autocad I can concur with its limitations on developing a fair curve. Nothing can take the place of a true artisan craftsman.

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    John Hughes says:

    I agree about the video — it’s great. But about CAD? No. I love designing by eye, but I think CAD does pretty darned well.

    When you consider that folks have built boats and sails for millenia, but CAD’s only been around for about 35-40 years in the boats-and-sails business, and the first paper on splines (mathematical models of those long flexible sticks) was written only about 70 years ago, you have to admit that they’ve made a pretty good sprinting start. Despite the relative youth of the CAD field, an amateur with a CAD system can already make a pretty fair line in minutes, and in a few hours can design a boat that’ll stay upright, float, and that some folks will call pretty. That’s pretty good for just 40 years of work. Give those CAD folks another thousand years, I suspect that they might just be able to make some pretty fair curves. (Indeed, I’m betting on less than a hundred…) I’m pretty certain that if you could go back 200 years, you could find someone who’d tell you that only a cooper with a trained eye will ever be able to produce a really good barrel.

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  Ken Strangward says:

  Interesting, always wanted to ask my sailmaker the basics of sailmaking but as their time is valuable I didn’t want hold them from their work. Looking forward to following this series especially as it relates to the Caledonia construction.
  Keep up the good work, thoroughly enjoy sneaking a quite hour at Offcentrharbor

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  Daryl Koch says:

  I agree this is a great informative video. My only complaint is that the videogapher moves around way to much and the video is jerky making it difficult to watch. Still, we are looking forward to more great stuff.

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  Vance Scott says:

  I love this. When is the next one.
  Interesting parallels with my own trade as a floor coverings installer.
  I found the measuring and planing to reflect my own procedures.
  Fascinating.
  I am building a 6m (20ft) lug rigged yawl so this has special significance.
  Cheers
  Vance

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  David Tew says:

  Steve,

  You hinted about this video when Margaret and I saw you at the MBB Show, and it’s going to g be great to watch the whole series! When I first met Nat and asked about the skills needed for sailmaking he emphasized humility, accuracy… and strong knees. He’s clearly got that in his young crew. I too, am ‘chuffed’ that I sprung fir the lifetime membership and I think Margaret will too as she watches Nat and his men at work on the Morgan’s suit.

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  Lansing Hays says:

  My feeling watching these videos is similar to my reaction to the first issues of Wooden Boat years ago: suburb craftsmanship described by a gifted enthusiast–well done!

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  John Simpkins says:

  Another great video on a mysterious process that would be very difficult to understand in print. Thank you for, once again, making me feel like an absolute genius for springing for the lifetime membership.

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    Steve Stone says:

    Thanks John, and everyone, for your enthusiasm for this series. This is another one of Maynard’s gems, as he’s had Nat on our radar for a couple years now, and the right project finally popped up to make it happen. A little secret we haven’t announced yet… we also shot Nat’s crew making the cotton sails for the whaleship Charles W. Morgan, so that series is coming as well. Interestingly, Maynard actually hired Nat to work at Mystic Seaport, and that’s how their friendship began many decades ago, so it was a treat to watch them interact during the shoot with so much mutual admiration and trust. Lastly, thanks for joining as a lifer… we’re glad it’s turned into such a great deal.

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      Rick Mitchell says:

      Hi Steve,
      These four videos are the bees knees!
      I was wondering though, how is the video you mention above about the making of the sails for the Charles Morgan coming along?
      I am looking forward greatly to seeing it. Sailmaking is a bit of a hidden art in the world of wooden boats, so more is always welcome!

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        Steve Stone says:

        Thanks Rick. So many videos, only two editors. Hope to get to it soon. Thanks for the nudge.

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  Hugh Bamford says:

  Absolutely brilliant, I’ve been reading books for years about lofting sails but this just puts it all together for me – now if I can just convince the wife to put holes in the lounge room floor.

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    William Mangum says:

    Good luck with that!

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  Ken Sloan says:

  Whoever is selecting the subjects for these videos is apparently able to read my mind.

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    Steve Stone says:

    Thanks Ken. Knew you were going to say that! Trying our best to channel the big mysteries into videos. Steve

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  John Kelly says:

  Fascinating to see how this process works! I’m hoping to understand how the fact the sails are not flat when flying is taken into account…it looks from this video it’s done according to judgment as opposed to having the curves shown on the sail plan.

  Can’t wait to see the next installment. Thanks for providing this video.

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    Steve Stone says:

    On this one, John, you had a filmmaker who’s set sails for years and never understood how they were made or how shape was put into them. I was as fascinated as you are. Part 2 will get into that. Steve